On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known earlier. To his surprise, Kelly had more to say than he thought, and kept adding to the advice over the years, compiling a life’s wisdom into the pages of his book: Excellent Advice for Living.
Shermer and Kelly discuss:
- protopian progress (one step at a time)
- ChatGPT
- artificial intelligence and natural intelligence
- Is evolution progressive?
- Is cultural progress real?
- AI as an existential threat
- self-driving cars
- creativity and innovation
- social media and what to do about it
- how humanity can put an end to war
- compound interest and the long term effect of small changes
- why you don’t want to be a billionaire
- money and happiness
- why money is overrated
- reasoning people out of beliefs they didn’t reason their way into
- setting unreasonable goals
- persistence as the key to success
- what might not be true 100 years from now
- study probabilities and statistics, not algebra and calculus
- investing: buy and hold
- getting cheated occasionally is ok
- how to fully become yourself.
Kevin Kelly helped launch and edit Wired magazine. He has written for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, among many other publications. His previous books include What Technology Wants, and The Inevitable, a New York Times bestseller. He is known for his technological optimism. Currently he is a Senior Maverick at Wired and lives in Pacifica, California.
About the Book
Kelly’s timeless advice covers an astonishing range, from right living to setting ambitious goals, optimizing generosity, and cultivating compassion. He has wisdom for career, relationships, parenting, and finances, and gives guidance for practical matters ranging from travel to troubleshooting. Excellent Advice for Living is aimed primarily at young people, but speaks to all ages. This is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to navigate life with grace and creativity.
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This episode was released on March 18, 2023.
