Joel McKinnon at New Worlds

Discovering my client's favorite band A little spot of joy in a recent day

open.substack.com/pub/joelmcki...

Was Hari Seldon just a doomer? Let's put ourselves in Ling Chen's slippers for a minute

@longnow.org Finally got around to writing up my thoughts after seeing Indy Johar's amazing talk a couple of months ago.
www.seldoncrisis.net/p/was-hari-s...

Was Hari Seldon just a doomer? Let's put ourselves in Ling Chen's slippers for a minute

My latest #SeldonCrisis post actually talks about Hari Seldon, but even more about a guy named Indy Johar. @longnow.org
www.seldoncrisis.net/p/was-hari-s...

Humans are a technological species. Writing itself is a technology that was once new and caused a lot of disruption. Negative externalities always need to be considered when innovation disrupts the status quo, but it doesn't mean we reject them because they are new.

What was the reason for the severe drop before Putin became president? I'd actually love to see this expanded to include the pre-revolutionary period.

I don't believe anyone gets to claim futurism as a label advocating a particular governing strategy. To me, it means an openness to new ideas and possibilities. In that sense, I am proudly futurist. Not prescriptive, but aspirational.

Lifetime Cannabis Use Is Associated with Brain Volume and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs: Vol 0, No ja Objective: Cannabis use has increased among older adults, yet the neurocognitive effects in this demographic remain unclear. Prior work has suggested cannabis may increase brain volume in areas rich i...

www.jsad.com/doi/abs/10.1...

From my own experience, the most dour moods are correlated with a grinding acceptance of the status quo, not with bold leaps of imagination.

Perhaps some of us are simply driven by curiosity and imagination.

I am happy in the present and find the possible pathways to fantastic futures to be a fascinating and worthwhile exploration, which also brings me happiness. Where is the need for depression?

We are writing the story From divine plan, to existential freedom, to what?

Latest on #SeldonCrisis, a reflection on the history of the importance of a grand narrative for humanity, and the current need to invent our own.
www.seldoncrisis.net/p/we-are-wri...

Gestapo officer didn't even wear a mask. Maybe that's when we know we've fallen that low. When they proudly murder with faces revealed for all to see, knowing the state has their backs.

Historic photo

A luminous tree formed from a DNA helix branches outward into symbols of life and intelligence—animals, a human figure, a city skyline, and Earth—set against a cosmic background, evoking evolution and humanity’s future.

This one was a big challenge. I wanted an image that would represent the tree of life to this point, in which homo sapiens is not the culmination, but a point along a process leading to technology and eventually perhaps an intelligent planet as a successor to our legacy — or that of life itself.

I've been doing some AI image experiments in order to decorate my substack with post images, thumbnails, etc., with mixed results. I've thought about doing a post on my approach to this process, though it does seem to be continually evolving along with the tooling.

The best AI output comes from very human inputs in the form of well composed prompts, and you are a promptmeister supreme!

Maybe we could make this a side discussion on the podcast and even feature your composition? Up to you of course.

Amazing! I'd love to know what your prompts were. I still haven't dipped as much as a toe into music AI yet, but you have me intrigued.

Were the lyrics yours, or also from prompts?

But why should I care? A personal philosophical slant on the last post

A philosophical follow-up on the Assembling Gaia post.
#SeldonCrisis #AssemblyTheory @Sara_Imari @bratton @DrFunkySpoon
open.substack.com/pub/joelmcki...

Solid boost from one who knows 🚀

Assembling Gaia What if intelligence isn’t confined to individuals, but is something that can emerge at the scale of a planet?

@saraimari.bsky.social Sara - your ideas on Assembly Theory have been bouncing around in my head since your Long Now talk and I finally got around to posting some ideas that came out of it. Would love to get your feedback!

www.seldoncrisis.net/p/hurtling-t...

Assembling Gaia What if intelligence isn’t confined to individuals, but is something that can emerge at the scale of a planet?

#SeldonCrisis #Gaia #Asimov #SaraImariWalker #DavidGrinspoon #BenjaminBratton #AssemblyTheory

www.seldoncrisis.net/p/hurtling-t...

A Meeting at Stars End with Jon Blumenfeld Listen now (106 mins) | A conversation on Asimov and Foundation on and off the page.

@jblumenfeld100.bsky.social Gave your episode thumbnail the #SeldonCrisis reboot treatment.

open.substack.com/pub/joelmcki...

Being Bayta with Amanda Kreitler Listen now (63 mins) | In this episode of Seldon Crisis,host Joel McKinnon is joined by voice actor Amanda Kreitler, the talent behind Bayta Darell and several other key characters in the Foundation p...

@zacharykreitler.bsky.social @gmamanda.bsky.social

Hey guys - here's my conversation with Amanda now on Substack with a zippy new thumbnail.

Feel free to sub if you wish!

open.substack.com/pub/joelmcki...

From Asimov to AI: Rebooting Seldon Crisis Why a decades-old sci-fi epic still helps us think about collapse, intelligence, and human futures

My first new post for #SeldonCrisis since porting to Substack.

open.substack.com/pub/joelmcki...

I totally stand with Mark Kelly, but I do take issue with one implication of this otherwise well composed statement. One does not "earn" the right to speak freely by serving as a soldier, astronaut, or police officer, or through a lineage of patriotic Americans.

We already have that right.

I stand with Mark Kelly.

The website is still a little clunky, but the bones are there. I like that I can categorize content by type into story episodes, conversations, and the rest. The second and third categories will expand. New stuff coming.

Story Episodes: Read or Listen in Order The complete story of the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov, told as narrative, audio drama, commentary and analysis.

#SeldonCrisis, a personal journey through Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, is now available on Substack.

Story Episodes: Read or Listen in Order

www.seldoncrisis.net/p/story-epis...

BTW - how 'bout that election day!

Been so long since I read it that I can't remember what I was visualizing, but it's a cool render.

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show Ezra Klein: This Is How Democrats Win

Ezra Klein is one of the smartest people in politics. He sometimes rubs people the wrong way, but truth has a way of doing that. This piece is about as insightful as it gets.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8iw...