Guest Thinkers — February 22, 2011

The Man Behind Transcendent Man

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Jason Silva, media personality, Singularity enthusiast and Fellow at the Hybrid Reality Institute, recently interview Barry Ptolemy who directed the documentary Transcendent Man. Check out this fun and informal interview with Barry, an incredibly thoughtful and talented director, on some of the themes highlighted in Transcendent Man including some great clips from the documentary itself.

Ayesha and Parag Khanna explore human-technology co-evolution and its implications for society, business and politics at The Hybrid Reality Institute.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A man with long hair, a beard, glasses, and a bandana on his head, reminiscent of David Foster Wallace, poses for a portrait against a plain background.

High Culture

How suicide warped David Foster Wallace’s legacy

The writer’s tragic death at age 46 has led many to view him as a tortured artist. Here’s why this label is reductive.

a man sitting in a wheel chair next to a laptop.

High Culture

Stephen Hawking’s famous voice belonged to this pioneering MIT scientist

Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.

a little girl holding a butterfly in her hand.

The Learning Curve

The 8 wonders of life — and how they can transform yours

Awe-inspiring moments can be found in our daily lives, and they have surprising benefits for our health and sense of well-being.

High Culture

50 years ago, an artist convincingly exhibited a fake Iron Age civilization

The artifacts were often made from found objects – an Ivory dish-soap bottle transformed into an earthenware figure.

Progress

What do you see as some of the most significant barriers to progress right now?

We asked our experts where they see the biggest blockers right now for more progress. Essentially, from their various areas of focus, what did they see as the largest impediments to driving progress forward around the world and how they would prioritize the necessary interventions? The answers were appropriately varied from the philosophical to the political to the technological.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Are Americans Ready for Democracy?

Most of the nation’s people identify themselves first by tribe or religion, and are all too ready to spit on the cultures of others, says Firouz Folani.