Ben Wilson

Like this is the closest you're going to get to exploring an alien planet. For example, the Hawaiian Islands just had never been visited by Europeans before. And so, yeah, it's just like a completely new place, new culture, new language, new customs that he gets to see and experience and explore for the first time. Same with the Aboriginal Australians.

Like this is the closest you're going to get to exploring an alien planet. For example, the Hawaiian Islands just had never been visited by Europeans before. And so, yeah, it's just like a completely new place, new culture, new language, new customs that he gets to see and experience and explore for the first time. Same with the Aboriginal Australians.

The Europeans had never had contact with them before. I raised the comparison of exploring an alien planet. And this is because these areas would have been totally alien to him. It was terra incognita, just completely different world. And I'm not the first person to make this comparison. Actually, if you think about Star Trek, okay, the subject of this episode is James Cook.

The Europeans had never had contact with them before. I raised the comparison of exploring an alien planet. And this is because these areas would have been totally alien to him. It was terra incognita, just completely different world. And I'm not the first person to make this comparison. Actually, if you think about Star Trek, okay, the subject of this episode is James Cook.

The captain in Star Trek is named James Kirk. Okay. captain cook's ship was called the endeavor captain kirk's ship is called the enterprise the star trek mission is to explore new worlds seek out new life and boldly go where no one has gone before and that is reminiscent of exactly what james cook was trying to do with his journeys And this is not coincidental. This is intentional.

The captain in Star Trek is named James Kirk. Okay. captain cook's ship was called the endeavor captain kirk's ship is called the enterprise the star trek mission is to explore new worlds seek out new life and boldly go where no one has gone before and that is reminiscent of exactly what james cook was trying to do with his journeys And this is not coincidental. This is intentional.

The creators of Star Trek really admired James Cook and used this as a template, a model when they created Star Trek. I'm not the first person to make this comparison. James Cook really was the closest thing we have to a real life Star Trek, you know, visiting, exploring all these completely new, adventurous, exciting places.

The creators of Star Trek really admired James Cook and used this as a template, a model when they created Star Trek. I'm not the first person to make this comparison. James Cook really was the closest thing we have to a real life Star Trek, you know, visiting, exploring all these completely new, adventurous, exciting places.

And so I was interested in this story because it is really interesting and exciting, but also because it's something I've been thinking a lot about recently is how does one live an adventurous life like this? How can we find excitement like someone like James Cook? Because we live in a world with no unexplored corners, no unknown peoples. And I don't know if I have the answer.

And so I was interested in this story because it is really interesting and exciting, but also because it's something I've been thinking a lot about recently is how does one live an adventurous life like this? How can we find excitement like someone like James Cook? Because we live in a world with no unexplored corners, no unknown peoples. And I don't know if I have the answer.

That's a really difficult one. But I do think in doing this episode, I came to some answers and I have some ideas that I'll explore at the end of how we can live a life like this. Like, no, you can't set out to the high seas like James Cook did. But I think there is a way. to capture a lot of the sense of thrill and adventure and excitement that he had in his life.

That's a really difficult one. But I do think in doing this episode, I came to some answers and I have some ideas that I'll explore at the end of how we can live a life like this. Like, no, you can't set out to the high seas like James Cook did. But I think there is a way. to capture a lot of the sense of thrill and adventure and excitement that he had in his life.

James Cook was also a great leader and a very accomplished man. He's worth studying for the leadership tactics that he used to keep his crew together and allowed him to accomplish so much. I should mention also that his life is not uncontroversial. During the madness of 2020 and all the riots that went on in the United States and all over the world,

James Cook was also a great leader and a very accomplished man. He's worth studying for the leadership tactics that he used to keep his crew together and allowed him to accomplish so much. I should mention also that his life is not uncontroversial. During the madness of 2020 and all the riots that went on in the United States and all over the world,

statues of James Cook were defaced and sometimes torn down in places like Australia. And that is because, you know, setting aside some of the wider dynamics, to some of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, you know, he's seen as a figure of colonization who brought violence and destruction to many Pacific islands.

statues of James Cook were defaced and sometimes torn down in places like Australia. And that is because, you know, setting aside some of the wider dynamics, to some of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, you know, he's seen as a figure of colonization who brought violence and destruction to many Pacific islands.

And so, yeah, I can understand if you were a native Hawaiian or Tongan, you might have ambivalent feelings about colonization in general and what happened to your island through that process. I get that. However, James Cook really is kind of a misplaced target for those feelings. He was very liberal minded. He had quite an affection for the native islanders of Polynesia.

And so, yeah, I can understand if you were a native Hawaiian or Tongan, you might have ambivalent feelings about colonization in general and what happened to your island through that process. I get that. However, James Cook really is kind of a misplaced target for those feelings. He was very liberal minded. He had quite an affection for the native islanders of Polynesia.

He sought to understand them on their own terms. He was often though not always lenient in terms of punishing natives for crimes such as theft. He was just a very tolerant person in general and his missions were always to explore and not to set up commercial enterprises or colonize in really any meaningful way.

He sought to understand them on their own terms. He was often though not always lenient in terms of punishing natives for crimes such as theft. He was just a very tolerant person in general and his missions were always to explore and not to set up commercial enterprises or colonize in really any meaningful way.