Meta Treks is a Trek.fm podcast dedicated to a deep examination of the philosophical ideas found in Star Trek. In each episode, Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison take you on a fascinating journey into the inner workings of Star Trek storytelling, deeper into subspace than you've ever traveled before.
http://trek.fm/meta-treks
71: Borg Butterfly Effect
Future Human Cultural Evolution with Patrick Devlin.
In the Star Trek universe, the cultural progression of alien races is remarkably deterministic, as cultures proceed from their own versions of the stone age, to the bronze age, to the industrial age, and culminating in warp-capable civilizations that are fully fledged members of the galactic community.
But what reasons do we have for thinking that our own diverse human cultures will progress along the path laid out for us in the Star Trek universe? What are the different possible trajectories of future human cultural evolution? And what are the different causal factors that produce cultural change over time (societal, political, technological, or otherwise)?
In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison are joined by Meta Treks associate producer Patrick Devlin to discuss future human cultural evolution, both inside the Star Trek universe and in our own world today.
Chapters
Intro (00:02:12)
Welcome to Patrick Devlin and Initial Thoughts (00:01:20)
Is Cultural Evolution Predictable? (00:02:06)
Ebbs and Flows (00:10:39)
Possible Trajectories (00:14:13)
Mechanisms for Cultural Change (00:25:20)
"Blink of an Eye" and Cultural Progress (00:28:56)
Thought Bubbles (00:36:52)
Death is the Best Invention of Life (00:39:18)
Vulcans and the Struggles of Reason (00:40:22)
The Ba'ku and Post-Warp Society (00:47:22)
From Consumers to Makers (00:50:52)
External Change vs. Internal Change (01:03:31)
Final Thoughts (01:10:56)
Closing (01:22:39)
Hosts
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison
Guest
Patrick Devlin
Production
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)