{"id":145262,"date":"2025-01-30T12:10:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T10:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=145262"},"modified":"2025-01-30T12:10:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T10:10:04","slug":"the-eternal-cycle-how-ancient-greece-predicted-the-rise-and-fall-of-modern-democracies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=145262","title":{"rendered":"The Eternal Cycle: How Ancient Greece Predicted the Rise and Fall of Modern Democracies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"922\" height=\"611\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2neyqy2mmszd1-1.jpeg?resize=922%2C611&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-145264\" style=\"width:662px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2neyqy2mmszd1-1.jpeg?resize=922%2C611&amp;ssl=1 922w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2neyqy2mmszd1-1.jpeg?resize=768%2C509&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2neyqy2mmszd1-1.jpeg?resize=920%2C610&amp;ssl=1 920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2neyqy2mmszd1-1.jpeg?w=1284&amp;ssl=1 1284w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 922px) 100vw, 922px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Warning from History<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On the morning of January 6, 2021, the world watched as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. It was a moment of reckoning\u2014chaos unleashed in the heart of the world&#8217;s most celebrated democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"922\" height=\"519\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RnzQXD2_d38?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Some called it a rebellion, others an insurrection. But to an ancient Greek historian named Polybius, it would have been something else entirely: inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 2,000 years ago,<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Polybius\"> Polybius i<\/a>ntroduced a concept that few remember today, but whose relevance has never been greater: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/26213908\"><strong>Anakyklosis\u2014the Cycle of Political Evolution<\/strong>. <\/a>It\u2019s the idea that all governments, no matter how just or noble, are doomed to fall into predictable patterns of corruption, decay, and rebirth. It\u2019s a cycle we have seen time and again, from the fall of Rome to the rise of authoritarian populism in the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if history tells us anything, it&#8217;s that the cycle is turning once more in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Cycle of Power: From Democracy to Mob Rule<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"922\" height=\"1432\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg?resize=922%2C1432&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-145265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project-scaled.jpg?resize=922%2C1432&amp;ssl=1 922w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1193&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project-scaled.jpg?resize=989%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 989w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project-scaled.jpg?resize=1319%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1319w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project-scaled.jpg?resize=920%2C1429&amp;ssl=1 920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project-scaled.jpg?w=1649&amp;ssl=1 1649w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 922px) 100vw, 922px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Polybius laid out the six stages of government like a tragic script, one that civilizations unknowingly follow, again and again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Monarchy\"><strong>Monarchy (Rule of One \u2013 Benevolent)<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 A strong, wise leader emerges to bring order to chaos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tyrant\">Tyranny (Rule of One \u2013 Corrupt)<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Power corrupts, and the leader becomes despotic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aristocracy\"><strong>Aristocracy (Rule of the Best \u2013 Benevolent)<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 The best and brightest take over, governing with wisdom.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oligarchy\"><strong>Oligarchy (Rule of the Few \u2013 Corrupt)<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 The elites grow greedy, consolidating power for themselves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Democracy\"><strong>Democracy (Rule of the Many \u2013 Benevolent)<\/strong> \u2013<\/a> The people rise up, demanding a government that serves them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mob_rule\"><strong>Ochlokratia (Mob Rule \u2013 Corrupt)<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 Democracy descends into chaos, manipulated by demagogues and misinformation, leading to collapse and the rise of a new monarchy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Sound familiar? It should. Because right now, the world&#8217;s great democracies are teetering on the edge of <strong>ochlokratia<\/strong>\u2014mob rule. The signs are all around us in 2025 and maybe earlier than that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>America, Rome, and the Dangers of Late-Stage Democracy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"330\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ad534f5-da-dfa7-1435-44854bfddd6c_t9djiYfTWWTWvwtqpt7Q_pasted_image_0_9.webp?resize=330%2C282&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-145266\" style=\"width:477px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>History doesn\u2019t repeat, but it does rhyme. Consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.studentsofhistory.com\/the-decline-of-the-roman-republic#:~:text=Economic%20problems%2C%20government%20corruption%2C%20crime,and%20revenue%20for%20the%20Republic.