Have you read the 1949 book by George R. Stewart called Earth Abides? Have you seen the recent television series that mangles the thrust of the story beyond recognition? Maybe you’d like to read it before listening to the podcast episode(s) in which Alex Leff—creator of the excellent Human Nature Odyssey podcast series—and I discuss the book and what we might learn about generational adaptation to modernity’s eventual up-ending. Spoiler alert: we make no effort to protect future readers from core developments.
This is a two-part conversation, the first of which was released yesterday, and the second on April 23.
This book was recommended to me by legendary astrophysicist Frank Shu, and while pretty hokey in some ways—exercising the cringe muscle group—it offers deeply valuable lessons in other respects that have stuck with me. Anyway, it was fun to chat about the themes in the book with Alex, and I hope you enjoy the conversation as well.
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Excellent discussion, thanks for this. Tempted to buy a copy of the book.
I've often imagined this scenario round my way, where every one else disappears and I'm the only one in town. Sounds like bliss to me! No more taxes, no bills to pay, no working for a living!
The only downside is that Britons have so many dogs, defending myself from packs of them would be a challenge. The ones locked up in houses I'd leave till they starved to death, but those that got loose would have to be dealt with before they merged into hunting packs…
Earth does indeed abide. For millennia, and eons. From the perspective of the Earth, life is like a thin layer of lichen growing on its surface— a series of self-perpetuating chemical reactions, about which the Earth is mostly apathetic. (Or perhaps Earth regards it as a mild rash, like a case of eczema.)
Either way, Earth was here before what we call "life" evolved, and will be here long after.
The point about generational adaptation to modernity's end is what makes this story so haunting. It really makes you consider what foundational knowledge would actually persist after a major reset. Looking forward to the second part of the conversation.