Conversations with Tom | Daniel Schmachtenberger on What We Must Do Now to Stop the Destruction of Civilization

On this episode of Conversations with Tom, host Tom Bilyeu and guest Daniel Schmachtenberger engage in a fascinating discussion about social media, neural warfare, game theory, power itself, and the ways that our society has over-optimized. In particular, they talk about why it’s so important to stop trying to be right, why we need to start thinking in more complex ways, and why the real battlefield is the human mind. This episode is brought to you by: Better Help: Get 10% off your first month at https://betterhelp.com/impacttheory Skillshare: Explore your creativity at skillshare.com/impacttheory for 2 free months of Premium Membership.  SHOW NOTES:  Daniel was home-schooled, allowed to study whatever he thought was most important [0:30] Daniel’s parents actually referred to his family as an “experiment” [3:40] By the time a child goes to school, civilization has already been imprinted on them [6:04] Daniel advocates that optimization is actually a part of the problem [8:37] Daniel details exactly why trying to optimize leads to serious problems [13:14] Daniel talks about how to understand civilization’s history through game theory [18:40] Some kinds of value can be extracted and lead to power, and other kinds can’t [20:57] Daniel uses the example of COVID-19 to illustrate the problems with optimization [25:48] How can we think in complex ways that respect the interconnected nature of existence [30:41] It’s much easier to break things than it is to build complex systems [35:39] Tom and Daniel discuss whether it’s possible to nudge people in the right direction [38:16] Social media will lead us to war even though no one wants it [46:01] Daniel and Tom discuss the connections between high school bullying and terrorism [51:12] If you aren’t considering counter-responses, you are just being emotionally hijacked [58:56] People’s minds are the battlefield [1:04:17] There are no authorities that are trustworthy enough to just assume they are right [1:09:59] Do you want to be effective or do you want to be right? [1:15:15] Daniel explains how people become fundamentalist about things they are wrong about [1:19:45] Debates are often not about understanding. They are just dogfights. [1:28:48] Legitimate power is when I am trying to influence someone to be more self-directed [1:32:03] Tom explains the relief of focusing on finding the right answers instead of being right [1:35:35] If you want to be right, you are very easy to control. Fragile egos are vulnerable. [1:39:55] Capitalism, the Trump campaign and Christianity have all been antifragile so far [1:42:33]  FOLLOW DANIEL:  WEBSITE: neurohacker.com  INSTAGRAM: https://bit.ly/2UxGUo1  Are You Ready for EXTRA Impact? If you’re ready to find true fulfillment, strengthen your focus, and ignite your true potential, the Impact Theory subscription was created just for you. This is not for the faint of heart. This is for those who dare to learn obsessively, every day, day after day. Subscription Benefits: Unlock the gates to a treasure trove of wisdom from inspiring guests like Andrew Huberman, Mel Robbins, Hal Elrod, Matthew McConaughey, and many, many, more New episodes delivered ad-free Exclusive access to Tom’s AMAs, keynote speeches, and suggestions from his personal reading list You’ll also get access to an 5 additional podcasts with hundreds of archived Impact Theory episodes, meticulously curated into themed playlists covering health, mindset, business, relationships, and more: Legendary Mindset: Mindset & Self-Improvement Money Mindset: Business & Finance Relationship Theory: Relationships Health Theory: Mental & Physical Health Power Ups: Weekly Doses of Short Motivational Quotes  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PCvJaz Subscribe on all other platforms (Google Podcasts, Spotify, Castro, Downcast, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podcast Republic, Podkicker, and more) : https://impacttheorynetwork.supercast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices