Episode 8.09 Jurassic Park—Examined
Don’t go into science for the money: you will get killed by dinosaurs.
Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton (and the movie!)
Show Notes
We put dinosaurs mostly in the background and talk about what Crichton really wanted to discuss: the science/industrial complex, the limits of science to interpret or re-create nature, the limits of discovery, and disciplinary power.
Things mentioned on the show
- People trying to recreate mammoths in Siberia to fix … climate change?
- The world’s fastest supercomputer being used for climate simulations, among other things
- The wild tale of Anthony Levandoski’s self-driving cars corporate espionage
- Self-driving cars as a zero-sum game
We also mentioned the famous “you didn’t stop to consider whether you should…” quote in 6.11: Very Thoughtful Ethics Dogs.
Upcoming books
Note that we’ve ended up changing plans since we recorded our Kurzweil episodes! We originally planned to read Simone Browne’s Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness, but decided to talk about our “background” reading so far!
- June: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change, Elizabeth Eisenstein
- July: Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness, Simone Brown
Music
- “Pull Apart (feat. Samantha Eason)” by Summerooms
- “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho
Sponsors
Many thanks to the people who help us make this show possible by their financial support! This month’s sponsors:
- Daniel Ellcey
- Douglas Campos
- Jake Grant
- Marnix Klooster
- Spencer Smith
If you’d like to support the show, you can make a pledge at Patreon or give directly via Square Cash.
Respond
We love to hear your thoughts. Hit us up via Twitter, Facebook, or email!