#259 Tyler Volk: From Quarks to Culture
RECORDED ON SEPTEMBER 18th, 2019.
I’M SORRY ABOUT THE MISSING BITS OF AUDIO HERE AND THERE, BUT THE CONNECTION WAS A BIT WEAK.
Dr. Tyler Volk is Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at New York University. His areas of interest include principles of form and function in systems (described as metapatterns), environmental challenges to global prosperity, CO2 and global change, biosphere theory and the role of life in earth dynamics. Dr. Volk has authored seven books, most recently, Quarks to Culture: How We Came to Be. His previous books include: CO2 Rising: The World’s Greatest Environmental Challenge, What is Death?: A Scientist Looks at the Cycle of Life, Gaia’s Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth, and Metapatterns: Across Space, Time, and Mind.
In this episode, we focus on Dr. Volk’s book, Quarks to Culture. We talk about the fundamental levels, from fundamental quanta to geopolitical states, and the three dynamical realms of physical laws, biological evolution, and cultural evolution. We also refer to the concepts of combogenesis and the alphakit, to understand how we move from one level to the next. Toward the end, we also discuss how we might be able to move beyond the level of geopolitical states.
Time Links:
The premise of Quarks to Culture
The grand sequence, the fundamental levels, and the dynamical realms
How culture gets into the picture
Combogenesis
The Standard Model of Physics
The alphakit
Moving beyond geopolitical states
Follow Dr. Volk’s work!
Follow Dr. Volk’s work:
Faculty page: http://bit.ly/2mn4dCP
ResearchGate profile: http://bit.ly/2m2QoZV
Books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2kE7ugF
Buy the book!
Quarks to Culture: How We Came to Be: https://amzn.to/2lW4lsI