In this episode, Fraser McGruer, Nick Hare, Peter Coghill and Chris Wragg explore one of the most enduring pieces of technical advice: have you tried turning it off and on again?What begins with a glitchy video call and a reluctant router reboot quickly develops into a wide-ranging discussion about systems, states and the surprisingly deep logic behind rebooting—not just in computers, but in societies, economies and even our own lives.The team unpack what actually happens when you power cycle a device, from memory leaks and zombie processes to cosmic rays flipping bits in memory. From there, they build a broader framework: what counts as a “state”, what a “good state” might be, and when a system can—or cannot—be reset.Peter introduces a theory of rebootability, with criteria including whether a system has an external reference point, whether it depends on consensus, and whether it can be restarted from outside itself. These ideas are applied to everything from national constitutions and financial systems to climate change and rainforest collapse.Along the way, the conversation touches on revolutions, failed societal resets, post-war reconstruction, and the limits of trying to “go back” to a supposedly better past. The episode closes with personal reflections on resets—from Covid lockdowns to life-changing career shifts and the everyday reboot of sleep.In this episode:Why turning something off and on again actually worksWhat a “state” is (and why it matters)The concept of a “known good state”Peter’s theory of rebootabilitySystems that can’t be reset (climate, ecosystems, global economy)The role of consensus in rebooting social systemsWhy revolutions and resets often failThe appeal of starting over—from software to psychologyPersonal and societal examples of “reboots”Key ideas and concepts:State: The internal condition of a system that determines how it responds to inputsKnown good state: A reliable baseline you can return toRebootability: Whether a system can be reset to a functioning stateBootstrap problem: A system often needs something external to restart itPath dependency / hysteresis: How the past shapes what’s possible nowConsensus vs reality: Some systems only work if people agree they workTipping points: States from which recovery is difficult or impossibleExamples discussed:Routers, computers and memory leaksChess, board games and “soft locks”The climate and rainforest collapseWritten constitutions as “system blueprints”Currency resets (e.g. post-war Germany)The French Revolution and failed systemic resetsPost-war Germany and Japan vs Iraq and AfghanistanReligious and mythological “reboots” (e.g. the Flood narrative)Sleep as a daily biological reboot