Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
how cooperation can emerge among egoists without central authority.
Robert Axelrod • The Evolution of Cooperation: Revised Edition
Hence, we are more likely to accept a dangerous idea if it aligns with our own experiences and is supported by the people we value.
Jessica C. Flack • Worlds Hidden in Plain Sight: The Evolving Idea of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute, 1984–2019 (Compass)
identity politics—belonging to one’s group and fighting the other group—is part of humanity’s deep human nature.
Jeffrey D. Sachs • The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions
What the ‘prevailing wisdom’ of the selfish gene, the tragedy of the commons, ‘red in tooth and claw’ actually show us is that we are deeply susceptible to stories about ourselves. Stories are so powerful that they can be employed to redirect our innate desire to be good and cause us to take an immoral action.
Jon Alexander • Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us
We have at least the mental equipment to foster our long-term selfish interests rather than merely our short-term selfish interests. We can see the long-term benefits of participating in
Richard Dawkins • The Selfish Gene
None of the population-level differences we observe should be thought of as fixed, essential, or immutable features of nations, tribes, or ethnic groups. To the contrary, this book is about how and why our psychology has changed over history and will continue to evolve.
Joseph Henrich • The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
The mathematician and physicist Freeman Dyson makes a related observation about human society: The destiny of our species is shaped by the imperatives of survival on six distinct time scales. To survive means to compete successfully on all six time scales. But the unit of survival is different at each of the six time scales. On a time scale of year
... See moreStewart Brand • The Clock Of The Long Now: Time and Responsibility
Biology, anthropology and archaeology all point in the same direction: humans may be nice to their friends, we’re cold-blooded when it comes to outsiders.