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Stewart Brand

108quotes

Stewart Brand: A Pioneer of Counterculture and Technological Innovation


#### Full Name and Common Aliases
Stewart Brand is the full name of this influential American writer, designer, and futurist.

Birth and Death Dates


Born on September 1, 1938, in Holmdel Township, New Jersey. Unfortunately, as of my last knowledge update in April 2023, Stewart Brand was still alive.

Nationality and Profession(s)


Brand is an American writer, designer, editor, and futurist best known for co-founding the Whole Earth Catalog, a counterculture magazine that became an iconic symbol of the 1960s and 1970s. His professions span writing, editing, designing, and futurism.

Early Life and Background


Stewart Brand grew up in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He then went on to graduate from Stanford University with a degree in biological sciences. It was during this period that he developed an interest in counterculture movements and technological innovation.

Major Accomplishments


Brand's most notable accomplishment is undoubtedly the co-founding of the Whole Earth Catalog in 1968, which became a significant platform for promoting sustainable living and environmental awareness among the countercultural movement. This publication not only reflected but also influenced the values of the time, advocating for simplicity, self-sufficiency, and technological innovation.

Another notable achievement was his role as the editor of the Whole Earth Catalog until its final issue in 1972. During this period, he interviewed and featured numerous influential figures, including authors, designers, scientists, and activists.

Notable Works or Actions


Brand is also known for his contributions to the development of personal computing and the Internet. In 1984, he co-founded The WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link), one of the first online communities, which facilitated discussions on a wide range of topics including technology, politics, and culture.

Impact and Legacy


Stewart Brand's impact extends far beyond his countercultural roots. He is widely credited with popularizing the concept of sustainable living, influencing environmental awareness, and shaping the way people think about technology and its relationship to society. His contributions to the development of personal computing and online communities have had a lasting impact on modern communication.

Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered


Stewart Brand is widely quoted or remembered for his forward-thinking ideas on sustainable living, environmental awareness, and technological innovation. He continues to be an influential voice in discussions around technology's role in society and its potential for positive change. His legacy serves as a reminder of the power of imagination, creativity, and innovative thinking in shaping our world.

Through the Whole Earth Catalog, Brand not only reflected but also influenced the values of his time. Today, his ideas continue to inspire new generations of thinkers, designers, and innovators working towards creating a more sustainable future.

Quotes by Stewart Brand

When a fantasy turns you on, you're obligated to God and nature to start doing it - right away.
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When a fantasy turns you on, you're obligated to God and nature to start doing it - right away.
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Griffith calculates that, in order to keep the atmospheric concentration of CO 2 at no more than 450 ppm, humanity has to do something that is almost unimaginably difficult. We have to cut our fossil fuel use to around 3 terawatts, which means we have to produce all the rest of our power from non-fossil-fuel sources, and we have to do it in about twenty-five years or it will be too late to level off at 450 ppm.
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Griffith calculates that, in order to keep the atmospheric concentration of CO 2 at no more than 450 ppm, humanity has to do something that is almost unimaginably difficult. We have to cut our fossil fuel use to around 3 terawatts, which means we have to produce all the rest of our power from non-fossil-fuel sources, and we have to do it in about twenty-five years or it will be too late to level off at 450 ppm.
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The unwelcome four are urbanization, nuclear power, biotechnology, and geoengineering. The familiar one is natural-system restoration, which may be better framed as megagardening –.
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The unwelcome four are urbanization, nuclear power, biotechnology, and geoengineering. The familiar one is natural-system restoration, which may be better framed as megagardening –.
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Humans perpetually fight, LeBlanc says, because they always outstrip the carrying capacity of their natural environment and then have to fight over resources.
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Humans perpetually fight, LeBlanc says, because they always outstrip the carrying capacity of their natural environment and then have to fight over resources.
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What does it take to build something so that it’s really easy to make comfortable little modifications in a way that once you’ve made them, they feel integral with the nature and structure of what is already there? You want to be able to mess around with it and progressively change it to bring it into an adapted state with yourself, your family, the climate, whatever. This kind of adaptation is a continuous process of gradually taking care.
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What does it take to build something so that it’s really easy to make comfortable little modifications in a way that once you’ve made them, they feel integral with the nature and structure of what is already there? You want to be able to mess around with it and progressively change it to bring it into an adapted state with yourself, your family, the climate, whatever. This kind of adaptation is a continuous process of gradually taking care.
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In our researches on the likely economic apocalypse it’s become clear what is the prime survival tool for hard times: friends. Good friends. Lots of them.
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In our researches on the likely economic apocalypse it’s become clear what is the prime survival tool for hard times: friends. Good friends. Lots of them.
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Climate is so full of surprises, it might even surprise us with a hidden stability. Counting on that, though, would be like playing Russian roulette with all the chambers loaded but one.
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Climate is so full of surprises, it might even surprise us with a hidden stability. Counting on that, though, would be like playing Russian roulette with all the chambers loaded but one.
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Do what’s good for humans, modeled on how humans already do things; ignore what’s convenient for computers.
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Do what’s good for humans, modeled on how humans already do things; ignore what’s convenient for computers.
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Everything looks like a failure in the middle.” Any.
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Everything looks like a failure in the middle.” Any.
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When roles shift, ideologies have to shift, and ideologies hate to shift. The workaround is pragmatism – “a practical way of thinking concerned with results rather than with theories and principles.” The shift is deeper than moving from one ideology to another; the shift is to discard ideology entirely.
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When roles shift, ideologies have to shift, and ideologies hate to shift. The workaround is pragmatism – “a practical way of thinking concerned with results rather than with theories and principles.” The shift is deeper than moving from one ideology to another; the shift is to discard ideology entirely.
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