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The Escaped Sapiens Podcast attempts to give an authentic and unedited voice to the researchers and explorers extending the boundaries of what is humanly possible.
Episodes
Friday Aug 02, 2024
Friday Aug 02, 2024
This is a conversation with Stephen Wolfram about his proposed theory of everything. Stephen is a British-American computer scientist, mathematician, physicist, and CEO of Wolfram Research. He also created Mathematica, and Wolfram|Alpha & Wolfram Language, and is the Author of 'A New Kind of Science' as well as a number of other books.
Stephen's attempt to derive all of the laws of nature (including gravitation, statistical mechanics, and general relativity) rests on two key ideas:
1. The idea of computational irreducibility. In physics we usually deal with systems for which we are able to predict the state of the system at a later time as long as the initial conditions are known. For example, the trajectory of a bullet can be calculated at any point along its path. There are, however, complicated systems like cellular automata where there isn't a closed formula that lets you calculate the state of the system at some arbitrary later point. Instead you are forced to compute the development of the system one step at a time if you want to know how it evolves. Such systems are 'computationally irreducible'.
2. The idea of computational boundedness. This is the idea that we have finite computing power in our brains. There are many complex systems that scale so fast that our bounded computing power isn't enough follow every element of the system (e.g. we can't visualize the motion of the billions of cells in our own bodies, and so instead we develop an aggregated model of ourselves).
Starting with these two ideas, Stephen asks what a world with computational irreducibility would look like to a computationally bounded creature living in that world. He then builds a computational model based on hypergraphs (which you can think of as a kind of cellular automata), and from there attempts to re-derive all the laws of nature. This is an extraordinarily ambitious project, that lies somewhat outside of mainstream approaches to physics. The claim is, however, that significant progress has been made, and that this approach really is able to derive interesting aspects of the physical world. This conversation explores the key ideas behind the program.
►Watch on YouTube:
► For more information about Stephen's work see:
www.stephenwolfram.com
www.wolframphysics.org
►Thumbnail source images can be found here:
https://company.wolfram.com/press-center/stephen-wolfram/
https://www.wolframphysics.org/visual-gallery/
►Follow Stephen on X: @stephen_wolfram
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. This interview is one of a series of interviews that explores the impact of economics on sustainability and the environment. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. As such, the views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
A big thank you to anonymous for letting me use their space as a temporary studio.
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Housing regulation is often put in place for good reasons, namely comfort, safety, environmental protection, availability of utilities and services, and more. With each additional regulation, however, restrictions are being placed on what you can build, where you can build, and how quickly you can build it. Professor Bryan Caplan argues that our current mess of regulations dramatically increases the price of housing, by limiting supply. This, he argues, has disastrous effects on fertility, and many social issues that we care about today, including social mobility and financial inequalities. Bryan argues further that inappropriate zoning and regulation creates widespread environmental damage through urban sprawl, congestion, and by limiting the number of people who are able to live in environmentally less damaging areas of the country (e.g. where heating and air condition is not required throughout the year, or where water is not scarce).
Bryan's preference would be to lift many, if not all building regulations. My approach would be somewhat more conservative. We discuss the nuances of the debate in this conversation.
►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Rh1eFIveLfE
►For more information about Bryan's work:
http://www.bcaplan.com/
►For Bryans new book:
https://www.cato.org/books/build-baby-build
►Follow Bryan on X: @bryan_caplan
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. This interview is one of a series of interviews that explores the impact of economics on sustainability and the environment. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
Sunday Jun 09, 2024
Sunday Jun 09, 2024
Julia Berezutskaya is one of the worlds leading researchers working in the area of brain computer interfaces. She is part of the brain-computer interface group (dept. Neurology & Neurosurgery) at UMC Utrecht, where she works at the intersection of fundamental and clinical neuroscience research. A key goal of her work on the computational modeling of cognitive and neurobiological processes is to one day allow for the decoding of naturalistic human speech from the brain signals of patients who have lost all motor function. In this conversation we discuss the basics of her work: what do the implants look like? Where do they go in the brain? What does the signal look like? What is being decoded? How are brain signals decoded? Who is getting these implants, and what is the state of the art?
►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JrE-Ux7BnHA
►You can find out more about the EU project that Julia is a part of where she will implant individuals with an intracortical BCI here:
https://intrecom.eu/
►You can see one of the mockup implants she uses here:
https://wysscenter.ch/advances/ability/
►Visit Julias website to find out more about her work:
https://www.juliaberezutskaya.com/
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
Friday May 17, 2024
Friday May 17, 2024
Carl Bender is an applied mathematician and mathematical physicist holding positions at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Heidelberg, Imperial College, London. He was also one of my own favorite lecturers. He taught me about perturbation theory and asymptotic series which are powerful mathematical tools for solving difficult problems in physics. I invited Carl on to the podcast to discuss complex numbers, and their application in physics. At a conceptual level Carl talks about the link between mathematics and reality, the history of complex numbers and what they are good for, his research into weird new quantum systems known as PT-symmetric quantum systems, his interactions with Richard Feynman, and the role that beauty plays in Mathematical discovery.
