Becoming a goat to avoid existential dread (with Thomas Thwaites)

What this episode covers

Read the full transcript here. • How hard is it to construct a toaster from scratch? Do we in modern times individually have more knowledge than individuals living 100 or 1,000 years ago? Should corporations be thought of as a kind of emergent artificial intelligence? To what extent are corporations — and more broadly, whole economies — aligned with human values? Which animals experience the smallest amount of existential dread? Are humans at the top of the evolutionary "pyramid"? Is it possible to make a completely harmless car? Or is it even possible to make a completely harmless anything ? What are the differences between "Cowboy Earth" and "Spaceship Earth"? • Thomas Thwaites is an award-winning design researcher and author of two acclaimed books, The Toaster Project , and Goatman . His sometimes eccentric projects explore the psychological and social impacts of technology as we struggle to find a sustainable future. His work is exhibited at museums and galleries worldwide, and is in the permanent collections of the Victoria ; Albert Museum in London, The Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam, and the Banque de France. He has a BSc. in Human Sciences from University College London and an MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art. Learn more about him at his website, thomasthwaites.com (https://www.thomasthwaites.com/). • Further reading • The Toaster Project: Or a Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch, by Thomas Thwaites (https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-toaster-project-or-a-heroic-attempt-to-build-a-simple-electric-appliance-from-scratch_thomas-thwaites/368792/#edition=6634345;idiq=5528822) • Goatman: How I Took a Holiday from Being Human (One Man's Journey to Leave Humanity Behind and Become Like a Goat), by Thomas Thwaites (https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/goatman-how-i-took-a-holiday-from-being-human_thomas-thwaites/11601557/#edition=11165953;idiq=29064317) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host / Director • Josh Castle (mailto:[email protected]) — Producer • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Audio Engineer • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/)