Jason Silva Explained

Jason Silva
Birth Name:Jason Luis Silva Mishkin
Birth Date:6 February 1982
Birth Place:Caracas, Venezuela
Alma Mater:University of Miami

Jason Luis Silva Mishkin (born February 6, 1982) is a Venezuelan-American television personality, short filmmaker, futurist, and public speaker. He is known for hosting the National Geographic documentaries Brain Games and Origins. He has stated that his goal is to use technology to excite people about philosophy and science.[1] The Atlantic describes Silva as "A Timothy Leary of the Viral Video Age".[2] Silva writes and produces short films, is a former presenter on Current TV, and lectures internationally on such topics as creativity, spirituality, technology, and humanity.

He believes in transhumanism and that biology will eventually "become...an information technology".[3]

Early life and education

Silva was born on February 6, 1982 in Caracas, Venezuela.[4] His mother, Linda Mishkin, an artist, is Ashkenazi Jewish. His father, Luis Manuel Silva, converted to Judaism, but, according to Silva, they were secular and lived in a household "more akin to a Woody Allen film" with "a lot of humor, a love of art... and theater".[5] He is also brother to Jordan Silva and Paulina Silva.

As described by Silva in interview, he was inspired by Charles Baudelaire's Hashish House to host "salons" at his house as a teenager to discuss ideas, and it was there that his obsession with filmmaking and documentation began. As he describes it, video rather than pen became his preferred way to memorialize what, in that time, he saw as "ecstatic moments". In response to criticism that he has received "for being overly expository... the equivalent of a voice-over narrator", it's Silva's expressed view that "it's not enough to feel the experience; it needs to be narrated in real time".

Silva earned a degree in film and philosophy from the University of Miami. There, he and Max Lugavere produced and starred in a video documentary/performance piece entitled Textures of Selfhood.[6] The short film is "an experimental film about hedonism and spirituality"—described as being based on Silva's and Lugavere's lives in Miami—and it gained the attention of the Al Gore-Joel Hyatt station, Current TV, who, in Silva's words, were looking for "passionate storytellers".[7]

Career

Silva is television personality, filmmaker, futurist, and public speaker; he uses television, online media, and lecture halls to share his perspectives. For example, in the video The Mirroring Mind, Silva "explores human consciousness and the creation of that consciousness through self-reference." He describes himself as a "wonder junkie" and as a "performance philosopher", a term he first heard on a website called Space Collective by Rene Daalder.

Public speaking

An active and prolific speaker, Silva has spoken at Google, The Economist Ideas Festival, the prestigious DLD Digital Life Design Conference in Munich,[8] TEDGlobal, the Singularity Summit, the PSFK Conference,[9] and the Festival of Dangerous Ideas.[10]

At TEDGlobal in June 2012, Jason premiered a short video entitled "Radical Openness".[11] [12] In September 2012, Silva presented his Radical Openness videos at the opening keynote at Microsoft TechEd Australia.[13] Radical Openness was also featured in his presentation at La Ciudad de las Ideas conference on November 10, 2012.

In September 2012, he presented "We Are the Gods Now" at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas.[14]

Television

Current TV

From 2005 to 2011, Silva was a presenter and producer on Al Gore's cable network Current TV.[15]

Brain Games

In 2013, Silva and Apollo Robbins became the hosts of Brain Games on the National Geographic Channel. The show explores the brain through interactive games that look at perception, decision-making, and patterning, as well as how easily the brain can be fooled.[16] [17] Experts in psychology, cognitive science and neuroscience appear on the show, as Silva states, "to make sure we're doing the science right."[18] The show, which premiered in 2011, received 1.5 million viewers for episodes one and two and set a National Geographic record as the highest rated series launch in that channel's history.[19] [20]

Origins: The Journey of Humankind

Released in 2017 as a part of the National Geographic Channel, Jason Silva hosted this short series. Origins explores the very beginning of mankind and rewinds all the way back to the beginning, tracing the innovations that made us modern. The series features 8 episodes of approximately 45 minutes running time each, and as of this date, only a commitment to one season of Origins has been reported.

