The Shortest Path Is Not the Average

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Lee Krasnoff: When I basically take the molecules and chop them up in the mass spec, the assembly number is never the average is always the shortest. It's an intrinsic property. Shortest path needs you to identify when the universe has basically got a memory, not an average. So that's like, of course, there's going to be other paths. We can be more ridiculous, right? We can have other parts, but it's just the minimum. And so what we realized time and time again, when we're doing the math, the shortest path is intrinsic, is fundamental and is measurable," he says.

Sara Walker is an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist. Lee Cronin is a chemist. This is a conversation and debate about alien life and alien civilizations. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Uncruise: https://uncruise.com/pages/lex
– Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit
– ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free
– ROKA: https://roka.com/ and use code LEX to get 20% off your first order
– Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil

EPISODE LINKS:
Sara’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sara_Imari
Sara’s Website: http://emergence.asu.edu
Lee’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/leecronin
Lee’s Website: https://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin
Chemify’s Website: https://chemify.io

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:47) – Aliens
(21:53) – What is life?
(29:35) – Assembly theory
(52:03) – Math
(1:03:45) – Communication with aliens
(1:28:38) – Evolution of the universe
(1:37:56) – Creating alien life
(1:45:29) – Origin of life
(1:52:29) – Before the Big Bang
(1:59:22) – God
(2:09:39) – Goal-directed behavior
(2:27:37) – Time
(2:35:54) – Free will and imagination
(2:51:06) – UFO sightings
(2:56:06) – Alien life forms debate
(3:11:14) – Robots
(3:20:29) – Love and emotion
(3:38:55) – Beauty in science
(3:49:06) – Random questions
(3:58:30) – Advice for young people
(4:01:48) – Life on Earth
(4:06:12) – Memory