Ep 602 - Future Man (feat. Kevin Ashton)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Wow, wow, Wes. Hey, what's up? What's going on, everybody? I'm already fumbling over my fucking words. Dude, I suck. I'm here with Kevin Ashton. How you doing, man? I'm good. How are you? Pretty good. So how would you define yourself? Obviously, author. Yeah. Futurist.
How does Kevin Ashton define himself as a futurist?
you think you're old now oh god yeah what 57 57 57 i'm not i'm not too far behind i'm 40 oh oh that's young 40 i i think 40 is kind of i still feel like a boy like there's never the switch has never occurred to where i'm like a little bit i feel like a man i go in the grocery store they're playing the music i danced to when i was a kid really that's that makes you feel old Oh, when it's in the grocery store? Yeah, it's like the Muzak now. Yeah, yeah. So what was your music back in the day? What was your go-to? Oh, I was a jazz funk guy. Really? Yeah. Jazz funk. It's a British name for like R&B, basically. So like mid-80s, it was like Luther Vandross. Oh, you're smooth, brother. Oh, yeah. All the working class kids in London.
There you go. Nice. The posh kids like, you know, the punky stuff. So I got to ask you then, is it true? Because I have a friend who's from London and he loves soccer. Okay. And I, you know, naturally. And in America, soccer is looked at as a sport kind of for girls. You know what I mean? Not so much now, though. Yeah, not so much. I was trying to explain to him when I grew up, it was like, Everyone played football. That's what we call American football, football. And I was like, you know, I was just kind of getting under his skin. I was like, it's kind of for like weak guys. And he was just like, nah. And I was like, because I played rugby. And he's like, rugby's for the posh boys. That's true. And so it's true.
Yeah. Rugby's such a more brutal sport. It's such a more brutal sport. Why is it for the posh boys? It's just the way the school system. I mean, I was like, it was suggested that I go to like the posh school in town. But they didn't play soccer. They played rugby. And there was just, I was like 11. There was no way. Really? I was going to a school that didn't play soccer. So it's kind of, okay. So it's almost like over there, it's like if someone played water polo over here, that'd be very posh. Yeah. Or like lacrosse, maybe. Lacrosse isn't very, it's not posh. It's, yeah, I can see that. It is in New England, I feel like. Yeah, no, you're right. Lacrosse bros are, I would say, borderline posh boys as well. So cricket and rugby are like the posh.
I feel ashamed I played the posh sport. I thought I was flexing on him. He was like, ah, it's for posh boys. Yeah, but you could play soccer on the street corner. Yeah. You know, you just toss down your sweaters and you've got a ball and you're away. True. You can't quite do that with rugby, you know? Yeah, you'd have to play like touch. Yeah, it'd be like landing on that street. Yeah, well, shit, you're right. I was hoping he would get overturned, but that's completely true. Yeah. Dang. Sorry. Thank you for coming to the podcast. So, okay. So, Futurist, how do you get the Futurist title? Oh, so that's like a thing. You can't study at school, right? There's no like major in futurism. I mean, it's not a word I use about myself so much, I guess.
But yeah, I mean, I started a lab at MIT. Okay. In the late 90s. That's why I came to the US. And... Like I had this idea that I called the Internet of Things. Yeah. And everybody thought, what the hell is that? It's crazy. And they were interested in like the dotcom boom and everything. But, you know, we got lucky and our research did well. And now the Internet of Things is everywhere. So you kind of, I guess when you have a stupid idea and it comes true, you move from being like an idiot to a futurist. A futurist, that's awesome. Well, it's funny because I watched a video and the origin of the Internet of Things, you know, which we'll explain in a second, because I always heard that term and there's something about it.
I'm like, man, I love that term. I had no idea what you were talking about. I just like... I was just like, it's like the internet.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:14
2
How does Kevin Ashton define himself as a futurist?
0:14–6:10
3
What was the origin of the Internet of Things?
6:10–10:58
4
What role do stories play in shaping our identity?
10:58–13:00
5
How does storytelling influence our perception of reality?
13:00–21:16
6
How did the smartphone revolution impact technology?
21:16–1:09:19