Heterogeneous Genius

Brandon tells some tales of his youth, and we touch on topics including theft and punishment. Later, we discuss relationships between education and career, and end with the story of planned obsolescence.

Lately, what would an episode of Heterogeneous Genius be without touching on population control? This episode is no exception. We discuss the exportation of labor’s effects on population and a nation’s ability to support that population. Later, we argue about limitation of campaign funds for politicians and how excess funds allows one to buy the election. Lastly, we discuss the lack of interest in discussion of ideas, and obsession over pop culture.

In this episode, guest Mike Alvarez, a youth pastor and musician, joins us for a discussion on higher education and religion. We talk about aspects of altruism and selfishness, as well as gateways into and out of religion.

In this episode we discuss whether or not there is a future in which we stop killing each other, genetic engineering, and the luck of the draw in terms of where and to who you are born. Also, the topics of waste in our legal system and gun control rear their heads.

Today we discuss positive and negative reinforcement, and how it pertains to children, prisoners, and society at large. Later, we discuss morals for atheists.

We continue the debate of population control stemming from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Revisited. We try to determine what an appropriate number of people might be, and various methods which could be used to get us there, i.e., genetic modification, adoption, and implementing a birth allowance. We attempt to answer why the poor populations produce a greater number of offspring than those of middle- and high-income.

In today’s episode, Brandon and Ruben discuss population control, prompted by the reading of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Revisited. They explore methods and qualifications for shrinking the population. Later, they discuss the use of propaganda to change the values of large groups.

HG’s 50th episode! We talk about distractions, namely those on the internet, eating up our time, and mass collection of un-consumable entertainment content. Then, Brandon tells of his observed differences in how we spend our time interacting with each other in different cultures. After the break, Brandon finishes the story of his helicopter trip to Uganda, and talks about his wedding in Germany. Lastly, we discuss God’s form and the supernatural.

Brandon is in Khartoum, Sudan, on his way to Uganda on a trip ferrying a helicopter to Uganda from Arbil, Iraq. He tells the harrowing tale of his journey thus far. He and his crew left Arbil hastily, ISIS closing in not 25 miles away. Over the desert of Sudan they were forced to make an emergency landing after a fuel pump failed, and rig makeshift repairs before continuing on. Later, Brandon describes his concept of a “holocaust nouveau,” a World War 3 scenario stemming from the current violence in the Middle East. In the last segment, we discuss assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.

We have finished reading Erich Fromm's The Sane Society, and this is our final episode on the book. We discuss ideas of freedom in our society, what society and the world would look like if everyone's basic needs were provided for—e.g. would religion still be necessary?—and the innate laziness of man. We wrap up the show with questions about job satisfaction. This episode is dedicated to jazz bass player Charlie Haden.