Sam Webster Harris chronicles the complete history of innovation from the Stone Age to the modern day. Learn how transformative ideas build upon each other to change the world and shape the future of humanity.
Every breakthrough that changes civilization begins with curiosity. From the first controlled fire to artificial intelligence. Follow the journey, step-by-step, tracing the evolution of human progress and society. On the way, uncovering the nerdy stories and fun facts behind world-changing inventions and the mental models that drive systemic change.
Each episode is a deep dive into innovation patterns and the threads that shape our world:
- From Leonardo Da Vinci dissecting human bodies to editing our own DNA
- Maritime Navigation sets the course for Interstellar exploration
- Hammurabi's legal code is relevant in algorithmic governance
Modern revolutions in technology and the future of AI are a continuation of core needs of their human creators. Our desire for leverage shows up time and again in the history of civilization.
Drawing insights from psychology, economics, and anthropology, we explore how change makers in history like Galileo, Newton, and Tesla didn't just discover big ideas. They transformed civilization itself. Their playbooks reveal timeless strategies for anyone seeking to understand how the world works.
This isn't surface-level history. It's intellectual history told through narrative learning—connecting past invention stories to the future of technology, future of society, and patterns of history that will define the Anthropocene.
Whether you're fascinated by the timeline of human history, founder stories, or the psychology of change, each episode delivers actionable mental models wrapped in engaging storytelling. Learn something new about human progress while discovering your own potential to change the world.
For the intellectually curious seeking to understand innovation, drive progress, and glimpse the future of humanity.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Webster Harris chronicles the complete history of innovation from the Stone Age to the modern day. Learn how transformative ideas build upon each other to change the world and shape the future of humanity.
Every breakthrough that changes civilization begins with curiosity. From the first controlled fire to artificial intelligence. Follow the journey, step-by-step, tracing the evolution of human progress and society. On the way, uncovering the nerdy stories and fun facts behind world-changing inventions and the mental models that drive systemic change.
Each episode is a deep dive into innovation patterns and the threads that shape our world:
- From Leonardo Da Vinci dissecting human bodies to editing our own DNA
- Maritime Navigation sets the course for Interstellar exploration
- Hammurabi's legal code is relevant in algorithmic governance
Modern revolutions in technology and the future of AI are a continuation of core needs of their human creators. Our desire for leverage shows up time and again in the history of civilization.
Drawing insights from psychology, economics, and anthropology, we explore how change makers in history like Galileo, Newton, and Tesla didn't just discover big ideas. They transformed civilization itself. Their playbooks reveal timeless strategies for anyone seeking to understand how the world works.
This isn't surface-level history. It's intellectual history told through narrative learning—connecting past invention stories to the future of technology, future of society, and patterns of history that will define the Anthropocene.
Whether you're fascinated by the timeline of human history, founder stories, or the psychology of change, each episode delivers actionable mental models wrapped in engaging storytelling. Learn something new about human progress while discovering your own potential to change the world.
For the intellectually curious seeking to understand innovation, drive progress, and glimpse the future of humanity.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From Stone flakes to the Bow and Arrow. How Stone Age weapons innovation shaped humanity and triggered global extinction events. Three million years ago, we were semi-hairless apes hiding from lions. Today we're the apex predator of planet Earth.
This episode traces the entire weapons journey through Ancient History; sharp rocks, hand axes, spears, atlatls, and bows and arrows.
Learn how we became humans we know today as we outsourced biology to technology, trading muscle for tools, brute force for precision. We also changed socially as values of teamwork, trust and intelligence forged the mental models that would build civilization and transformed humanity forever.
Key takeaways:
Discover how ancient innovation patterns still shape the future of technology today.
ABOUT
How to Change the World is an independent podcast on a mission to document the entire history of innovation. One world-changing event at a time. In the process we are building out frameworks and mental models to think more coherently about global change.
Learn more - ChangeTheWorldPod.com
Written, edited, recorded, and produced entirely by Sam Webster Harris.
(He also makes the music...)
Help from:
Francisca Correia does the designs (available to hire)
Jeremy Enns is our incredible podcast mentor (available to hire)
BOOKS
The Human Story - Robin Dunbar
How humans evolved away from apes and developed tools.
Stone Tools in Human Evolution - John J. Shea
How our stone tools evolved over 3 millions years.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Magical Powers
02:10 Introduction to Stone Age Weapons
04:28 1 - THE OLDOWAN FLAKE (~3 MYA)
07:07 Evolution feedback loop
08:18 Human obsession with time saving
09:08 Status flexing
10:01 2 - ACHEULEAN HAND AXE (~1.7MYA)
10:55 Why did we care about beauty?
12:08 Status games
13:00 Brain growth and imagination
14:40 3 - SWEAT AND PERSISTENCE HUNTING (~1.5MYA)
17:59 4 - HAFTED SPEARS (~500,000BC)
20:52 Steps to make a Hafted Spear
22:24 Co evolution of shoulder throwing
23:37 Teamwork and language co-evolution
24:47 Leadership qualities
26:06 5 - ATLATL / SPEAR LAUNCHER (~100,000-50,000BC)
28:40 How an Atlatl works
30:12 Accuracy over strength
30:30 Timeline of Atlatl development
31:15 6 - BOW AND ARROW (~64,000BC)
33:06 How to make a bow and arrow
34:33 The First great invention?
35:50 Yes my sister shot the headmaster...
36:40 Hunting with archery
38:55 Evolution compared to Neanderthals
41:30 HUMANITY - THE GREAT FILTER
42:18 Australian Extinction event
43:34 Europe - Neanderthal Extinction
44:46 The Conquest of America - Pleistocene Blitzkrieg
46:11 The Rise of Human Conflict
47:58 MODERN LESSONS AND FUTURE WEAPONS
49:07 Algorithms
51:58 Supply Chains
52:55 Cognitive Warfare
54:13 Teamwork
56:02 ROUNDUP
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
