Who are the most important thinkers right now?

[Anonymous]

Most of the names on this thread are preposterous. Al Gore and Kendi? Come on. I'm smarter than those people myself and I'm just a random person on the internet.

The one name previously mentioned who is the best combination of being widely known and seriously smart is Nassim Nicholas Taleb, even though he's a bit of a jerk.

People will also be reading Haruki Murakami and Michel Houellebecq decades from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elon Musk

For engineering, business or political reasons?

[Anonymous]

Kara Walker - artist

[Anonymous]

Joe Rogan

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Byung-Chul Han.

Most in the US don't know his work well because his work was only translated recently (from German ... he was born in Korea, grew up in Germany). He writes a lot about what it is to be human in tech-driven late stage capitalism.

I'm particularly fascinated by what he has to say about the ramifications of social media giving rise to a culture of transparency that pushes oversharing at the expense of other values such as respect, privacy, shame, secrecy and trust.

This is the first name / description that sounds fascinating to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Joe Rogan

nope. small penis energy right there.

[Anonymous]

ChatGPT said:

Predicting who will be remembered as a great thinker 100 years from now is speculative, but we can make informed guesses based on current influence, originality, and long-term impact. Some candidates likely to be remembered include:

Noam Chomsky – For his foundational work in linguistics and influential political philosophy.

Judith Butler – For reshaping gender theory and philosophy.

Yuval Noah Harari – For making sweeping historical and philosophical ideas accessible to a global audience.

Elon Musk (controversial but likely) – Not a traditional thinker, but his ideas and ventures in AI, space, and energy might define an era.

Tim Berners-Lee – For inventing the World Wide Web, which revolutionized information sharing and global connectivity.

Donna Haraway – For pioneering feminist technoscience and posthumanist philosophy.

Nick Bostrom – For his work on existential risk and superintelligence.

Many future "greats" may currently be obscure, or not even born yet. Often, historical context decides who endures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't have any good thinkers at this time. What we have is social media, social influencers, ai, trolls. Our era will be remembered for misinformation and pernicious manipulation of popular opinion.

There is plenty of good thinking happening, you just have to put in the effort to find it. And, of course, you can abstain from “the fray” and think for yourself.

We live in an age where we are bombarded with information, so maybe I would argue that we try and think less and open ourselves up to learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have any good thinkers at this time. What we have is social media, social influencers, ai, trolls. Our era will be remembered for misinformation and pernicious manipulation of popular opinion.

There is plenty of good thinking happening, you just have to put in the effort to find it. And, of course, you can abstain from “the fray” and think for yourself.

We live in an age where we are bombarded with information, so maybe I would argue that we try and think less and open ourselves up to learning.

I suggest thinking more and critically. Learning is fine. What are you learning and why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have any good thinkers at this time. What we have is social media, social influencers, ai, trolls. Our era will be remembered for misinformation and pernicious manipulation of popular opinion.

There is plenty of good thinking happening, you just have to put in the effort to find it. And, of course, you can abstain from “the fray” and think for yourself.

We live in an age where we are bombarded with information, so maybe I would argue that we try and think less and open ourselves up to learning.

I suggest thinking more and critically. Learning is fine. What are you learning and why?

Learning is maybe not the right word. Reflecting, maybe? More of an embodied knowledge and awareness. Which comes from slowing down and sitting with ideas.

But that’s my perspective as a chronic overthinker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Byung-Chul Han.

Most in the US don't know his work well because his work was only translated recently (from German ... he was born in Korea, grew up in Germany). He writes a lot about what it is to be human in tech-driven late stage capitalism.

I'm particularly fascinated by what he has to say about the ramifications of social media giving rise to a culture of transparency that pushes oversharing at the expense of other values such as respect, privacy, shame, secrecy and trust.

This is the first name / description that sounds fascinating to me.

My friend is a political philosopher and just wrote a book about Han's work. It's easy to find because the title is his name. 10/10 need to know stuff if you like being an educated person! If you prefer TikTok, it's not for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Byung-Chul Han.

Most in the US don't know his work well because his work was only translated recently (from German ... he was born in Korea, grew up in Germany). He writes a lot about what it is to be human in tech-driven late stage capitalism.

I'm particularly fascinated by what he has to say about the ramifications of social media giving rise to a culture of transparency that pushes oversharing at the expense of other values such as respect, privacy, shame, secrecy and trust.

This is the first name / description that sounds fascinating to me.

Same. I'm starting here. https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/five-ways-to-read-byung-chul-han