Monica L. Smith's guest appearances

Monica L. Smith

Long Now: Seminars About Long-term Thinking

This Is the Author

Curiosity Daily

The Hartmann Report

EdgeCast

Thought Row

Martin Rees

Philip Tetlock

Tim O'Reilly

Freeman Dyson

Steven Pinker

Daniel Kahneman

Sean Carroll

Ian McEwan

John Markoff

Elaine Pagels

George Dyson

Seth Lloyd

Mary Catherine Bateson

Larry Brilliant

Alexander Rose

OwlTail

Episode 38: Monica L. Smith – Piecing Life Through Fragments Want to know what it’s really like to be an archaeologist? Our guest Monica L. Smith is an archaeologist and author. Monica provides us with an in-depth look at archaeology. Its impact on civilizations past and present. Plus, what it’s like to live life as … Continue reading Episode 38: Monica L. Smith – Piecing Life Through Fragments →

Episode 38: Monica L. Smith – Piecing Life Through Fragments Want to know what it’s really like to be an archaeologist? Our guest Monica L. Smith is an archaeologist and author. Monica provides us with an in-depth look at archaeology. Its impact on civilizations past and present. Plus, what it’s like to live life as … <a href="https://thought-row.blubrry.net/episode-38-monica-l-smith-piecing-life-through-fragments/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Continue reading Episode 38: Monica L. Smith – Piecing Life Through Fragments →</a>

Episode 38: Monica L. Smith – Piecing Life Through Fragments

“Cities were the first Internet,” says archaeologist Monica Smith, because they were the first permanent places where strangers met in large numbers for entertainment, commerce, and romance. And the function and form of cities, she notes, have remained remarkably constant over their 6,000 years of history so far. Modern city dwellers would quickly find their way around any city in the past, given our shared architecture of broad avenues, monumental structures, and densely crowded residences.What we learn from examining the long history of cities is what makes them so freeing and empowering for humans and humanity. Density has always been crucial. So has infrastructure, skill specialization, cultural diversity, intense trade with other cities, an economy of acquiring and discarding objects, the delights of fashion and art, religious focus and political focus, intellectual ferment, and technological innovation.The digital internet has not replaced cities, nor is it likely that anything else will, Smith proposes, for the next 6,000 years.  Monica L. Smith is an anthropology professor and also a professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainabilityat UCLA. She has done archeological fieldwork in India, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, and England. Her new book is Cities: The First 6,000 Years.

“Cities were the first Internet,” says archaeologist Monica Smith, because they were the first permanent places where strangers met in large numbers for entertainment, commerce, and romance. And the function and form of cities, she notes, have remained remarkably constant over their 6,000 years of history so far. Modern city dwellers would quickly find their way around any city in the past, given our shared architecture of broad avenues, monumental structures, and densely crowded residences. What we learn from examining the long history of cities is what makes them so freeing and empowering for humans and humanity. Density has always been crucial. So has infrastructure, skill specialization, cultural diversity, intense trade with other cities, an economy of acquiring and discarding objects, the delights of fashion and art, religious focus and political focus, intellectual ferment, and technological innovation. The digital internet has not replaced cities, nor is it likely that anything else will, Smith proposes, for the next 6,000 years. Monica L. Smith is an anthropology professor and also a professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainabilityat UCLA. She has done archeological fieldwork in India, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, and England. Her new book is Cities: The First 6,000 Years.

Monica L. Smith: Cities: The First 6,000 Years

MONICA SMITH is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds the Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair in Indian Studies and serves as the director of the South Asian Archaeology Laboratory in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Monica Smith's Edge Bio Page The conversation:  https://www.edge.org/conversation/monica_l_smith-infrastructure-as-dialogue

MONICA SMITH is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds the Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair in Indian Studies and serves as the director of the South Asian Archaeology Laboratory in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. <a href="https://www.edge.org/memberbio/monica_l_smith" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Monica Smith's Edge Bio Page</a> The conversation: <a href="https://www.edge.org/conversation/monica_l_smith-infrastructure-as-dialogue" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.edge.org/conversation/monica_l_smith-infrastructure-as-dialogue</a>

Monica L. Smith: Infrastructure As Dialogue [9.20.16]