“We can pay it forward to future generations by making sure that progress continues and by making sure that future generations are living as well off compared to us today, as we are compared to the past. So let's have that ambition for the future.” – Jason Crawford
Jason Crawford (@jasoncrawford) is Founder and CEO of The Roots of Progress, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century. He created Progress Studies for Young Scholars and is a technical consultant and adviser to Our World in Data. He previously co-founded Fieldbook and Kima Labs, and was an engineering manager at Flexport, Amazon and Groupon.
To listen to Jason's quick interview on habits, routines, and inspirations, click here.
For more, explore the transcript of this episode.
Chapters
- 00:00:00 – Introduction
- 00:02:09 – About Jason’s work with The Roots of Progress
- 00:04:30 – Nurturing progress is a moral imperative
- 00:06:24 – On Louis Pasteur
- 00:14:20 – What is progress? What is technology?
- 00:21:06 – On starting The Roots of Progress
- 00:25:18 – The growth of progress studies
- 00:30:30 – Is progress really stagnating?
- 00:37:38 – How bureaucracy can slow progress
- 00:42:18 – The speed of innovation
- 00:48:26 – Advancements in biotech, artificial intelligence, energy technologies, and nanotech
- 00:56:00 – Appreciating the progress we see on a daily basis
Links
- Connect with Jason Crawford: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website
- Roots of Progress
- Progress Studies
- Smart, Rich and Free
- How Does Progress Happen? - Vox
- Progress Studies as a Moral Imperative
- Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?
- Slaying the Speckled Monster
- Iron: From Mythical to Mundane
- Louis Pasteur
- Edward Jenner
- Germ theory of disease
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- Vitalism
- Clockwork universe
- James Watt
- Moore's Law
- Patrick Collison
- Tyler Cowen
- We Need a New Science of Progress - The Atlantic
- Patrick Collison chart: Why are certain things getting so much more expensive?
- Patrick Collison: Growth
- "The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology." – Edward O. Wilson
- Patrick Collison list: Fast accomplishments in progress
- Fast Grants
- How the Tech Press Forces a Narrative on Companies It Covers - Wired
- CRISPR gene editing
- Eli Dourado
Books Recommended by Jason Crawford
- Louis Pasteur: Free-Lance of Science by Rene Dubos
- The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better by Tyler Cowen
- Where Is My Flying Car? by J. Storrs Hall
Learn More About This Topic
How Does Progress Happen? – Vox
This interview with Jason Crawford focuses on Progress Studies and is a great next step for learning more about the field.
We Need a New Science of Progress – The Atlantic
Written by Jason Crawford’s industry peers, Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen, this piece gives clear reasoning for spending time and energy on progress studies.
Jaw-dropping Science Breakthroughs – TED
This collection of talks features inspiring progress in science, including a presentation on CRISPR, which Jason mentions in his interview.
The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better by Tyler Cowen
For an in-depth look at the stagnation hypothesis, check out this thought-provoking book.
Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?
One of Jason’s early essays that led to the growth of his progress studies, this piece provides a great view into his thought processes and research.