\">the fall of the Roman Republic<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A democratic system once admired, where power was shared among elected officials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A growing divide between the elite and the working class, fueling discontent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The rise of populist leaders who promised to \u201cfix the system\u201d while eroding its foundations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Political violence becoming normalized, as factions turned to force instead of debate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By the time Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE, Rome had already crossed a point of no return. Democracy had rotted from within, paving the way for empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, look around in 2025. The warning signs are eerily similar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rising <strong>wealth inequality<\/strong>\u2014a handful of billionaires hold more wealth than entire nations, with AI-driven economies exacerbating disparities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Populist strongmen<\/strong> winning elections by exploiting public disillusionment, now amplified by deepfake propaganda and AI-manipulated media.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <strong>disinformation crisis<\/strong>, where truth is drowned in a sea of conspiracy theories, with major news organizations struggling to compete with viral AI-generated misinformation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Governments <strong>increasingly paralyzed<\/strong> by polarization, unable to solve real problems, as social unrest escalates globally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The rise of <strong>authoritarian tendencies<\/strong>, with leaders undermining democratic institutions under the guise of \u201cprotecting the people,\u201d now armed with digital surveillance and AI-powered state control.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Like Rome before it, modern democracy is not dying from external threats. It is crumbling from within\u2014now at an accelerated pace thanks to technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Digital Age and the Acceleration of Ochlokratia<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Polybius never could have predicted social media, but if he had, he would have seen it as the ultimate accelerator of political decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2025, the situation has worsened. AI-driven content manipulation, hyper-personalized propaganda, and algorithm-driven outrage cycles have turned democracy into a battleground of <strong>perception over reality<\/strong>. Deepfake videos, voice clones, and AI-generated political figures blur the line between truth and fiction. The digital public square, once seen as a beacon of democratic engagement, has become an ecosystem of <strong>rage-fueled disinformation<\/strong>, rewarding extremism over nuance, engagement over truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so we find ourselves in the final stage of democracy\u2014the moment where <strong>people, manipulated by demagogues, AI-driven propaganda, and digital algorithms, turn against the very system meant to protect them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Can We Break the Cycle?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the ancient Greeks were right, the natural next step is a return to <strong>authoritarian rule<\/strong>\u2014a strongman rising from the ashes, promising to \u201cfix\u201d the broken system, but at the cost of freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But history is not destiny. The cycle is a warning, not a prophecy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Democracies do not fail overnight. They erode, piece by piece, as citizens grow complacent, as leaders exploit fear, as institutions weaken under the weight of corruption. And yet, history has also shown that <strong>the fate of a nation is not written in stone\u2014it is written by those who refuse to let history repeat itself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The solution does not lie in nostalgia for the past, but in <strong>rebuilding trust, strengthening institutions, and restoring civic engagement<\/strong>. It lies in resisting the allure of simple answers to complex problems. It lies in demanding accountability from leaders, media, and ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2025, it also means tackling the <strong>AI-driven erosion of democracy<\/strong>, ensuring that technology serves the people rather than manipulates them. We must regulate AI in politics, educate citizens on digital literacy, and push for transparent governance in an age where deception has never been easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Polybius gave us the diagnosis. The question now is: <strong>Will we choose a different ending?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>We stand at a crossroads, just as Rome did, just as every great civilization has before us. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The forces of history are powerful, but they are not absolute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.\">Martin Luther King, Jr<\/a><sup data-fn=\"0b678e98-8558-4fde-99f7-9d5d1290ae3e\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#0b678e98-8558-4fde-99f7-9d5d1290ae3e\" id=\"0b678e98-8558-4fde-99f7-9d5d1290ae3e-link\">1<\/a><\/sup>.,\u00a0 once said, <em>\u201cThe arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice, but it does not bend on its own.