We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every other Friday.
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episode 15: "Snow Crashing Into The Metaverse" from Imaginary Worlds
Cautionary Tales returns 6 Jan, 2023, but we're honored to bring you an episode of one of Tim's favorite podcasts - Imaginary Worlds.
In this show from May 2022, host Eric Molinsky examines how the real world has been catching up to Neal Stephenson’s vision of the future in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, which influenced the creators of Google Earth, Second Life, Oculus Rift and more.
The novel includes a virtual world called The Metaverse, may become a daily part of our lives thanks to Facebook (renamed Meta) and other big tech companies. Eric ask whether it’s a good idea to use a satirical cyberpunk novel as a blueprint for the future.
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