Episode · EconTalk · 2024-03-11
Books mentioned on Living with Exponential Change (with Azeem Azhar)
The world of today would seem alien to someone living 30 years ago: people seduced by their screens in private and public and now AI blurring the lines between humans and the machine.
Russ Roberts recommended The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts, and discussed Exponential by Azeem Azhar. Azeem Azhar recommended The Challenge of Affluence by Avner Offer.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Exponential
Discussed“So, let's talk a little bit about your book to get started. It's called Exponential. Uh why?”
Where to get it
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The Wisdom of Insecurity
The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts is a philosophical book exploring how human beings struggle with the inherent unpredictability of life and the search for psychological stability.
Recommended“One is a book by Alan Watts. I think it's called The Wisdom of Insecurity. And this it was written, I think, in the '50s.”
Where to get it
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The Challenge of Affluence
The Challenge of Affluence by Avner Offer is an economic history book that examines how increased wealth and consumerism have impacted societal well-being and created new forms of friction since the mid-twentieth century.
Recommended“You there's a wonderful book by uh economic historian called Avner Offer called The Challenge of Affluence. And the book came out in about 2002 or 2003”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“If you ever watch the James Bond film, there's a James Bond film called The Man with the Golden Gun which was all about stealing a a solar piece of solar power technology.”