As some of you know, after starting my 3rd Nassim Taleb book I began to worry I would start blindly “subscribing” to him and therefore decided to also read an arch nemesis of his, Steven Pinker.
I have grown to appreciate and follow both men for their contributions to modern issues.
I became interested in another feud. This time the heated debate between Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris from February this year on the Waking Up podcast. (Episode #62)… lol, some great uncomfortable silences there! (If you listened to this… who do YOU think won that debate?
Going along with others active in social media and podcasts… add both Bret Weinstein and Eric Weinstein to my list of those that have caught my attention.
All these guys represent a refreshing current above all the tribal noise, fake news and extremism IMAO.
Who do you all consider to be some of the most influential and refreshing minds of modern times?
Contemporary thought is garbage. Check out the Stoics or the Yoga Sutras. Those ideas endure because they speak universal truth (at least in part). There is nothing original in contemporary thought and all of it is destined to be flushed and forgotten.
Jonathan Haidt, Antonio Damasio, Edward O Wilson all bring extensive research and expertise from their respective fields (moral psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, respectively) in developing informative worldviews
The most influential thinkers today are self help gurus like Oprah, Dave Ramsay, or Doctor Phil. So many people in the US change their behavior because of what Oprah told them to do in her show or in her books. On the other hand, almost no one outside the financial industry (which is like 2% of the population) know who Nassem Taleb is. In 100 years, no one is going to remember Thomas Friedman or whoever. However, they will probably remember Oprah.
I agree with Ohai’s point about most influential now. Although I tend to think the opposite in the future. Academic thought tends to last while the pop culture thought is quickly buried within 10 years of that person’s death. It’s not uncommon for an academic underappreciated in their time to see a revival later, almost never happens for the pop guys. In other words, Neil Tyson will be forgotten within 10 years of his death despite his wide pop appeal while people little known outside real science who’ve won Nobels will probably still be getting “some” degree of attention in academic circles 50 years later via citations and lectures as they’ve now become part of doctrine.
Carl Sagan has made a lasting impression. I get what you’re saying but don’t entirely agree. There are instances of “pop” icons that weren’t even appreciated in their time. Oscar Wilde comes to mind. Then you have people like Orson Welles that will be studied in film school pretty much forever (sidebar: I hate Citizen Kane).
I think it’s pretty tough to say who will leave a long lasting legacy during their own time. Or, put another way, predicting the future is tough business.
I agree that legacy is hard to predict, but it’s not a stretch to assume that more people in the next generation will remember Bill Nye the Science Guy, through kids who saw his show and then studied science, compared to some random more obscure scientist, even one who won a Nobel prize or has some other academic recognition.
to attempt to understand the younger generation ive spent quite a bit of time at study listening to the poetry of one the leaders in the field. 6ix9ine. With deep meaning & the utmost respect for both his listeners and the game, he gives me hope the future of this country.
I could be wrong, but I interpret the original question as targeted at “public intellectuals” based on the examples given. This set probably does not include Oprah, Trump or Tom Hanks.
I did not watch Bill Nye’s new show and only know saw some awkward video clips. The issue seemed to be that the show wanted him to be like a talk show host, which he can’t do well because he’s a super nerd. It was much more natural for him to do weird science experiments, which he was clearly quite excited about.