162 - Tim Palmer: Chaos Theory, Probabilistic Forecasting, and Climate Change

Tim Palmer is Royal Society Research Professor in Climate Physics at the University of Oxford, where he is a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin Institute and a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College. Tim works on the predictability and dynamics of weather and climate, including extreme events, and is well known within the field for developing probabilistic ensemble forecasting techniques. In this episode, Robinson and Tim discuss his recent book, The Primacy of Doubt: From Quantum Physics to Climate Change, How the Science of Uncertainty Can Help Us Understand Our Chaotic World (2022). More particularly, they talk about black holes and the holographic principle, the foundations of quantum mechanics, meteorology and probabilistic forecasting, chaos theory and consciousness, and the problem of climate change.

The Primacy of Doubt: https://a.co/d/dL8JfTn

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:37 Introduction

02:37 From Physics to Meteorology

13:17 Black Holes and the Holographic Principle

35:09 What Is the Butterfly Effect?

43:31 Why Is Weather Chaotic and What Can We Do About It?

01:09:34 Can Principles of Meteorology Be Applied to the Problems of Consciousness and Free Will?

01:30:55 Chaos Theory and Climate Change

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.