Guest appearances

In August 2012, he appeared on CBS This Morning.[21] In September 2012, he appeared on Australian ABC program Q&A.[22] He has appeared as a guest on Season 2 of StarTalk.[23] [24]

Original internet content

"Shots of Awe"

In May 2013, Jason began "Shots of Awe", a YouTube channel on the Discovery Digital Networks TestTube, presenting weekly "micro-documentaries" on creativity, innovation, exponential technology, futurism, metaphysics, existentialism and the human condition.[25] Zoltan Istvan, editor for the Huffington Post, wrote that Shots of Awe is a blend of philosophy and art and has been massively popular to the younger generation.[26]

Other appearances

In October 2013, Silva appeared on YouTube for Google and NASA's Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab.[27] He has appeared multiple times as a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

In March 2014, he was a guest in an episode of SourceFed's Tabletalk.[28] In December 2017, he appeared as a guest host on the trivia app HQ Trivia.

Other accomplishments

Silva has been featured in The Atlantic, The Economist,[29] Vanity Fair,[30] Forbes,[31] [32] [33] Wired,[34] and many others.

In 2011, he became a fellow at the Hybrid Reality Institute, examining the symbiosis between man and machine.[35]

His film Attention: The Immersive Power of Cinema[36] was part of the exhibition 'Kino und der kinamatografische Blick' ('Cinema and the cinematographic gaze'), 20 March - 2 June 2013, at MEWO Kunsthalle in Memmingen (Germany).[37]

In 2014, Silva served as advisor for National Geographic Channel's Expedition Granted competition in which finalists are chosen based on their project's originality, viability and potential impact on either the local or global community.[38]

Silva has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.

