Seminars About Long-term Thinking


A Monthly Seminar Series, Hosted by Stewart Brand.   + About this Series  |  Subscribe to the Podcast  |  Get them on DVD


The Long Now Foundation's monthly Seminars were started in 02003 to build a compelling body of ideas about long-term thinking; to help nudge civilization toward our goal of making long-term thinking automatic and common instead of difficult and rare.

On Wednesday February 24, 02010 • in 2 weeks, 1 day

Alan Weisman

World Without Us, World With Us

 

+ Read Stewart Brand's Introduction

Journalist Weisman traveled the world to investigate what happens when humans stop occupying an area. How long do our artifacts last? How does nature recover? What does that say about the human impact on the world? What would be the actual sequence of events if all of humanity suddenly disappeared?

The exercise provides inspiration and techniques for humans to occupy Earth more lightly and therefore more durably.

Doors open 7pm, Talk begins 7:30pm lasting ~1.5 hours

Herbst Theatre on Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, California

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Upcoming Seminars

  • Wednesday Feb. 24
  • Alan Weisman
  • “World Without Us, World With Us”

  • Thursday March 4
  • Beth Noveck
  • “Transparent Government”

  • Thursday April 1
  • David Eagleman
  • “Six Easy Steps to Avert the Collapse of Civilization”





Previous Seminars

02010 Catalog

  • Wade Davis
  • “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World”

02009 Catalog







  • Paul Romer
  • “A Theory of History, with an Application”



  • Daniel Everett
  • “Endangered languages, lost knowledge and the future”



02008 Catalog








  • Paul Ehrlich
  • “The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment”



  • Craig Venter
  • “Joining 3.5 Billion Years of Microbial Invention”


  • Paul Saffo
  • “Embracing Uncertainty: the secret to effective forecasting”

02007 Catalog





  • Alex Wright
  • “Glut: Mastering Information Though the Ages”





  • Brian Fagan
  • “We Are Not the First to Suffer Through Climate Change”

  • Vernor Vinge
  • “What If the Singularity Does NOT Happen?”

  • Philip Tetlock
  • “Why Foxes Are Better Forecasters Than Hedgehogs”

02006 Catalog

  • Philip Rosedale
  • “'Second Life:' What Do We Learn If We Digitize EVERYTHING?”



  • Orville Schell
  • “China Thinks Long-term, But Can It Relearn to Act Long-term?”

  • John Rendon
  • “Long-term Policy to Make the War on Terror Short”



  • Jimmy Wales
  • “Vision: Wikipedia and the Future of Free Culture”

  • Kevin Kelly
  • “The Next 100 Years of Science: Long-term Trends in the Scientific Method.”



02005 Catalog

  • Sam Harris
  • “The View from the End of the World”

  • Clay Shirky
  • “Making Digital Durable: What Time Does to Categories”



  • Robert Fuller
  • “Patient Revolution: Human Rights Past and Future”






  • Roger Kennedy
  • “The Political History of North America from 25,000 BC to 12,000 AD”

  • James Carse
  • “Religious War In Light of the Infinite Game”

02004 Catalog






  • Jill Tarter
  • “The Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence: Necessarily a Long-term Strategy”



  • Daniel Janzen
  • “Third World Conservation: It's ALL Gardening”



  • George Dyson
  • “There's Plenty of Room at the Top: Long-term Thinking About Large-scale Computing”

02003 Catalog



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Fostering Long-term Responsibility
est. 01996.