Conversations with Tom | Daniel Schmachtenberger on What We Must Do Now to Stop the Destruction of Civilization

 

Daniel Schmachtenberger is best-known as a neurohacker, but some of his most interesting ideas are about civilization--how it thrives, how it fails, and how it eventually collapses. And right now, we are living through times that have many people wondering about the end of the world. On this episode of Conversations with Tom, host Tom Bilyeu and guest Daniel Schmachtenberger engage in a fascinating discussion about social media, neural warfare, game theory, power itself, and the ways that our society has over-optimized. In particular, they talk about why it’s so important to stop trying to be right, why we need to start thinking in more complex ways, and why the real battlefield is the human mind.

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SHOW NOTES:

 

Daniel was home-schooled, allowed to study whatever he thought was most important [0:30]

Daniel’s parents actually referred to his family as an “experiment” [3:40]

By the time a child goes to school, civilization has already been imprinted on them [6:04]

Daniel advocates that optimization is actually a part of the problem [8:37]

Daniel details exactly why trying to optimize leads to serious problems [13:14]

Daniel talks about how to understand civilization’s history through game theory [18:40]

Some kinds of value can be extracted and lead to power, and other kinds can’t [20:57]

Daniel uses the example of COVID-19 to illustrate the problems with optimization [25:48]

How can we think in complex ways that respect the interconnected nature of existence [30:41]

It’s much easier to break things than it is to build complex systems [35:39]

Tom and Daniel discuss whether it’s possible to nudge people in the right direction [38:16]

Social media will lead us to war even though no one wants it [46:01]

Daniel and Tom discuss the connections between high school bullying and terrorism [51:12]

If you aren’t considering counter-responses, you are just being emotionally hijacked [58:56]

People’s minds are the battlefield [1:04:17]

There are no authorities that are trustworthy enough to just assume they are right [1:09:59]

Do you want to be effective or do you want to be right? [1:15:15]

Daniel explains how people become fundamentalist about things they are wrong about [1:19:45]

Debates are often not about understanding. They are just dogfights. [1:28:48]

Legitimate power is when I am trying to influence someone to be more self-directed [1:32:03]

Tom explains the relief of focusing on finding the right answers instead of being right [1:35:35]

If you want to be right, you are very easy to control. Fragile egos are vulnerable. [1:39:55]

Capitalism, the Trump campaign and Christianity have all been antifragile so far [1:42:33]

 

FOLLOW DANIEL:

 

WEBSITE: neurohacker.com 

INSTAGRAM: https://bit.ly/2UxGUo1 

FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/2UwYcBM 

TWITTER: https://bit.ly/37iOrvZ 

Om Podcasten

If you’re looking to thrive in uncertain times, achieve unprecedented goals, and improve the most meaningful aspects of your life, then Impact Theory is the show for you. Hosted by Tom Bilyeu, a voracious learner and hyper-successful entrepreneur, the show investigates and analyzes the most useful topics with the world’s most sought-after guests. Bilyeu attacks each episode with a clear desire to further evolve the holistic skillset that allowed him to co-found the billion dollar company Quest Nutrition, generate over half a billion organic views on his content, build a thriving marriage of over 20 years, and quantifiably improve the lives of over 10,000 people through his school, Impact Theory University. Bilyeu’s insatiable hunger for knowledge gives the show urgency, relevance, and depth while leaving listeners with the knowledge, tools, and empowerment to take control of their lives and develop true personal power.