Conferences and lectures

Personal life

Silva currently lives in Amsterdam.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: King. Gayle. Mason. Anthony. Otter. Jack. For August 15, 2012, CBS. CBS This Morning. August 15, 2012. New York, NY.
  2. News: Emery. Mike. TV personality, Jason Silva to deliver Rockwell Lecture at UH October 22. 7 October 2016. University of Houston. September 22, 2015. Houston, Texas.
  3. Book: Tyson, Neil deGrasse . StarTalk: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Space Travel, Sci-Fi, the Human Race, the Universe, and Beyond . Liu . Charles . Simons . Jeffrey Lee . Nye . Bill . Mirman . Eugene . Nice . Chuck . Lord . Leighann . . 2016 . 9781426217272 . Washington D.C. . 230 . en . Neil deGrasse Tyson . Charles Liu . Bill Nye . Eugene Mirman . Chuck Nice . Leighann Lord.
  4. News: Andersen, Ross & Silva, Jason. A Timothy Leary for the Viral Video Age. interview . 8 October 2016. The Atlantic. April 12, 2012.
  5. Web site: Miller. Gerri. 3 February 2016 . The Jewish Stars, Creators and Themes of Winter TV . JewishJournal.com . Tribe Media . 26 October 2017 .
  6. Web site: Heller, Sabine . May 20, 2011 . Jason Silva and Max Lugavere . . text intro to video . https://web.archive.org/web/20151119055731/https://www.vogue.it/en/people-are-talking-about/focus-on/2011/05/jason-silva-and-max-lugavere . 6 April 2023. 2015-11-19 .
  7. News: Smith. Lynn. Programmers on Current: Your 15 Minutes Start Now. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Regional. July 5, 2006. Pittsburgh, PA. B-4. 5 April 2023.
  8. News: Khamis. Jumana. Filmmaker-philosopher makes a stop at Dubai school. 8 October 2016. Gulf News. September 14, 2012.
  9. Web site: Gould. Dan. Jason Silva to speak at PSFK Conference NYC 2012. PSFK.com. PSFK, LLC. 8 October 2016. New York. February 20, 2012.
  10. Web site: Silva, Jason . Jason Silva Bio. CAA Speakers. 17 August 2012.
  11. News: Kolawale. Emi. Jason Silva on what it takes to be a 'wonder junkie'. 8 October 2016. The Washington Post. March 13, 2013. Washington, DC.
  12. Web site: Silva. Jason. Radical Openness. 17 August 2012.
  13. Web site: Silva. Jason. Radical Openness. 28 September 2012.
  14. Web site: Silva. Jason. We Are The Gods Now. 29 June 2013.
  15. Web site: Silva, Jason & NGC Staff . December 17, 2014 . Jason Silva: Futurist, Philosopher, Host of Brain Games. National Geographic Channel (NGC) . https://web.archive.org/web/20150316101525/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/brain-games/articles/jason-silva/ . 6 April 2023. 2015-03-16 .
  16. News: Lessons in how the brain works. The York Dispatch. May 24, 2013. York, PA.
  17. News: Stasi. Linda. 50 shades of grey matter. Think you're pretty smart, wisely? Check out 'Brain Games'. New York Post. April 22, 2013. 74.
  18. News: Croot. James. Working the grey matter hard. Dominion Post. June 18, 2013. Wellington, New Zealand.
  19. News: Volmers. Eric. Brain Games show demands heady host; Illusions, tests reveal how the mind plays tricks. The Ottawa Citizen. August 26, 2013. Ottawa, Ontario. D.5.
  20. Web site: Brain Games is National Geographic's Highest-Rated Series Premiere Ever . 2013-04-23 . BroadwayWorld.com . Wisdom Digital Media . 2013-06-29.
  21. Web site: Jason Silva: Wonder junkie. CBS. 17 August 2012.
  22. Web site: Q&A - Tanya Plibersek, Kelly O'Dwyer, Mark Carnegie, Elliot Perlman & Jason Silva. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 September 2012.
  23. Web site: Brian Cox. https://web.archive.org/web/20151206142715/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/startalk/episodes/brian-cox/. dead. December 6, 2015. nationalgeographic.com. 26 October 2017.
  24. Web site: Season 2 of StarTalk TV on National Geographic Channel Schedule. 15 October 2015. startalkradio.net. 26 October 2017.
  25. Web site: Silva. Jason. Shots of Awe. . 29 June 2013.
  26. Web site: Transhumanist Art Will Help Guide People to Becoming Masterpieces. Zoltan. Istvan. 5 June 2014. huffingtonpost.com. 26 October 2017.
  27. Web site: Google and NASA's Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/CMdHDHEuOUE . 2021-12-14 . live. YouTube. 11 October 2013.
  28. Web site: Steve's New Best Friend and Why Movies Are Dreams on #TableTalk!. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/KhyHzxLvIIM . 2021-12-14 . live. SourceFedNERD. 18 March 2014. 26 October 2017. YouTube.
  29. Web site: Jason Silva speaking at the Ideas Economy Conference in Innovation. 17 August 2012.
  30. Web site: Why We Could All Use a Heavy Dose of Techno-optimism. 7 May 2010 . Vanity Fair. 17 August 2012.
  31. Web site: Radical Openness: A Trip Through Our Next Frontier. Forbes. 17 August 2012.
  32. Web site: Four Steps To Finding Inspiration, From An Idea DJ. Forbes. 17 August 2012.
  33. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/08/05/jason-silva-muses-on-humans-turning-into-gods/ Alex Knapp, Jason Silva Muses on Humans Turning Into Gods
  34. Jason Silva's Captivating Videos Deliver a Dose of 'Techno-Optimism'. Wired. 17 August 2012 . Millikan . Arikia .
  35. Web site: Hybrid Reality Fellows. Hybrid Reality Institute. 17 August 2012.
  36. Web site: Attention: The Immersive Power of Cinema. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/NlClW6-Ozms . 2021-12-14 . live. Jason Silva. 12 December 2012. 26 October 2017. YouTube.
  37. Web site: MEWO Kunsthalle Memmingen :: Kino und der kinematografische Blick. www.mewo-kunsthalle.de. 26 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171026163548/http://www.mewo-kunsthalle.de/ausstellungen/kino.html. 26 October 2017. dead.
  38. News: National Geographic Channel selects 10 next-Generation explorers as Expedition Granted finalists: from health care to the environment to bio-energy, 10 finalists have defined their ultimate dream expeditions for public consideration. 9 October 2016. PR Newswire. September 16, 2014. New York.
  39. News: TED Announces Speaker Program for TEDGlobal 2012 Conference "Radical Openness". 8 October 2016. PR Newswire. May 8, 2012. New York. https://web.archive.org/web/20150802120447/https://conferences.ted.com/TEDGlobal2012/program/speakers.php. 2 August 2015. dead.
  40. Web site: 2012 Zeitgeist Media Festival. Zeitgeist Media Festival. 8 October 2016. North Hollywood, CA. 5 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181005153922/http://www.zeitgeistmediafestival.com/. dead.
  41. News: Announcing Open Call for Talent in Los Angeles for 3rd Annual Zeitgeist Media Festival. 8 October 2016. PR Newswire. December 7, 2012. New York.
  42. News: Silva. Jason. On Transhumanism and Why Technology is our Silicon Nervous System. 9 October 2016. The Daily Beast. April 26, 2014. New York.
  43. Web site: Future of Film Series to include Aaron Sorkin, Bryan Cranston, Terence Winter, Jason Silva & More. Tribeca Film. 9 October 2016. March 17, 2014.
  44. News: Lithium announces Jason Silva as LiNC'16 Keynote. 8 October 2016. PR Newswire. April 13, 2016. New York.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jason Silva".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.