The Michael Shermer Show How AI Sees Science Differently Than We Do
Chris Edwards, a teacher and author with expertise in world history, discusses how AI can reshape our understanding of science. He argues that scientific discoveries aren't always in the right order and suggests reordering them around the concept of entropy. This shift may lead AI to produce insights that challenge traditional narratives. Edwards also explores the connections between thermodynamics, evolution, and public understanding, ultimately warning that our educational methods need to evolve alongside these emerging ideas.
02:07:33
Order Shapes Scientific Understanding
- Chris Edwards argues scientific history is a permutation where discovery order matters and shapes understanding.
- Reordering emphasis (entropy first) could make science more coherent and AI-friendly.
Energy As A Form Of Entropy
- Edwards reframes energy as a species of entropy: order is temporary capture of decay.
- This view connects heat, radiation and probabilities across disciplines for clearer narratives.
What If Decay Came First?
- If decay had been central, models could emphasize cooling and instability rather than motion first.
- That perspective links temperature, probability and why the universe isn't at absolute zero.
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Intro
00:00 • 1min
Why reorder science around entropy
01:01 • 3min
Edwards' background and cross-curricular approach
04:02 • 3min
Science education vs. university specialization
07:16 • 1min
The New Order: rediscovering thermodynamics first
08:18 • 2min
Entropy, Darwin, and public understanding
10:05 • 4min
Redefining energy as a form of entropy
13:43 • 2min
Newton, motion versus decay perspective
15:15 • 5min
Time, clocks, and irreversibility
20:02 • 3min
Entropy and time travel impossibility
23:14 • 56sec
Probability, radiative decay, and life
24:10 • 4min
Maxwell, heat, and statistical behavior
28:22 • 57sec
Entropy versus energy: sun as decaying source
29:19 • 4min
Radiation, atomic decay, and explosions
33:13 • 2min
Entropy as a basis for evolution and daily life
34:53 • 5min
Law of large numbers and quantum exceptions
40:20 • 8min
Ad break
48:01 • 2min
Radiation, Bohr, and chemistry's resistance
50:00 • 3min
Astronomy, telescopes, and information as radiation
52:35 • 2min
Double-slit, observation, and probabilities
54:30 • 7min
Testing math: adding entropy friction terms
01:01:09 • 3min
AI will see science as thermodynamics-first
01:04:11 • 10min
Model-dependent realism and scientific models
01:14:30 • 7min
Education: mastery learning and crisis
01:21:42 • 4min
Mastery models, community ties, and externships
01:25:46 • 8min
Mutually understood deterrence and nuclear risks
01:33:41 • 7min
Boxing, fixed matches, and human stories
01:40:51 • 9min
Ad break
01:50:04 • 56sec
Social media carnival and presentation of self
01:51:00 • 21min
Closing reflections on genius and AI
02:11:36 • 17sec
Outro
02:11:52 • 6sec
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What if the great discoveries of science came in the "wrong" order? The Laws of Thermodynamics were discovered well after the creation of algebra, classical physics, and chemistry, but are perhaps much more important to our basic understanding of the universe.
Chris Edwards argues that AI will be able to understand science outside of the traditional chronological developments of the sciences, unlocking entirely new potentials and perspectives on the universe. If human scholars are to understand how AI interprets the universe, we will first need to understand the scientific narrative in a "new order."
Chris Edwards teaches history, English, and mathematics at a public school in the Midwest. He is a frequent contributor to Skeptic magazine and the author of Thought Experiments: History and Applications for Education, Beyond Obsolete: How to Upgrade Classroom Practice and School Structure, Femocracy: How Educators Can Teach Democratic Ideals and Feminism, and most recently of The New Order: How AI Rewrites the Narrative of Science. His background is in world history.