You might have the feeling that we live in chaotic times. Crises proliferate, authoritarianism is on the rise, we face geopolitical instability, climate change, immigration, technological disruptions like AI, the rise of extreme right values, etc.
What does this chaos look like from the perspective of those who want to exploit it?
I want to take this episode to try a thought experiment. Let’s examine what makes society vulnerable, and how we could exploit that vulnerability to destabilize the system. Put yourself in the shoes of an anarchist, a revolutionary, an aggressive foreign power, a profiteer, or a religious extremist, and consider: given the means at your disposal, how would you go about destabilizing, disrupting, or destroying society? Or to put it another way: what are the most vulnerable, valuable aspects, artifacts, or ideas that our society would crumble without? And how could you disrupt them?
The point of this exercise is not to turn us all into terrorists. It is rather to understand ourselves better; our collective weaknesses and strengths, and the things we take for granted.
EXISTENTIAL TUESDAYS
Existential Tuesdays are small weekly* lunch discussions in the Nook of the TUD Library. Practice your critical thinking skills, learn to see the world from different perspectives, and hang out with your fellow deep thinkers in Delft.
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* no sessions during exam weeks or study week
