Great simplification pulsing lines

#57 | Frankly

Information Bifurcation

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Frankly

Description

In this Frankly, Nate reflects on ten dichotomies that he sees prevalent in our current culture of information consumption and media.  We are increasingly bombarded with news from traditional media outlets as well as emerging smaller platforms. Yet interpreting these inputs depends on the individual and societal lenses we use, alongside the presentation of and quality of the information itself. Further, how are academic and scientific sources of information becoming increasingly gatekept – accessible to only those who can pay? What should individuals keep in mind as we navigate biases and underlying intentions surrounding journalism and educational content? Are we able to set aside our internalized perspectives of the world and listen to what is being said – rather than leaning into what our identities want us to hear?

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

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Frankly#112 | The Quadruple Bifurcation

In this week’s Frankly, Nate outlines four bifurcations that are likely to underpin the human experience in the near future. While the broad biophysical realities of energy and ecology underpin our civilization’s movement over time, in the moment, people will experience these trends mostly economically and psychologically. Whether related to the widening of an already existing economic gap or the expansion of dependence on cognitive crutches like AI, the demographics that comprise society are starting to splinter – to bifurcate. These divergences, and the ways we cope with them, contribute to increasing incoherence as a species.

Watch nowOct 31, 2025
Frankly#111 | The Three Most Important Words We’re Taught Not to Say

In this week’s Frankly, Nate considers the ways in which our social species overvalues false-confidence rather than the more honest and inquisitive response of “I don’t know.” He invites us to consider the science behind this cultural bias towards certainty: from our biological response from the stress of “not knowing” to the reinforcing effects of motivated reasoning that ensnares even the smartest among us (especially the smartest among us).

Watch nowOct 24, 2025
Frankly#110 | What Sloths Teach Us About the Superorganism

In this week’s Frankly, Nate reflects on the multiple metaphors brought to mind via a single photograph, which depicts a sloth climbing a barbed wire fence in Costa Rica. Beyond evoking compassion for a species that’s on the receiving end of human intervention into its ecosystem, the image raises larger ideas about the response of animals, including humans, to artificial cues and novel environments. Just as the sloth mistakes a fence post for the safety of a tree, modern humans mistake consumption, speed, and certainty for meaning.

Watch nowOct 17, 2025

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The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, founded in 2008, that conducts research and educates the public about energy issues and their impact on society.

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