HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

‘This is my property. I’m putting something on it.’

Views: 617
The Georgetown professor isn't a toy lover—he's trying to convey a philosophical idea about the nature of free will and the capacity of humans to remake the world around them.

https://reason.com/video/2022/05/23/meet-newton-howard-the-brain-scientist-who-put-giant-transformers-in-front-of-his-d-c-home/
----------------
In March of 2021, the brain scientist, inventor, and national security advisor Newton Howard erected two Transformers statues of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime outside his home in the District of Columbia's Georgetown neighborhood. His neighbors were furious and demanded that he take them down. Howard refused.

"With an abundance of real issues in the world…why were two sculptures…at the center of debate by such high intellectuals and high-powered people?" he asks.

They complained to the district's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the federally funded Old Georgetown Board, which oversees the historic neighborhood. Howard was fined $20,000 and ordered to dismantle them.

After 11 years in the intelligence community, during which he worked as an analyst for the CIA, dictating to him what he was allowed to put on his property, he says, was a violation of the principles he had dedicated his career to upholding.

"This is my property," he tells Reason. "I put something on it."

But why Transformers? He's not a toy lover or a fan of the animated movies or TV shows. Instead, he's trying to convey a philosophical idea about the nature of free will and the capacity of humans to remake the world around them.

Photo: Taylor Crul - U.S. Air Force via CNP/picture alliance/ Consolidated News Photos/Newscom

Music: "Helix" by Break of Reality via Artlist; "Source Code" by Jimmy Svensson via Artlist; "Guardian Angel" by Ian Post via Artlist; "Moon Travel" by Roman P via Artlist; "Plastic Breath" by Tamuz Dekel via Artlist; "The Undertake" by Borrtex via Artlist;
"Fury" by Ardie Son via Artlist

Written and produced by Noor Greene; edited by Danielle Thompson; shot by Isaac Reese, Mike Koslap, and Aaron Schwartz; audio by Ian Keyser.
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for 'If you have a central bank, you're 50% communist out of the gate.'48:54
'If you have a central bank, you're 50% communist out of the gate.'
ReasonVids
791 views
Thumbnail for Shekels0:08
Shekels
AOU
5832 views
Thumbnail for 3 times the lethal dose of Fentanyl + several other drugs0:14
3 times the lethal dose of Fentanyl + several other drugs
AOU
1485 views
Thumbnail for This Corona shit is for the plebs. It doesn't exist for rich people.1:56
This Corona shit is for the plebs. It doesn't exist for rich people.
bestofpoal
1019 views
Thumbnail for Rep. Justin Amash: The Two-Party System Needs to Die29:21
Rep. Justin Amash: The Two-Party System Needs to Die
ReasonVids
993 views
Thumbnail for Why 'Free College' Is a Terrible Idea7:35
Why 'Free College' Is a Terrible Idea
ReasonVids
935 views
Thumbnail for Crispin Sartwell - Anarchist Philosopher5:16
Crispin Sartwell - Anarchist Philosopher
ReasonVids
862 views
Thumbnail for Thanks to Teachers Unions, Families are Fleeing Traditional Public Schools3:57
Thanks to Teachers Unions, Families are Fleeing Traditional Public Schools
ReasonVids
880 views
Thumbnail for Like the founders envisioned ...? Bitch, the founders would have already convicted you and your democrat cohorts of treason and left you swinging outside the courthouse2:40
Like the founders envisioned ...? Bitch, the founders would have already convicted you and your democrat cohorts of treason and left you swinging outside the courthouse
AOU
1355 views
Thumbnail for 10 Years to Life for Medical Marijuana: The Trial of Aaron Sandusky6:32
10 Years to Life for Medical Marijuana: The Trial of Aaron Sandusky
ReasonVids
948 views
Thumbnail for Justin Amash on How To End the Civil War in the Libertarian Party1:13:13
Justin Amash on How To End the Civil War in the Libertarian Party
ReasonVids
807 views
Thumbnail for Insane in the Ma'am Brain (1 of 2) | Grunt Speak Live1:32:48
Insane in the Ma'am Brain (1 of 2) | Grunt Speak Live
Terrence Popp
1113 views
Thumbnail for Stossel: Inequality Myths3:56
Stossel: Inequality Myths
ReasonVids
937 views
Thumbnail for Virginia Postrel: How to Reform Health Care Without Killing Innovation9:35
Virginia Postrel: How to Reform Health Care Without Killing Innovation
ReasonVids
848 views
Thumbnail for Get quacked on [with audio]0:10
Get quacked on [with audio]
voatcatbox
421 views
Thumbnail for Are 'Sexy' Buses, Tunnels and Tolls the Answer to L.A. Traffic?6:03
Are 'Sexy' Buses, Tunnels and Tolls the Answer to L.A. Traffic?
ReasonVids
910 views
Thumbnail for Uber Wars: How D.C.Tried to Kill a Great New Ride Technology11:02
Uber Wars: How D.C.Tried to Kill a Great New Ride Technology
ReasonVids
795 views
Thumbnail for DIY face masks in 10 seconds & improve cheaper masks #coronavirus #facemask | Genius Asian4:28
DIY face masks in 10 seconds & improve cheaper masks #coronavirus #facemask | Genius Asian
diy.topic
777 views
Thumbnail for Arab Spring Update: Freedom House's Arch Puddington on How 2012 Will Be Like 1989.4:56
Arab Spring Update: Freedom House's Arch Puddington on How 2012 Will Be Like 1989.
ReasonVids
942 views
Thumbnail for All Kinds of Fat | Popp Culture26:32
All Kinds of Fat | Popp Culture
Terrence Popp
1610 views
Thumbnail for Cheese Lovers Fight Idiotic FDA Ban on Mimolette Cheese!3:26
Cheese Lovers Fight Idiotic FDA Ban on Mimolette Cheese!
ReasonVids
852 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.tv, reasontv, transformers, ironman, newtonhoward, parkinsons, georgetown, marvel, property rights
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle