Monthly Archives: October 2025

Tangents with Chris Ryan

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I hit the jackpot this summer in terms of good books to read, Chris Ryan’s Civilized to Death among them. Chris offered to become better acquainted via a recorded conversation for his podcast, Tangentially Speaking.

Schedules aligned for us to record a conversation on September 25, and shortly after our “hour” together, we decided to do a second round two days later. The day between was so packed for me that it felt like a week transpired in between. On that day, I biked about 20 miles, got on a ferry, sailed to Canada to meet icon Rex Weyler (fantastic guy and conversation), then reversed my route, biking back home late that evening in pitch blackness on a narrow forest trail. Memorably, my face collided with a flying bat! I’m sure it was as shocked as I was, but I suspect it was unhurt, like me. I just laughed, holding on to the sensation of warmth, fur, and leathery wing on my cheek. Anyway, in the second conversation with Chris my confusion on how long it had been is apparent. Also, having covered some similar ground with Rex it was harder than it ought to have been to keep track of what Chris and I had discussed in the first conversation (apologies for a few repeated sentiments).

Anyway, the two episodes can be accessed via any of these formats:

The audio versions include introductions by Chris as well as some musical selection. The videos are just the conversation, auto-edited to remove pauses and “ums.” I look forward to future dialog with Chris. It’s great to have conversations with wise and well-aligned individuals.

Views: 476

2025: A Space Absurdity

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Space is sillier. Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum (from this site).

I recently connected faith in space colonization to Flat Earth belief, even though these might seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum—as Flat-Earthers contend that NASA is a hoax and that artificial satellites are not real (wait: because they’re artificial?). What connects these groups is a belief in something that’s not actually real: based more on imagination than fact, and working backwards from what they wish to be true. I’m not saying the groups are equivalent by any stretch, but that they do share something in common, at core.

Anyway, this observation sparked a few conversations that prompted me to resurrect old arguments (see Why Not Space and chapter 4 of my textbook), but also add some new ones. Here, I share some of these new perspectives and related calculations.

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Views: 1419

Systems Mindset

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World3 model (from Meadows et al., The Limits to Growth, 1972)

Our culture suffers an epidemic of disconnected narrow analyses. Almost every single news article, opinion piece, insight from pundits, bestseller book, or internet screed fails to absorb a broad-enough view to fully contextualize this moment in time. What remains can be effectively useless or invalidated by a more complete and enveloping context.

A small but growing cadre of folks promote “systems thinking,” broadening the boundaries to acknowledge complex relationships “external” to the considerations of typical works. Whether those broader elements involve biophysical, planetary, anthropological, ecological, or more-than-human considerations, the effect can dramatically change conclusions and prescriptions.

So, systems thinking can make positive contributions. But it has a dark side as well. Novice engagement in this heady practice can serve to amplify a nasty human habit of deluding ourselves into believing that we can master it all—that our crude maps are essentially-complete captures of all relevant aspects of the territory. Encouraged by climbing atop a “big-boy” horse without falling off, one might be tempted to think they can gallop their way into a more perfect system for humanity on Earth. I’ll make the argument that the horse of hubris is inherently unrideable, and that the best lesson from systems thinking is that systems tend to be far too complex for our meat-brains to master. We’re not going to think our way to paradise. Any place deserving the name “paradise” has never been constructed by humans, but by a Community of Life over deep time.

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Views: 1867

Were You Happy?

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Close enough. By Tdorante10 (Wikipedia Commons)

As I learn more about the way humans used to live before agriculture (and a few still do today), I am often reminded of an experience I had in my youth that contains parallels to the situation Indigenous groups find themselves in today. Things were going pretty well for them before their lifeways were destroyed: they had life figured out.

Aside from a brief coda, I’ll let parallels speak for themselves. My small tribe will play the part of displaced people, and the Western “authority” figure will be obvious. In making this parallel, in no way do I mean to imply that my momentary discomfort has even the slightest equivalency. That said, the experience still offers a window, even if a very grubby one.

Oh—and if the story comes off as boring, I do apologize, but that’s only because it hasn’t been embellished.

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Views: 1810