A Timothy Leary for the Viral Video Age

By on April 13, 2012 in News 22

Jason SilvaRoss Andersen writes in the Atlantic:

I want to introduce you to Jason Silva, but first I want you to watch this short video that he made. It will only take two minutes, and watching it will give you a good idea if it’s worth your time to read the extensive interview that follows. If you ever wondered what would happen if a young Timothy Leary was wormholed into 2012, complete with a film degree and a Vimeo account, you have your answer: Jason Silva. If Silva, who was born in Venezuela, seems to have natural screen presence, it’s because he’s no stranger to media; he worked for six years as a host at Current TV before leaving the network last year to become a part-time filmmaker and full-time walking, talking TEDTalk.

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  • Borgar

    “Ecstatic truth” my ass. More like a prolonged brainfart. The whole video sounded as if he were trying to sell something. Probably has a bright future as radio or tv-show host, or maybe a career in marketing. At least until the technology and human shaping of landscapes that he praises falls down on his head. 

    • Honu

      Ecstatic truth within technology…sure if you’re a magpie that likes bright shiny objects.  I’m not as impressed by humans’ abilities to invent and create while we still respond much of the time from our reptilian brain.  Technology hasn’t saved us yet and amplifying it doesn’t seem like a solution.  Somehow I think evolving is going to involve us actually interacting and harmonizing with nature more than the whole dominate and conquer nature thing we’ve been doing.

  • Yer Dad

    Timothy Leary was an arrogant fool who was the maker
    of all his own problems. Hype someone as a new Tim Leary,
    and many people will steer clear of them.

    • Monkey See Monkey Do

      People dont steer clear of Leary on this site. You should tune into it sometime.

      • Yer Dad

        That’s fine. I was big fan until I met him,and was able to spend some time around him.
        I stand by my words. He was an arrogant fool.
        He could have transformed the world. But pride goeth
        before the fall, and fall he did.

        • Monkey See Monkey Do

          Sometimes arrogance accompanies genius.

      • MoralDrift

        Yeah sometimes…I like to think of Leary as the Freud of Psychedelics and McKenna as the Jung. 

        Leary-Freud (The only people the mainstream remembers, with ideas and personalities that tarnish their entire subjects)

        McKenna-Jung (Lesser known and regarded as inconsequential by the mainstream, yet their ideas are far more profound and interesting)

        • Monkey See Monkey Do

          I mostly agree with that, but I see Leary’s ideas as pioneering and important yet his personality may have been too provocative and detrimental to the movement. I like the comparison, but you could say without Leary and Freud there would be no McKenna and Jung. (or their ideas would be much different)

  • rus Archer

    way to overestimate your place in the multiverse by quoting someone else

  • Wall Street Banker

    Ecstatic because you have a god complex, and are concrete
    numb to nature’s own humble awe fest.
    Mere geology? Mere geology is lurking under Manhattan still. Manhattan – a topography temporarily shaped by hierarchy worshiping concrete cage chasing monkeys.
    “Gotta get into that concrete cage or else they’ll be no future for my
    children. Nature is so boring, it only has like 1 channel. Can’t wait to become
    an omnipotent space god.”

    • InfiltratedSlacker

      No sir, you just don’t get it.  We must abandon this useless planet before it expires and colonize space.  We’ve achieved mankind’s moral compass, it shall take us into posterity.  The future is indoors.  No Timothy Learys allowed.

  • http://2012diaries.blogspot.com tristan eldritch

    He ain’t no Tim Leary.

  • Heath

    If the short piece to gather investors fails, make existential porn.

    • Camron Wiltshire

      Hahahahaha, nice.

  • nope

    We already view globalisation/western hegemony as a bad thing, why would you want to extend it across the entire universe?

  • Camron Wiltshire

    I wouldn’t compare him with Timothy Leary.  Leary for all his faults at least was opposed to the system.  I don’t see any such rumblings coming from Jason. 

  • Honu

    Typical youthful one sided over reach.  I applaud his positive vision but it lacks the balance of what happens when humans’ full spectrum of desires and urges latches on.  Sure, dreams and visions are the seed from which we create our reality.  Am I supposed to be impressed by this notion that I read about 25 years ago and that was probably something known for millenia?  Just because we have the technology to increase our ability to manifest our ideas by a greater order of magnitude doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea to do so.  I read a couple of books by a guy named Jerry Mander one called ‘The Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television’ and ‘In Absence of the Sacred’.  Both excellent books making points that don’t get nearly enough attention.  For example, why is there no gatekeepers to the technology we have and use?  Meaning, these inventions get created and disseminated by corporations and are then foisted on the public without discussion.  Where’s the dialogue about what place these inventions have in our culture and how they will affect us and whether it’s something we should even introduce?  It seems that it might be a good thing to consider when you see how pervasive and life changing some of these inventions are and it’s done without any discussion from the public much less a vote.  I’m not saying we shouldn’t have these inventions but why isn’t having a discussion about something so significant that changes our culture a priority? 

  • Internet Douches

    I didn’t even have to watch this to know everyone here was going to talk shit. I don’t care to watch but I’m familiar with his ideas. I think its funny how you internet douche-bags instantly shoot down anything because you are all soooo smart and know the answer to everything. Hmm if i throw some of my larger vocabulary down on this message and preach about corporate prostitues people will think I know what I’m talking about.

    Point is were all hurling through the universe on a rock towards and unavoidable and eminanet doom and none of you know anything and will die unacomplished having wasted half your lives under florescent bulbs.

    • Same

       and yeah I misspelled some shit FUCK YOU

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Camron-Wiltshire/510662346 Camron Wiltshire

        U mad bro?

    • Hey ho

       Dude Ive been saying this about the people who came here for over a year. this site is filled with pretentious douche bags who think cause they can use big words that they know what they are talking about. There are some great minds that do travel this site, but there is an incredible amount of educated morons who dont their ass hole from their ear hole

  • Curizen

    how is he similar to tim leary? I didn’t laugh once!