The Roots of Progress

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11/24/2021
23 : 14

San Diego community meetup / happy hour, December 1

Also, video: The Energy of Tomorrow: The Promise, Failure, and Possible Rebirth of Nuclear Power View original blog posts Roots of Progress San Diego community meetup / happy hour, December 1 I'll
11/15/2021
19 : 54

The poetry of progress

Also: interviews on the Clearer Thinking and Bayesian Conspiracy podcasts View original blog posts Roots of Progress The poetry of progress I've said that Western culture, before the World Wars,
10/31/2021
19 : 4

Why old stoves that last 100 years are worse than modern ones

Also: Foresight Vision Weekend conference View original blog posts Roots of Progress Foresight Vision Weekend conference The Foresight Institute is holding a conference in December, with talks on
10/25/2021
18 : 44

Austin events with The Roots of Progress, November 4–6

Also: Interview on Machine Pix with Kane Hsieh, tickets for Session 7 of The Story of Industrial Civilization View original blog posts Roots of Progress Austin events November 4–6 I'll be in Austin
10/19/2021
2 : 34

The role of progress in defending liberalism

Also: The shadow of the Great War, interviews with Noah Smith and Matt Clifford View original blog posts Roots of Progress Why defenders of liberalism should care about progress I had a piece recently
9/29/2021
20 : 4

TONIGHT 10pm PT: Live on Clubhouse with Sriram Krishnan & Aarthi Ramamurthy

Also: Tickets available for Session 6 of The Story of Industrial Civilization, and more View original blog posts Roots of Progress A handful of quick announcements! Tonight 10pm Pacific: Live on
9/25/2021
17 : 14

Vox on progress studies: “one of the more intriguing intellectual movements out there”

Kelsey Piper interviews Jason Crawford for Vox's Future Perfect about The Roots of Progress View original blog post Roots of Progress Vox calls progress studies “one of the more intriguing
9/7/2021
17 : 44

Wanted: Chief of Staff for The Roots of Progress

Also: Tickets available for Session 5 of The Story of Industrial Civilization View original blog posts Roots of Progress Wanted: Chief of Staff I'm hiring a Chief of Staff for The Roots of Progress
7/25/2021
19 : 54

Why I'm a proud solutionist (in MIT Tech Review)

Also: Titans of Nuclear podcast interview View original blog posts Roots of Progress In MIT Tech Review: “solutionism” vs. complacency or defeatism Recently I had an opinion piece in the MIT Technology
7/12/2021
2 : 14

Winston Churchill predicted artificial wombs and lab-grown meat

A 1931 article titled “Fifty Years Hence” describes his speculations View original blog post Roots of Progress Winston Churchill, futurist Fusion, artificial wombs, and lab-grown meat Churchill—when he
6/30/2021
2 : 14

Why did we wait so long for the threshing machine?

Also: The Story of Industrial Civilization, Session 4 View original blog posts Roots of Progress Tickets available for Session 4 of The Story of Industrial Civilization Tickets are now available for
5/30/2021
18 : 24

How counting neutrons explains nuclear waste

Also: The Story of Industrial Civilization, Session 3 View original blog posts Roots of Progress Tickets available for Session 3 of The Story of Industrial Civilization Tickets are now available for
4/29/2021
18 : 54

We need a career path for invention

Also: an awesome engine explainer, and a short podcast View original blog posts Roots of Progress We need a career path for invention If technological progress has slowed down, what is causing it? Here
4/19/2021
20 : 24

Why has nuclear been a flop? Also: research assistant wanted!

And an interview on the Futurati podcast View original blog posts Roots of Progress Wanted: Research Assistant I'm hiring a part-time research assistant to support work on my essays, talks, and the
4/8/2021
22 : 24

Highlights from The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie

Scientific steelmaking, scientific management, and life in the 19th century View original blog post Roots of Progress Highlights from The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie I've been reading Andrew
4/5/2021
23 : 34

I'm writing a book! And hosting a discussion series on it

“The Story of Industrial Civilization: Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” View original blog post Roots of Progress I'm writing a book! And hosting a discussion series on it “The Story of
4/1/2021
16 : 14

“Pump” Carpenter and the grain binder

How do inventors decide what to work on? View original blog post Roots of Progress “Pump” Carpenter and the grain binder How do inventors decide what to work on? Inventors sweat and tinker for years,
3/21/2021
4 : 4

A dashboard for progress

Instead of a single metric, what if we look at multiple from across the economy? View original blog post Roots of Progress A dashboard for progress Going beyond GDP Is progress slowing down? In a
1/24/2021
2 : 34

Technological stagnation: Why I came around

I was skeptical at first, but have come to believe the stagnation hypothesis. Here's why View original blog post Roots of Progress Technological stagnation Why I came around “We wanted flying cars,
1/1/2021
2 : 44

The Roots of Progress 2020 year-end review

Here's what I've been up to in the first full calendar year I've been doing this full-time View original blog post Roots of Progress 2020 in review As a rule, I avoid writing posts about