►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/UbHaAziq6jY
►You can find out more about Carl Here:
https://web.physics.wustl.edu/cmb/
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
Sunday Apr 21, 2024
Sunday Apr 21, 2024
What role should Nuclear Power play in energy production? This episode of the podcast explores the case for Nuclear Energy. I speak with Rachel Slaybaugh, who was an Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Division Director at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She also served as a Program Director at the Department of Energy’s ARPA‑E, where she created the nuclear fission program. She is currently a partner at DCVC. We discuss three of the main problems that people have with nuclear power: (i) The risk of plant meltdowns, (ii) the storage of nuclear waste, and (iii) the expense of setting up new nuclear plants. We also cover the environmental benefits of nuclear as a low carbon energy source, as well as some of the exciting new advanced reactor designs that are coming online right now.
►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/BIMj1-GAE4E
►You can find out more about Rachel Here:
https://www.dcvc.com/team/rachel-slaybaugh/
►Follow rachel on twitter:
@RachelSlaybaugh
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
On this episode of the podcast I speak with UCL Honorary Professor of Economics and ISRS Distinguished Research Fellow Steve keen. Steve famously predicted the 2008 market crash. He is also known for his criticism of modern economic theory, which he views as being inconsistent, unscientific, and empirically unsupported. He is currently working on a new science of economics built upon incontrovertible facts. We discuss the history of economic theory, the problems with neoclassical economics, and the way that our economic theory causes environmental destruction.
►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Ma_TiVNa9wE
►Find out more about Steve's work:
profstevekeen.substack.com/
www.profstevekeen.com
►Support Steve on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen or Substack https://
►Follow Steve on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
On this episode of the Podcast I speak with economist and public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs. Jeffrey is Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He served as Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General for almost two decades, and is co-founder and chief strategist of the Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and hunger. In this conversation we cover the question: "Is Capitalism Responsible For the Environmental Destruction We are Seeing Today?"
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/kNv94Ggf9YI
►Find out more about Jeffery's work:
https://www.jeffsachs.org/
https://sdgs.un.org/panelists/mr-jeffrey-d-sachs-29781
https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/communities-connections/faculty/jeffrey-sachs
https://csd.columbia.edu/sachs
►Watch more of Jeffery on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@JeffreySachsOfficial2023
Saturday Jan 20, 2024
Saturday Jan 20, 2024
In this episode of the podcast I speak with David Shapiro about some of the threats associated with AI development. We discuss the impact that generative AI will have on truth, trust in evidence, and divisive narratives. Who will pay for AI, and how will that determine the path of its development? Will artificial relationships and generated adult content lead to new forms of sexual addiction and social isolation? What impact will AI have on cyber security, and what will weaponized AI look like? How will AI eventually escape our control? We close with a brief discussion of UBI, and why humans matter.
►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/pCtbdYQm16s
►Visit David's Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@DavidShapiroAutomator
►Join David's Discord:
https://discord.com/invite/32kNMc2Pqt
►Support David's work on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/daveshap
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
What is narcissism, and why do so many successful people seem to be narcissists? In this conversation I speak with Professor Mitja Back from the university of Muenster, who is one of the worlds leading experts on the topic of Narcissism. We discuss narcissism as a personality trait, how narcissistic traits develop (nature vs nurture), relationship breakdown, narcissism on social media, and the link between narcissism and success.
►Watch On YouTube:
►For more information about Mitja's work see:
https://www.uni-muenster.de/PsyIFP/AEBack/members/mitja-back.html
https://www.mitjaback.de/buecher/
https://www.instagram.com/dr.mitjaback/
https://www.youtube.com/@MitjaBack
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun Foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and/or those of my guests.
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
In this conversation I speak with Professor Kerstin Göpfrich, who works at Heidelberg University at the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), and who is also leading the Max Planck Research Group for the Biophysical Engineering of Life. Kerstin is attempting to construct living cells from scratch, piece by piece from non-living materials. So far she has created cell membranes, cytoskeletons, linkers for connecting cytoskeletons to the cell membrane, a mechanism for cell division, microscopic channels for ion transport in and out of cell membranes, an artificial 'mitochondria' analog, and more. The goal is eventually to put together all of these elements into a self replicating, and autonomous model 'cell'. We discuss her progress, and what it teaches us about the origins of life on earth. We also touch on the ethics of bringing an entirely new branch of life into existence.
►Watch on YouTube:
►For more information about Kerstin's work see: https://goepfrichgroup.de/kerstin-gopfrich/
https://www.mr.mpg.de/person/53539/14181493
These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun Foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.