Lately I sometimes find myself wondering who is doing the best work in getting mainstream culture excited about the future in general and transhumanism in particular. _I'm not actively researching this. Just dropping in stuff when I notice it._ ## Long Now Foundation [[Stewart Brand]], [[Brian Eno]], [[=Patrick Collison]], with support from Jeff Bezos.  ![[Pasted image 20210629110025.png]] ## Elon Musk, SpaceX & Grimes ![[Pasted image 20210618123241.png]]  ![[Pasted image 20210618123227.png]] ![[Pasted image 20210618123215.png]] ## Stripe Press https://press.stripe.com/ ![[Pasted image 20221008235823.png]] ![[Pasted image 20221008235846.png]] ![[Pasted image 20221008235904.png]] ![[Pasted image 20221008235926.png]] ## The John Cage Organ Project An organ piece that takes 639 years to play. A performance began on 5 September 2001 at the Halberstadt Cathedral, with a seventeen month-long pause before the first tone of the organ. ![[Pasted image 20240102083237.png]] ## Public Service Broadcasting Go! https://youtu.be/BHIo6qwJarI Inform Educate & Entertain (45 minute concept album & film) https://youtu.be/kSBMeWY5wmk ## Michael Nyman (MGV) Michael Nyman's "[Musique à Grand Vitesse](https://open.spotify.com/album/0pmrBIfqDn65p4FX9ubqXn?si=pmWrk7_-Tcmn5AJJL2w6tw&nd=1)" was commissioned to mark the inauguration of the TGV North-European line in 1993. ![[Pasted image 20240102083729.png]] ## Palladium Magazine & The Asimov Collective https://www.palladiummag.com/ https://mobile.twitter.com/asimov_cllctv https://mobile.twitter.com/asimov_cllctv/status/1411037221394784258 http://asimovcollective.com/ [The Moon Should Be A Computer:](https://www.palladiummag.com/2025/04/18/the-moon-should-be-a-computer/) ![[Pasted image 20250419142813.png]] ## Joshua Mays https://mobile.twitter.com/TylerAlterman/status/1564590563478970370 ## Progress Studies - [Cameron Wiese](https://www.cameronwiese.com/blog/worlds-fair): guy who wants to revive the Worlds' Fair - [[Tyler Cowen]], [[=Patrick Collison]], Jason Crawford. - Simon Sarris ## Sam Harris, Headspace, and the other meditation apps A bit of a stretch, but you could see Sam Harris and all the meditation apps as paving the way for transhumanism to go mainstream. They are getting a lot of people comfortable with the idea of retraining / rewiring their mind. Illustrations for the Sam Harris thought for the day thing are wonderful. ![[Screenshot_20210907-130608.png]] ![[Screenshot_20210823-144821.png]] ## Silicon Valley VCs - a16z Future - Peter Thiel - In his low key behind-the-scenes way. - Is the origin of (or at least important populariser of) the "all our movies are pessimistic now" take? - YC / PG ## Isodope I see her stuff in my TL every now and then. Have only watched about 30 seconds worth. ![[Pasted image 20210628105932.png]] ![[Pasted image 20210628105845.png]] ## Works In Progress http://worksinprogress.com/ ## Effective altruism - Anders Sanberg has a book due soon, Grand Futures. - [Liv Boeree](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC09fp6hZ2RHiUYwY8hNCirA) - Joe Carlsmith - https://handsandcities.com/2021/03/22/on-future-people-looking-back-at-21st-century-longtermism/ ## Tradhumanists ## Roboticists https://twitter.com/BostonDynamics/status/1589301455126773761 ## Retvrn Twitter - Simon Sarris? - Wrath of Gnon - ... ## Cyberpunk Famously anti-utopian, but I'm sure there must be some optimism in there somewhere. I must read a bunch of this at some point. #todo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk ## Video games - Presumably there's a bunch here that I'm oblivious to. - E.g. Tim Soret (?) ## Catholic Twitter? ## Bits of the alt-right? ## Singularitarians ## Musicians - [Sam Barker](https://futureoflife.org/2020/06/24/sam-barker-and-david-pearce-on-art-paradise-engineering-and-existential-hope-featuring-a-guest-mix/) - [Public Service Broadcasting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHIo6qwJarI) - See Ben's "[Vaguely future](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5yKyxzF12kh9fk6MNi8vYT?si=44ba1d729ca946f8)" playlist - ... ## Social commentators - Adam Curtis latest doc "We overrate stability" ## David Lynch [David Lynch Theatre](https://www.youtube.com/c/DAVIDLYNCHTHEATER/videos) ![[Pasted image 20210620111801.png]] ![[Pasted image 20210620111958.png]] Twin Peaks return... ## Artists - ... ## Architechts - https://twitter.com/archillect - ... ## Outside the Anglosphere - Plausbily most of the action is elsewhere. Darn. - China? - Italy...? - What's going in Japan these days? ## Historic attempts - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Futurism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cosmism - Lots of architects ## David Bowie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcAtflfVYs ![[Pasted image 20230101202030.png]] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ_wnJSRFso ## Neue Deutsche Welle ![[Pasted image 20230101201027.png]] https://mtv.pjh.is/spliff-das-blech-1983 ![[Pasted image 20230101201510.png]] ![[Pasted image 20230101201626.png]] ## Lots of 70s and 80s musicians - MTV—[first few minutes of their broadcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJtiPRDIqtI) was Apollo mission, first steps on the moon, then video killed the radio star.