In this thought-provoking conversation with anthropologist Dr. Jamie Saris, we discuss cooperating with other people in the world live bees in a hive. We talk about the idea that since there's enough honey for everyone, it makes sense to invest in weapons of peace more than weapons of war.

Dr. Jamie Saris, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, NUI Maynooth

Dr Saris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Maynooth University. He holds advanced degrees in Social-Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago (MA and PhD), and he has completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinically-Relevant Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

Episode Highlights:

[0:02] - Investing in peace over war for long-term survival
[5:12] - Human impact on ecosystems and long-term planning
[9:09] - Population growth, inequality, and social change
[15:47] - The importance of shared truths and objective reality
[20:22] - Climate change, mass migration, and shared governance
[28:43] - Cooperation and anthropology

Links & Resources:

ProjectHoneyLight.life

Thank you for joining us on this journey through the world of bees and communities. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to rate, follow, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach more people and spread the word about the importance of nature and its lessons.

If you’re alive today, it means you’ve eaten enough honey to survive up to this point. The honey represents the energy needed to sustain life. Since we’re all still here, there must be enough energy for everyone on the planet to thrive. But we often don’t see it that way. In this thought-provoking episode, I discuss with anthropologist Dr. Jamie Saris the idea that energy is abundant, but unequally distributed.

Dr. Jamie Saris, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, NUI Maynooth

Dr Saris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Maynooth University. He holds advanced degrees in Social-Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago (MA and PhD), and he has completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinically-Relevant Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

Episode Highlights:

[01:42] Rethinking “invasive species” and human impact.

[06:14] Ireland’s bogs shaped by ancient agricultural practices.

[07:35] Cycles of growth and collapse in habitats and civilizations.

[11:09] How to boost collaboration through properly structured meetings.

[17:16] Symbolic communication vs biological priorities.

[19:31] Tools allow leveraging energy, but disrupt habitats.

[21:18] Could a shared vision help human collaboration?

[26:30] Changing the status quo is hard when people benefit.

Links & Resources:

ProjectHoneyLight.life

Thank you for joining us on this journey through the world of bees and business. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to rate, follow, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach more people and spread the word about the importance of nature and its lessons.

In this fascinating discussion with anthropologist Dr. Jamie Saris, we explore how bees and humans collaborate, compete, and communicate in order to survive. Just as bees form hives and human form communities, we must work together towards common goals and share resources if we hope to thrive.

Dr. Jamie Saris, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, NUI Maynooth

Dr Saris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Maynooth University. He holds advanced degrees in Social-Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago (MA and PhD), and he has completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinically-Relevant Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

Timeline Summary:

[00:36] Introducing Secret 17 The Game of Survival: collaboration and sharing resources.

[01:02] Welcoming my brilliant co-host Dr. Jamie Saris, associate professor of anthropology at Maynooth University.

[01:55] Interspecies collaboration in nature through “resource partitioning.”

[09:08] Comparing resource sharing in bee colonies to business partnerships and strategic alliances.

[10:04] Businesses create their own supportive ecosystems, just as diverse lifeforms depend on each other. Competition and collaboration go hand in hand.

[11:43] Discussing human collaboration, aggression, and the complexity of parsing competition from cooperation.

[13:33] Language and culture make human collaboration/competition far more complex than in nature. Managing differences becomes critical.

[16:47] Tailoring products and messaging to cross cultural divides requires understanding nuances in worldviews. Fine-tuned communication is key.

[20:45] Bees “vote” through scent and humans vote through words, but both systems aim for group alignment.

[22:14] Successful human communities balance flexibility, communication styles, and giving people a personal stake.

[24:35] Shared visions and goals are crucial. Collaborating on dreams bonds people more tightly than administrative systems.

[26:32] The printing press changed communication through proliferating words over images. We must re-learn the art of pictorial dreaming.

[27:05] Anthropology explores how stories and narratives become binding forces within cultures.

Links and Resources:

ProjectHoneyLight.life (https://projecthoneylight.life/)

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