J. Storrs Hall or "Josh" is an independent researcher and author.
He was the founding Chief Scientist of Nanorex, which is developing a CAD system for nanomechanical engineering.
His research interests include molecular nanotechnology and the design of useful macroscopic machines using the capabilities of molecular manufacturing. His background is in computer science, particularly parallel processor architectures, artificial intelligence, particularly agoric and genetic algorithms.
This episode is filled with techno-optimist verve.
Josh wrote an epic book called "Where is My Flying Car - A Memoir of Future Past".
The book is the subject of the conversation, for which we're joined by Trey Goff - the CMO of the startup city Prospera, who sees the book as his ideology.
The book starts as an examination of the technical limitations of building flying cars and evolves into an investigation of the scientific, technological, and social roots of the economic stagnation that started in the 1970s.
The period from 1880 to 1940 brought major technological advances: electricity, electric lights, powerful motors, automobiles, airplanes, household appliances, the telephone, indoor plumbing, pharmaceuticals, mass production, the typewriter, the tape recorder, the phonograph, and radio, and television.
Today, in contrast, apart from the seemingly magical internet, life in broad material terms isn’t so different from what it was in 1953.
Scholars like Tyler Cowen and Robert J. Gordon spoke of "The Great Stagnation".
Josh has explosive insights into the history of regulation and technology that show how different our lives could be.
At the center of losing out on major new innovations in the world of atoms is nuclear energy. The world not producing enough clean energy at scale to advance in energy-intensive areas such as nanotechnology, air & space travel, and advanced materials.
We learn that flying cars are a real possibility, even right now.
It's just due to policy changes and a culture of "safetyism" that sometimes deliberately, sometimes inadvertently holds back progress.
Is humanity ending up like the "Eloi" in H.G. Well's novel "The Time Machine": lazy, stupid and timid due to the coddling effect of advanced technology?
Josh says "No"! Humanity can do better.
Human ingenuity is endless, and we can invigorate our passions to reach to the frontiers into new and hostile environments, master the elements through the scientific method and engineer our environments for human flourishing.
This episode is a rallying cry to build a better future now!
J. Storrs Hall's website: https://autogeny.org/
Prospera's website: https://prospera.hn/
Niklas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NiklasAnzinger
Infinita Fund Website: https://infinitafund.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/Z4H6UjbubK
Ep. 20: J. Storrs Hall - Bringing Back A Future Past With Flying Cars, Nano-Robots and Multi-Level Cities By Nurturing A Techno-Optimist Culture and a Unleashing Second Nuclear Age