Category Archives: Science

Robert Stark interviews Scott Jackisch

Oakland Futurist

 

 

 

 

Scott Jackisch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit interview Scott Jackisch. Scott is an IT consultant located in Oakland, CA. He blogs at The Oakland Futurist and runs the East Bay Futurists meetup.

Topics include:

Scott’s interest in futurism and science fiction writers including Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and William Gibson
Scott’s futurist meetup and how there is a strong interest in futurism in the San Francisco Bay Area
How in the modern era people are isolated, and how meetups can fill in that void, and create new communities
How the meetup itself is not political, but rather an open discussion on futurism
The different political factions within futurism including liberals, libertarians, and Neoreactionaries
Scott’s critique of Neoreaction, how his main disagreement is over their rejections of progress, but can sympathize with their reaction to extreme political correctness
Rabbit’s point that he got interested in Neoreaction because the idea of people being able to form their own societies appealed to him, but was turned off by the extreme traditional views
Scott’s political views, and how he is basically a Centrist and Pragmatist
Why Scott accepts Realpolitik, which is a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations
Transhumanism
Scott’s series The Robot Lord Scenario, which he plans on turning into a novel
Trends in warfare,  how the invention of the gun leveled the playing field, but that automative weapons will enforce inequality
Daniel Suarez’s novel Kill Decision
Economic automation and it’s implications
Economics, whether capitalism is necessary for innovation, and how a functional economic needs both capitalism and socialism
The Bay Area’s housing crisis, NIMBYism, and where to build new housing
Vertical Living and urban agriculture
Retro Futurism, dystopian and utopian visions of the future
How science fiction writers can provide narratives for engineers to build their visions(ex. Elon Musk and the Culture series)
The role of sociopaths in society, and how power generally gets concentrated by sociopaths
From a realpolitiks perspective how do you take power away from people in power that are causing harm?
Scott’s message for people to listen to each other instead of demonizing the other side


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Robert Stark interviews Zoltan Istvan about his Campaign for President

Zoltan Istvan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit talk to Zoltan Istvan. Zoltan is a trans-humanist and futurist writer, philosopher, and journalist. He has written for Vice, Newsweek the Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and was a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, and is the author of The Transhumanist Wager. Visit his official campaign site Zoltan Istvan for US President 2016

Topics include:

Why Zoltan is running primarily to raise awareness about Trans-humanism
The importance of investing in science and technology
Addressing the ethical reservations about Trans-humanism and whether it could lead to dangerous outcomes
The Trans-humanist goal of life extension
The Trans-humanist goal to eliminate human flaws and whether that could lead to a boring existence
Trans-humanist breackthroughs in healthcare
How to make Trans-humanism affordable and accessible to the public
Psychologist Timothy Leary as a precursor to Trans-humanism and his work to expand human consciousness
Zoltan’s support for a basic income, how it will become necessary due to automation, and how to implement it
The ideological divides within the Trans-humanist movement and how Zoltan considers himself fairly Centrist
The Transhumanist Bill of Rights

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Robert Stark interviews Thomas Rinaldi about New York Neon

NY NEON Cover_r2_Final.indd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit talk to Thomas Rinaldi. He is the author of New York Neon and blogs at  nyneon.blogspot.com

Topics include:

How Thomas got interested in Neon growing up, and how he noticed it’s decline
His project charting and photographing existing  Neon Signs before they disappear
The History of Neon, how it was invented in Victorian England in 1898, and latter made into signs by French Scientist Georges Claude
How the peak of Neon was in the late 1920’s and  30’s(Art Deco Era), but already started to see a decline in the 40’s
How Neon was originally used by Corporate chains but latter delegated to small businesses
Churches & Neon
How Neon  was originally seen as glamorous but latter became associated with seediness
Neon in Cinema, contrasting Dick Powell’s  glamorous Gold Diggers Of 1933 – The Shadow Waltz and his 1944 detective film Murder, My Sweet, which depicts Neon as seedy
The 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life which also uses Neon to depict seediness
Hotel Neon Signs and and Hotel Neon in the Film Noire Genre
Neon in future films including the utopian 1927 film Metropolis and the dystopian 1982 film BLADE RUNNER
Incandescent Bulb Signs
The history, decline and revitalization of Time Square, and how there are very few Neon Signs left
How Neon has become replaced by LED Signs
The myth that Neon signs are not eco friendly
Historic preservation issues regarding Neon Signs
New Neon Signs designed in the Vintage style
Neon in San Francisco and the book San Francisco Neon
Las Vegas, how newer casino’s have rejected Neon, and how older signs are preserved at the Neon Museum
The popularity of Neon in Asian cities
How there is a renewed interest in Neon
Artist who depict Neon in their work including Robert Stark
Neon in 1960s Pop Art
The importance of patronizing businesses that have Neon Signs

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