Jason Silva is a man who likes to talk about things. Big things. A recent profile of him in The Atlantic aptly referred to Silva as “a part-time filmmaker and full-time walking, talking TEDTalk.” A former host at Current TV, he now spends his time making “Philosophical Espresso” — ie, short, entertaining videos that effortlessly tackle subject matter that most people find daunting, like the beginning of infinity or network theory. He’s like that brilliant guy who lived on your floor in college and would keep you up half the night engaging in a deep conversation about the meaning of life. Granted, he’s much more informed — and not stoned out of his mind.
“The problem, as I see it, is that a lot of these stunning philosophical ideas are diluted by their academic packaging; the academics don’t think so because this is their universe, they could care less about how these ideas get packaged because they’re so enmeshed in them,” he explains in the interview. “But the rest of us need another way in. We need to be told why these ideas matter, and one of the ways to do that is to present them with these media tools.”
Click through now to check out his series of vignettes on the human condition, and if you live in New York, be sure to your mark your calendar for April 20th, when he’ll be part of a panel discussion on “Imagining Space” at The National Arts Club.
THE HUMAN CONDITION from Jason Silva on Vimeo.
BEAUTY from Jason Silva on Vimeo.
ECSTASY from Jason Silva on Vimeo.
IMAGINATION from Jason Silva on Vimeo.
LOVE from Jason Silva on Vimeo.
Main photo courtesy Bruce Weber / Abercrombie & Fitch