The Man who Saw and Sparked the Future (again and again and again)
“We are as Gods. We might as well get good at it.” — Stewart Brand, Whole Earth Catalog, 1968
Stewart Brand is one of the most influential thinkers, movement makers, authors and community builders of the last 60 years. His work has influenced entrepreneurs, VCs, technologists, inventors, researchers, anthropologists, environmentalists, and drivers of cultural change.
For those that don’t know Stewart Brand, you can think of Stewart Brand as Steve Jobs’ Steve Jobs. Stewart didn’t just disrupt the status quo, he launched movements that became cultural zeitgeists, inspiring future tool and tech disruptors, like Steve Jobs — and even the Silicon Valley ethos more broadly — for decades to come.
In partnership with Stanford’s Liu Lecture Series, we hosted a screening of the award-winning documentary of Stewart Brand’s life, Structure Film’s “We Are As Gods,” at the Stanford d.school. After the film, I hosted a lively panel discussion with the film’s brilliant director, Jason Sussberg, Pulitzer Prize winning technology writer John Markoff, whose long awaited biography, “Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand,” has just been published, and Dr. Megan Palmer, who directs bio-ethics and leadership programs at Stanford and sits on the board of Revive & Restore.
As a Designer in Residence focused on futures thinking, it felt fitting to host this film and gathering at the d.school. The d.school ethos of learning by doing, with a bias towards action and radical collaboration to discover new questions and advance new possible solutions is very aligned with the pattern of Stewart’s extraordinary contributions. Not one to follow a rule book, Stewart constantly invented his own. He is a keen observer of context and patterns, a ruthlessly curious learner, and a fearless experimenter and community builder around revolutionary ideas.
But Stewart is more than a visionary; what makes him so unique is his ability to bring audacious ideas to life..again, and again, and again.
Having worked at one of his many inventions, Global Business Network, a scenario planning think tank co-founded with renowned futurist Peter Schwartz, among others, my life has been forever changed by Stewart and the community sparked by his foresight.
“We Are as Gods” beautifully captures the depth and breath of the many contributions of Stewart Brand (Stanford ’60, Biology), ranging from how we see the Earth and how we think about time, the environment, and evolution to how we think about — and act on — our contributions to sustainable civilizations.
For those new to Stewart Brand and his work, here are a few notable highlights captured in the film (and, this is just the short list!):
- In 1966, Stewart asked a question that would change our relationship to our planet and each other forever: “Why haven’t we seen a picture of the whole Earth yet?” Stewart’s grassroots lobbying effort to get NASA to release the first picture of the “whole Earth” from space, launched modern environmental movements around the world.
- Stewart organized the Trips Festival in the ’60s, a mix of music, psychedelics, and performing arts that helped coalesce the hippie movement and accelerated the success of the Grateful Dead, among other iconic bands. When asked why the Dead even showed up, Brand answers, “because they were on the poster.”
- Stewart created The Whole Earth Catalog, a revolutionary paper-based, high-craft catalog that launched an entire movement of DIY experimentation and engagement with the world. Steve Jobs called the radical 1968 innovation, “the bible of my generation…idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.”
- Stewart organized the first “The Hackers Conference” in 1984, bringing together a pioneering community of computer science coders, engineers, and designers that invented personal computing.
- Stewart created the Long Now Foundation, a diverse community and learning platform dedicated to promoting and integrating long-term thinking, including the vision for the 10,000 Year Clock, which is nearing completion in the Sierra Diablo mountains of West Texas.
- Stewart has been pioneering the “de-extinction” movement to help “conserve” the planet by using synthetic DNA to “Revive & Restore” extinct animals and fauna such as the Woolly Mammoth and the American Chestnut tree.
- Throughout his life, Stewart wrote seminal books such as “How Buildings Learn” and “The Clock of the Long Now” which offer revolutionary ways to think about change, time and sustainable civilizations.
In my conversation with Jason, Megan, and John, we were able to unpack some of the enduring lessons from Stewart Brand’s unusual life, the communities he helped launch, and the enduring legacy of his discovery-driven approach to inventing.
How was Stewart able to “see” the future again, and again, and again?
The film starts with Stewart’s origin story, growing up as a “free range” kid in a suburb of Illinois with a mother who loved nature and a dad who was an engineer. He was always learning by doing and experimenting with whatever he could get his hands on. According to John Markoff, this idea of “trying stuff early, where there were no rules against it” was integral to Stewart’s genius. “He is able to get there early, and then leave just when everyone else was showing up.” Markoff shared the story of “Stewart coming to Silicon Valley in the late 60’s before it was even named Silicon Valley.”
