The Tim Ferriss Show

#585: Professor Donald Hoffman — The Case Against Reality, Beyond Spacetime, Rethinking Death, Panpsychism, QBism, and More

482 snips
Apr 13, 2022
In this captivating discussion, Donald Hoffman, Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences, delves into profound concepts that challenge our perception of reality. He explores how consciousness might influence our experience of space and time, and introduces panpsychism, suggesting consciousness may persist beyond physical death. The conversation also touches on the interplay between quantum mechanics and observation, inviting listeners to reconsider how they understand existence and the universe. Hoffman's insights promise to intrigue anyone curious about the nature of consciousness and reality.
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ANECDOTE

Helmholtz Club

  • Donald Hoffman describes the Helmholtz Club, a group of neuroscientists and cognitive scientists who met to discuss consciousness.
  • Led by Francis Crick, V.S. Ramachandran, and others, the club aimed to understand the link between brain activity and conscious experience.
INSIGHT

Interface Theory of Perception

  • Evolution shaped our senses as a user interface, not to perceive objective reality directly.
  • Space and time are the format of our 3D desktop, with objects as icons, not pointers to true reality.
INSIGHT

Space-Time and Reductionism

  • Physicists now concur with the evolutionary perspective: space-time isn't fundamental.
  • Methodological reductionism, while previously successful, is now recognized as fundamentally flawed due to limits like the Planck scale.
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