Finding Clarity Amid Cruelty and Chaos with Dr. Al Solano

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Dr. Al argues that our society, with its advanced systems, still runs on primitive wiring, which explains today’s fear, cruelty, and attacks on education, science, and expertise. He makes the case that educators are quiet resistors who push the pendulum toward progress through daily, deliberate practice.

• educators as stewards who shift norms through practice
• human evolution limits against complex systems
• manipulation exploits tribal instincts and bias
• attacks on higher ed and shrinking research funding
• the “stupid epoch” frame for modern cruelty and fear
• comfort in naming the epoch and acting locally

Accompanying article: Why We're in This Moment

Transcript

Hi everyone. After many years of listeners suggesting it, I did my first solo episode recently, and it received the most downloads in the first day than any other episode in the show's entire history. So educators have often called the Student Success podcast a PD podcast, right? Professional development, because I dig deep with questions, with guests to fully understand how to implement a strategy or a concept. They average about 50 minutes, but I see now that people also greatly appreciated a brief, insightful episode. So I'm going to do a mixed bag going forward. This is my second solo podcast episode.

So here goes. Too many students are suffering with fear, as well as the educators who serve them. There is so much cruelty now. And what's disheartening is so many people applauding it. Too many of us who are deeply concerned about what's happening around us are asking the same questions. How did we get here? And why does history keep repeating? I suggest a simple hypothesis, so bear with me here, okay? Hang on here for a moment.

Okay, here it goes. We're still extremely primitive. We are. Let's be honest. We didn't go to the moon. We didn't cure diseases. We didn't invent artificial intelligence. I understand that there's been a collective effort, but the reality is that a tiny fraction of our population truly did those things. The brightest among us. And even among them, some have used their brilliance destructively. And consider this. If the history of Earth fit into a single day, humans would appear in the final second before midnight. Think about that. We haven't been here long, and for almost all of our time on this planet, humans were hunter-gatherers and early farmers. Democracy and capitalism, they are a microscopic blip in our species timeline. We're still figuring out how to live with the systems that we created. That's why we have economists, uh political scientists, sociologists, historians, etc., to keep studying and interpreting what we barely comprehend. And we see what's happening to them. They're made out to be the enemy. Federal grant funding is significantly down, cruel policies toward higher ed continues.

So consider this as well. Most of our primitive brothers and sisters remain easily manipulated. The very fact that cults have ever existed and still do today, that billions can follow corrupt, hateful, and ignorant leaders without question, shows how underdeveloped we still are as a species. Our brains have a long way to go.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once noted that the genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees is less than 2%. Just a few DNA tweaks separate a species that can do calculus from one that can barely count past 20. Now, imagine a species just a few evolutionary steps beyond us. Would their more developed brains allow them to grow war, poverty, mass corruption, racism, inequality? Would they be wise enough to never create the conditions for such suffering in the first place? I think so. I hope so. And yet, here we are. We're in that final second on Earth's 24 hour clock.

For those of us who think critically, who center kindness, who lead with compassion, and who have a passion for continuous improvement, it's easy to feel disheartened, exhausted, outnumbered. But understanding this gives me some comfort. It provides a simple foundational why. And here it is. Here it is. We're still primitive, and it shows. We built a complex world with primitive wiring. And you know what? That awareness helps me feel less frustrated, less angry, and less sad. For all of our technological and societal progress, we're still in what I can only call the stupid epoch. I know that's a harsh phrase, but as a student of history and as someone witnessing the daily onslaught of ignorance and cruelty, I think it's justified.

I find solace in believing that we will move beyond this current phase. The smart, the kind, and the compassionate will keep pushing the pendulum back toward progress. But until we evolve further, it will swing both ways. The primitive instincts of billions are still powerful.

So what do we do here and now? If we truly live in the stupid epoch, that doesn't mean your immediate sphere has to be that way. Most, if not all of you listening to this or reading a transcript are educators, and that matters more than ever. The fact that you're in this space helping others learn, question, and grow means you're actively contributing to a better society. It's no accident that educators and scientists are often targeted by authoritarian movements. Creating ignorance is the fastest way to control a population.

So your very existence as an educator is an act of resistance. I'll repeat that. Your very existence as an educator is an act of resistance. For the sake of our students and our colleagues who live in fear, and for yourself too. Keep swinging the pendulum toward the light. We'll get there. In the meantime, I hope this reflection provides some level of comfort. Take care and onward.

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