While visiting Stanford for a photo assignment after he had gotten out of the army, he stumbled upon a group of software engineers who were playing one of the first video games, Spaceware. According to Markoff, Stewart recognized early that it wasn’t just a technological movement, it was a social one.” He went on to write about his experience a decade later for Rolling Stone.
Are we really “gods?” and what does it mean to “get good at it?”
“We Are As Gods” highlights the ethical tensions that new technology presents, especially ones that promise to bring back animals that weigh 6 tons and became extinct 4000 years ago.
Stewart Brand argues that we should use technology to conserve — or even reverse the damage inflicted on — the environment. He also believes that restoring endangered and extinct animals to their ecosystems might help save the planet from pending climate disaster. Other experts strongly disagree, contending that this form of “playing god” is just too dangerous and rife with unintended consequences. As one critic said in the film, “When you pull a technological rabbit out of a hat, sometimes you get nasty droppings.”
The panelists engaged in a lively discussion about what it means to “get good” at using and applying these technologies. How do we learn to anticipate and think through what the long-term consequences might be? And, equally important, who gets to make those decisions?
Dr. Megan Palmer, whose work focuses on the ethical considerations and leadership capabilities necessary to support a healthy future through bioengineering, commented on how quickly this field has advanced. “The idea of technology to bring back extinct species is really ambitious and hard to grasp. In just the last few years, though, we’ve seen things that were quite fringe become much more a part of our collective imagination. We’ve seen Elizabeth, the black-footed ferret, as the first clone being brought back through a frozen cell line at the San Diego Zoo.”
Palmer has been impressed by the willingness of Stewart and Ryan (referring to Ryan Phelan, his wife and co-founder of Revive & Restore) “to be challenged on their ideas while also holding firm to the idea that we need to boldly believe in the future beyond us. And that combination of being bold, but inquisitive is what keeps me excited about this work.”
Jason Sussberg, the film’s director, echoed Megan’s point about Stewart inviting critique and diverse perspectives. “Stewart welcomed that into the film.”
How can you see, reframe, and accelerate what’s possible?
Stewart’s life and contributions are truly remarkable. Jason’s film and John’s book help document the extraordinary breadth and depth of Stewart’s work, allowing those familiar with his work to get a fuller understanding of the extraordinary range and reach of his impact, also allowing newer generations to become more aware of the historic roots and philosophy underpinning of increasingly powerful technologies that continue to shape our future.
Perhaps the most important contribution that Stewart Brand has made over the years is his ability to see and act on what’s possible before anyone else. Stewart begins by acutely observing and investigating the changing context. Then he reframes why, how and where we should put our attention and communicates the opportunity in ways that galvanize the thinking and collective actions of others.
Throughout the film and John’s book, we see again and again how Stewart used what was around him to question and reframe towards a radically different future:
“By seeing the Earth, we could understand that humanity was capable of discovering itself in extraordinary ways.” (on why we needed to see a picture of the Whole Earth from space)
“Advances in technology gives us the opportunity to use tools to help us preserve and even conserve.” (on why we need to democratize access to tools — all tools)
“By reimagining time across generations — and visualizing it in a physical clock — we might start to think differently about how and where we put our attention: Generations are a good way to think. Let’s go longer than that.” (on why we need to build a 10,000 Year Clock)
John Markoff ends his biography with a list of “Brandisms” — iconic quotes that capture Stewart’s unique worldview.
I’ll end with one of my favorite Stewart quotes from the last Whole Earth Catalog that’s profoundly influenced my work as an educator and futures thinker:
“Unmake Victims…Start with yourself, branch out from there.”
Excited to learn more about Stewart Brand?
Structure Film’s “We Are as Gods” movie will be coming to theaters and livestream very soon! Check out the trailer here, and this site for updates on its public release.
John Markoff’s new book: “Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand” is out now, available at your local bookstore or wherever you like to buy your books. You can watch his recent conversation with Stewart Brand at the Long Now Foundation here.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Many thanks to Jason Sussberg, John Markoff, Dr. Megan Palmer, Renée Chao, Eli Woolery, Philomena Reinmueller, Bruce Boyd, and the supporters of the Liu Lecture Series for bringing this fabulous evening of conversation and connection to life.
