The omnivore’s next dilemma | Michael Pollan talk on TED.com

In game theory, perspective matters. Good strategy depends not only on your actions, but also on how opponents perceive and react to them. You must understand how other people think in order to analyze situations like bike accidents, assigning work in an office, or planning a bank robbery. This works well and fine when we are competing with other humans, but what if the other player isn’t human and lacks consciousness? How can we think strategically and gain perspective?

It is a strange exercise, but it is one that food expert Michael Pollan details amusingly. In an talk available on TED.com called “The omnivore’s next dilemma,” Pollan argues that we can improve our food supply and our relationship with nature by understanding how other organisms interact with us. After looking at our food supply, he wonders if humans might not be the dominant species. As the talk’s description indicates, “What if human consciousness isn’t the end-all and be-all of Darwinism? What if we are all just pawns in corn’s clever strategy game to rule the Earth?”

The 17 minute talk is thought-provoking and entertaining. Here is the talk which is available from TED.com (you can also download the audio (mp3 or iTunes) or video (zipped mp4 or iTunes):

Video link: Michael Pollan talk on TED.com

(video subject to terms of Creative Commons license)

My reactions to the talk:

[0:50]: Whoa! We can improve our environment without technology and by doing a thought exercise instead

[1:50]: The start of the game theory exercise: what do humans and bumblebees have in common in a garden? Both are players optimizing their food intake, so how do their perspectives differ?

[2:45]: Pollan suggests that language and grammar might be part of the problem…reminds me how sexist language affects gender relations.

[4:00]: A refreshing perspective on agriculture…grasses are more clever than humans?

[5:40]: The test of any idea is how it can be used–similar to what Milton Friedman said that economics should be judged not by its assumptions but rather its predictive value

[7:05]: The problem of arrogance may trace back to Descartes and hinder our understanding of evolution

[8:25]: Lima beans are more complex than I realized

[9:10]: Pollan explains how humans are in one way less sophisticated than rice

[10:00]: Are we being manipulated by corn?

[11:50]: A game between cattle, chicken, worms, and the farmer illustrates a non-zero sum process with nature

[14:30]: Can organic feed the world? Pollan explains why it could if you let nature take its course

[15:00]: Grasses build a farm from the ground up

[16:05]: Food is a non-zero sum game, and a hope on how we can heal the earth

What are your thoughts?

If you want to read more from Michael Pollan, check out his articles and books listed on his website. I personally enjoyed the book In Defense of Food and am planning to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma