Oliver Burkeman is the author of the New York Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks, Meditations for Mortals, and several other books on the philosophy and psychology of time management and happiness.
Ad-free episodes, links and more at https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Watch on YouTube. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other podcast platform.
Connect - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/ - X: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta - Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm
Timestamps
00:00 Mortality and Immortality
00:57 The Paradox of Infinite Time
02:51 Polls and Public Opinion on Immortality
05:09 The Concept of Finitude
06:56 The Philosophy of Time and Life's Shortness
10:03 Accepting Mortality and Denial of Death
19:49 Eastern and Western Philosophies
45:14 The Paradox of Productivity and Burnout
45:45 Critique of Capitalism and Personal Goals
47:19 Finding Purpose in a Capitalist System
48:33 Introducing 'Meditations for Mortals'
54:40 The Three to Four Hour Rule
01:04:20 The Fallacy of Effort Equals Worth
01:07:57 Parenting and Personal Development
01:15:06 Closing Thoughts and Book Recommendations
Ad-free episodes, links and more at https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Neil Johnson is a professor of physics at George Washington University. His work explores impact of generative AI tools like ChatGPT in online battlefields (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more). Support & connect - Like and subscribe - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/ - X: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta - Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm Podcast info - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3IVDF2W - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3oEZYmJ - YouTube: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-youtube Timestamps 00:00 Understanding the AI Battlefield 01:21 Global Context and Online Mapping 02:38 Challenges of Online Bad Actors 03:58 Congressional Hearings and Platform Responsibilities 05:49 The Role of Smaller Platforms 07:10 AI's Impact on Content Creation 08:36 Defining Bad Actor AI 20:18 Ethical Considerations and Access to AI Models 39:35 Distrust Subset and Community Influence 44:51 Navigating Distrust in Online Information 45:13 The Growing Distrust Subset 47:58 Quantum Dots and Vaccine Myths 54:58 The Complexity of Bad Actor AI 56:03 Predicting the Frequency of AI Attacks 58:01 The Red Queen Hypothesis 01:04:17 Endemic AI and Control Strategies 01:09:06 The Role of Complexity Science 01:20:12 Encouraging Interdisciplinary Studies 01:24:41 Book Recommendations and Final Thoughts #paradigm #ai #chatgpt #battlefield #online #socialmedia
Find full ad-free video episodes and more at https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Cailin O’Connor is a philosopher of science and evolutionary game theorist. She’s a Professor in the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science at UC Irvine.
We discuss:
news media and exaggerated and misleading headlines
scientific and journalistic practices, and the incentives behind them
how content curation impacts public perception and understanding of what is true
the role of algorithms in perpetuating misleading content on social media
practical suggestions for improving our information environment
personal reflections and recommendations on navigating misinformation
… and other topics
Podcast info
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3IVDF2W
- Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3oEZYmJ
- YouTube: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-youtube
Support & connect
- Like and subscribe
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/
- X: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta
- Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm
Timestamps
00:00 Misleading Titles & Headlines
02:59 Journalistic Practices
04:02 Curation in Journalism
11:41 Challenges in Fair Reporting
22:08 Hyperbole and Extreme Headlines
26:42 Confirmation Bias and Trust in Sources
32:09 Best Practices for Science Journalism
35:50 Need for Algorithm Regulation
38:03 Case for Social Media Regulation
43:01 Role of Incentives in Algorithm Design
44:45 Challenges of Algorithm Transparency
47:09 Improving Social Media Platforms
53:54 User Responsibility vs. Systemic Change
56:20 Future of Misinformation
01:03:17 Navigating Information in the Digital Age
01:09:37 Books and Personal Influences
David Krakauer is an evolutionary biologist and President of the Santa Fe Institute. His research explores the evolution of intelligence and stupidity on Earth.
Ad-free episodes, AMAs and more at https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
David's Books
Books discussed
Timestamps 00:00 Intro
01:45 Limits of AI and Human Predictability
06:15 Determinism & Laplace
09:00 Free Will
23:00 Symmetry Breaking and Quantum Fluctuations
41:00 Emergence and Effective Theories
50:15 Large Language Models
53:00 Evolution of Intelligence
55:00 Science: Humanistic vs. Utilitarian
01:07:00 Complexity Science and Its Applications
01:14:00 Future of Complexity Science
01:29:00 Book Recommendations
01:36:00 Who Should Represent us to an AI Superintelligence
This is the full video of our previously published audio-only discussion with neuroscientist Anil Seth.
Video episodes and other content are available at https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Special episode - please share your feedback.
This is the video version of our most recent conversation with Christof Koch, without the intro from Matt. Usually video episodes are published on YouTube, and audio episodes with intros are published elsewhere.
Which do you prefer? Please let us know what you think in the comments
Christof's latest book can be found here
Christof Koch is an acclaimed neuroscientist known for his work on consciousness and the physical world.
Find full episode details, video, and more at https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Christof's latest book: Then I Am Myself the World
Avi Loeb is a world-leading astrophysicist known for his work on the search for technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilisations. Enjoy our conversation!
Find full episode details, video, and more at https://www.matthewgeleta.com
Michael Muthukrishna is an associate professor of economic psychology at the London School of Economics, and the author of the book "A Theory of Everyone".
Timestamps:
00:00 Episode intro
01:00 Energy and nuclear power - reflections
08:00 How do cultural differences impact how we work together?
23:30 Why is human coordination and cooperation so difficult
33:50 Why do we need energy abundance to enable cooperation?
46:05 What is the most efficient energy source?
1:00:00 Why is energy becoming scarce?
1:06:45 Nuclear - why might this be our best bet?
1:11:40 Sustainability - should we pull the brakes?
1:23:16 Major challenge for the 21st century
1:27:50 Book recommendations
#nuclear #energy #sustainability #solarenergy #windenergy #nuclearenergy
Lee McIntyre is philosopher and leading voice on the topics of Disinformation and Science Denial.
Lee's books: https://leemcintyrebooks.com/
Timestamps
0:00 Intro - disinformation
5:05 Flat Earther phenomenon
9:30 What is disinformation?
11:40 How big of a problem is disinformation?
16:40 What should we do when the truth sounds conspiratorial?
22:15 Origins to Big Tobacco
27:50 Amplification of disinformation
31:25 Is social media to blame?
34:30 How should social media companies be regulated?
46:30 Social media business models
50:15 Information diet - what is healthy?
56:45 How can individuals protect themselves against misinformation?
59:25 Book recommendations
Philip Goff is a philosopher and author, and one of the world's foremost proponents of panpsychism, among several other non-mainstream philosophical views.
Philip's Links:
Timestamps 00:00 Intro 04:30 Response to Richard Dawkins' meaningless purposeless universe
10:15 Why might the universe have a purpose?
15:10 Why does the universe seem designed for life?
20:30 Is the universe design for rabbits?
26:30 The multiverse hypothesis and reverse gambler's fallacy
38:10 Pseudoscience and falsifiability
41:30 What does it mean to say the universe has a purpose?
45:10 Is a universe with purpose a good thing?
56:50 How this has changed Philip's life?
1:02:55 Regrets and #movember
1:04:30 Book recommendations 1:09:50 Who should represent humanity to an AI superintelligence?
Sara is an astronomer and planetary scientist known for her pioneering work on the vast and unknown world of exoplanets, and the search for life beyond Earth.
Find episode details, video and more at: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
We discuss:
… and other topics.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro: Where are they?
5:35 Is there life on Venus?
13:25 Venus Life Finder mission
17:15 Non-biological life?
20:15 How might aliens discover life on Earth?
23:17 Should we broadcast our existence?
28:30 Consensus view - is there life outside of Earth?
31:05 Fermi Paradox - where are they?
34:50 Exoplanets
48:20 Starshade mission
54:11 Beauty and awe in physics
1:03:50 Book recommendations
1:11:23 Behind the scenes / backstory
Joscha is an artificial intelligence researcher, cognitive scientist, and philosopher known for his work on cognitive architectures and mind extension technologies.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus content and perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Watch on YouTube. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter/X for episodes and infrequent social commentary.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro - AI risk
5:20 Transhumanism and mind uploading
10:20 Philosophy of self & mind
12:50 Is mind uploading physically possible?
21:50 Tele-transportation
24:50 Philosophy of self & mind - part 2
31:40 Gaia & hypergaia
37:05 Information processing & consciousness
54:10 AI risk & Eliezer Yudkowsky
1:03:10 AI regulation & control
1:11:25 Responsible AI development
1:27:26 AI intelligence explosion
1:36:23 Book recommendations & wrap
Anil Seth is a cognitive and computational neuroscientist and author of an excellent and highly successful book called Being You: A New Science of Consciousness.
He is recognised as being in the top 0.1% of most impactful researchers globally, and his TED talks have collectively been viewed around 20 million.
Episode notes more more available here: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Anil's book available here: https://amzn.to/4dKXg2Mhttps://amzn.to/4dKXg2M
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
4:10 Blue and black or white and gold?
9:08 Yanny or Laurel?
12:17 Do we see the world in the same way?
18:21 Perceived is a controlled hallucination
24:16 Why does consciousness exist?
31:19 The Hard and Real problems of consciousness
34:15 Integrated information theory
46:17 Beast machines and the emergence of consciousness
1:04:40 Dreams, psychedelics and exotic conscious experiences
1:18:00 Book recommendations
Samir Okasha is a philosopher of science whose work focuses on theories of knowledge, evolutionary theory and the philosophy of biology.
He’s a fellow of the British Academy, and the author of several interesting and very accessible books on philosophy and science, including Agents and Goals in Evolution, and an introductory book to the philosophy of biology.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers and get access to bonus content, episode notes, and subscriber perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:00 The limits of human knowledge
3:55 What is science?
9:00 Science vs philosophy
18:38 Can we make progress in philosophy?
23:20 Philosophy of biology
29:58 Functional language in biology
34:12 Is evolutionary psychology is pseudoscience?
45:40 Evolution and morality
58:28 Can we get 'ought' from 'is'?
1:08:00 Book recommendations
Naomi is a Harvard University professor of the history of science, and an Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. She’s a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action.
She’s also a world-renowned author, having co-authored 9 books, including the best-selling book Merchants of Doubt, Climate change denial, and her most recent book, the Big Myth, which explores the idea of free market economics, and its dark and politically laden history.
In this conversation Naomi and Matt discuss:
* The relationships between science, economics, and politics
* The idea of the free market, and common misconceptions about free market economics
* Arguments for and against a free market way of thinking
* The incentives systems that influence how ideas spread in a society
* Meme theory
* Propaganda
… and other topics
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers and get access to bonus content, episode notes, and subscriber perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro
0:03:15 Myth of the Free Market
0:08:55 Adam Smith vs regulation
0:28:40 Bad incentives vs bad actors
0:34:25 Arguments for and against regulation
0:44:10 Are free markets more fair?
0:53:00 Distrust in government as a cause of free market thinking
0:57:50 Meme theory of free market thinking
1:01:00 Ayn Rand & propaganda
1:09:00 Advice for people in positions of power
1:14:20 The Entrepreneurial State
1:16:50 Book recommendations
1:18:00 Advice for scientists
1:18:00 Who should represent humanity to an AI superintelligence?
Stephen Fleming is a professor of cognitive neuroscience whose work focuses on metacognition - what people think or know about their own minds - and the computational and neural basis of subjective experience. He’s the author of the book Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness.
Today’s topics include the possibility of self deception; cognitive biases and what we can do to guard against them; the benefits and drawbacks of improved metacognition; the relationship between metacognition of conscious experience; the theoretical limits of self knowledge; and other topics.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers and get access to bonus content, episode notes, and subscriber perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro
0:01:20 Self deception
0:08:08 Cognitive biases and over confidence
0:14:40 Evolution of metacognitive biases
0:18:18 Dunning Kruger effect
0:20:52 Split brain experiments and self narratives
0:25:32 Delusion of self understanding
0:29:54 Isolation of losing touch with reality
0:34:38 How good is our metacognition?
0:38:53 Metacognition vs performance
0:42:46 How trainable is metacognition?
0:46:51 Limits of self knowledge
0:50:52 Theory of self vs others
0:54:16 Benefits from improving metacognition
1:01:40 Psychosis and reality vs imagination
1:14:15 The hard problem of consciousness
1:27:05 Book recommendations
1:33:35 Who should represent humanity to an AI superintelligence?
Thomas Metzinger is a philosopher and author whose work focuses neuroethics, neurotechnology, and the philosophy of mind. Thomas is the author of books on the philosophy of mind, consciousness, and the self, including the Ego Tunnel, Being No One, and The Elephant and the Blind.
Today’s topics include the prospects for engineering post-biotic conscious systems, and the ethical implications of doing so; psychedelic drugs and psychedelic experiences, and what these might teach us about the nature of the mind; the range of possible conscious experiences available to human beings and other systems; climate change; intellectual honesty; and other topics.
Links:
* Website: https://thomasmetzinger.com/
* Books - available for free on the website
SUPPORT & CONNECT:
- Follow and leave a 5-star review
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta
- Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm
PODCAST INFO:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MatthewGeleta
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3IVDF2W
- Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3oEZYmJ
- Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-google
Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro
0:02:10 Postbiotic conscious systems
0:13:00 The Ego Tunnel
0:20:15 Space of possible experiences
0:29:13 Psychedelics and epistemology
0:36:17 Ethical obligations to explore phenomenal state space
0:50:36 Climate change & culture of consciousness
1:00:45 Can we pull back from the brink?
1:09:00 AI ethics & suffering AI
1:27:20 Minimal forms of consciousness
1:35:40 Book recommendations
1:37:00 Advice (meditate!)
Get full access to Paradigm at
Alice Dreger is a bioethicist, historian, activist, and author. She’s well known as a powerful public voice in support of rights people born with atypical sex characteristics, such as intersex.
In this conversation, Alice and Matt explore the science, philosophy, and history sex, gender, intersex, and similar topics.
Topics:
* Biological and social determinants of sex and gender
* Medical treatment of people born with atypical sex characteristics
* Ethics of sex and gender affirming medical interventions, especially in the case of children and adolescents
* Conflicts that often arise between science and activists on matters relating to individual identity
… and other topics.
Alice’s links:
* Website: https://alicedreger.com/
* Books: https://alicedreger.com/books/
* Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliceDreger
SUPPORT & CONNECT:
- Follow and leave a 5-star review
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta
- Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm
PODCAST INFO:
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3IVDF2W
- Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3oEZYmJ
- YouTube: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-youtube
- RSS: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1656558/s/65176.rss
Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro
0:02:20 Alice’s path to studying intersex
0:04:05 What are sex and gender?
0:08:20 Are sex and gender biologically determined?
0:10:14 Is intersex a “problem”?
0:13:00 Sexual orientation vs gender identity
0:16:34 How common is intersex?
0:22:24 Medical treatment of intersex people
0:30:23 Experience of people with intersex
0:41:21 Intersex in children and adolescents
0:44:32 Scientists vs activists
0:55:54 Galileo’s Middle Finger
0:58:21 Book recommendations
1:01:20 Advice for aspiring activists
Thomas Hertog is a cosmologist and one of Stephen Hawking’s closest collaborators. He's the author of the book On the Origin of Time, which is a beautiful blend of physics, philosophy, and biography of Stephen and his long term collaboration with Thomas.
Find episode details, video and more at: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/
Topics:
* The physics and philosophy of time
* The origin of time, and how even make sense of statements of that type
* A bold new idea about the origin of the laws of physics
* Stephen Hawking, both as a scientist and a human being
… and other topics.
Thomas’ book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Origin-Time-journey-Stephen-Hawking-ebook/dp/B08QV2Y1JF
SUPPORT & CONNECT:
- Follow and leave a 5-star review
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta
- Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm
PODCAST INFO:
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3IVDF2W
- Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3oEZYmJ
- Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-google
- YouTube: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-youtube
- RSS: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1656558/s/65176.rss
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:10 How could time have an origin?
8:15 Human intuition and the origin of time
10:50 Thomas and Matt reminisce about Stephen Hawking
20:20 Can time flow in reverse?
28:30 Wave Function of the Universe
36:25 Imaginary time & quantum gravity
39:15 Darwinian evolution of the laws of physics
56:15 Quantum multiverse
1:06:10 Experimental verification of Thomas' & Stephen's' theories
1:15:25 Book recommendations
1:18:25 Who should represent humanity to an AI superintelligence?