- This salon has passed.
What’s So Great about Reality Anyway? – SuperSalon with Jim O’Shaughnessy and Bronwyn Williams
February 22, 2022 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
Start time where you are: Your time zone couldn't be detected
“Going outside is highly overrated.”
Jim O’Shaughnessy, the best-selling author and founder of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management is back to discuss optimism, escapism, and (as one well-known person put it) “reality privilege” in a new SuperSalon hosted by court jester for hire/hometown prophet, Bronwyn Williams.
“The vast majority of humanity lacks Reality Privilege—their online world is, or will be, immeasurably richer and more fulfilling than most of the physical and social environment around them in the quote-unquote real world. The Reality Privileged, of course, calls this conclusion dystopian and demand that we prioritize improvements in reality over improvements in virtuality. To which I say: reality has had 5,000 years to get good, and is clearly still woefully lacking for most people.”
~Marc Andreessen
In this salon, we will discuss the future of reality, online and offline, and explore the fine lines between escapism, utopianism, and rational optimism when it comes to biotechnology and virtual reality. We’ll draw from the themes of Snowcrash, Ready Player One (and Two), and Brave New World, and incorporate ancient ideas new advances in synthetic and medical technology to explore the limits of reality and our potential to both escape from and master it.
Are we using technology to look and run away from our problems, or to solve them?
Should we go “all in” on the metaverse?
And where do mind-altering substances fit into our Brave New World?
Join us – and let’s discuss.
“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
~ Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Recommended reading:
The “Reality Privilege” interview
Husk – The Posthuman Transition: https://danfaggella.com/husk/
The pictures that started it all
***
📚 Become a member, get a free ticket every month, access our forums, members-only events, and more!
–