\u201d<\/em> We, the people, must be the ones to bend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because democracy is not a given. It is a choice. And that choice is ours to make\u2014before history that always tends to repeat itself makes it for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Warning from History On the morning of January 6, 2021, the world watched as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. It was a moment of reckoning\u2014chaos unleashed in the heart of the world&#8217;s most celebrated democracy. Some called it a rebellion, others an insurrection. But to an ancient Greek historian named Polybius, it would [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"id\":\"0b678e98-8558-4fde-99f7-9d5d1290ae3e\",\"content\":\"\"}]","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[3544,4044,1584,1934,755,4045,4046,4043],"class_list":["post-145262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-other-stuff","tag-ai","tag-anakyklosis-the-cycle-of-political-evolution","tag-democracy","tag-history","tag-politics","tag-polybious","tag-rome","tag-the-cycle-of-power"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-eternal-cycle-how-ancient-gr.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":148280,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=148280","url_meta":{"origin":145262,"position":0},"title":"Is Democracy Safe from AI\u2014Or Just on Borrowed Time?","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"15\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The end of democracy rarely arrives with sirens and flames. More often, it fades quietly\u2014choice by choice, habit by habit, until the rituals remain but the substance has gone. In their timely paper, Don\u2019t Panic (Yet), Felix Simon and Sacha Altay remind us that the AI apocalypse never arrived in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-14.32.39.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-14.32.39.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-14.32.39.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-14.32.39.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-14.32.39.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":145587,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=145587","url_meta":{"origin":145262,"position":1},"title":"The Politics of Short-Term Thinking: Why the Future Is Always Someone Else\u2019s Problem","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"18\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/nxMMElT61A8?si=-_P9iyg2TUxC7ky3 Imagine a house on fire. The flames are spreading, the walls are crumbling\u2014but instead of putting it out, the people in charge start debating who gets credit for calling 911. That\u2019s what politics looks like in 2025. Everywhere you look, the world is full of problems that didn\u2019t have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-politics-of-short-term-think.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-politics-of-short-term-think.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-politics-of-short-term-think.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-politics-of-short-term-think.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-politics-of-short-term-think.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":144834,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=144834","url_meta":{"origin":145262,"position":2},"title":"The Strauss-Howe Generational Theory","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"09\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"They say history tends to repeat itself. Strauss and Howe laid the groundwork for their theory in their book\u00a0Generations: The History of America\u2019s Future, 1584 to 2069\u00a0(1991), which discusses the\u00a0history of the United States\u00a0as a series of generational biographies going back to 1584.[1]\u00a0In their book\u00a0The Fourth Turning\u00a0(1997), the authors expanded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/fourth_turning_wwiii_2025.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/fourth_turning_wwiii_2025.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/fourth_turning_wwiii_2025.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120649,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=120649","url_meta":{"origin":145262,"position":3},"title":"There&#8217;s only one way to end the cycle","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"06\/10\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"via poorlydrawnlines There\u2019s only one way to end the cycle was originally published on The Curious Brain","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poorlydrawnlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the_cycle.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poorlydrawnlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the_cycle.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poorlydrawnlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the_cycle.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":121761,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=121761","url_meta":{"origin":145262,"position":4},"title":"How to use your cycle as a shield","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"05\/06\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"now you know via monaeltahawy How to use your cycle as a shield was originally published on The Curious Brain","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/66.media.tumblr.com\/4e9a8c95372e9445cb35d0decaa14d83\/tumblr_n3o6a9tqWN1qawvjfo5_400.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":101830,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=101830","url_meta":{"origin":145262,"position":5},"title":"Vicious Cycle Vicious Cycle features\u2026","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"11\/01\/2017","format":"video","excerpt":"Vicious Cycle Vicious Cycle features a group of little autonomous robots performing a range of repetitive functions, driven by mechanical devices. But as the mechanisms mercilessly start getting faster and faster, things take a turn for the worse for the helpless robots. from Michael Marczewski(Source: https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=145262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145269,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145262\/revisions\/145269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/145268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=145262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=145262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=145262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}