Political scientist Brendan Nyhan discusses the prevalence of misinformation throughout history, the challenges of measuring and tracking false information, the era of consolidation in media, the role of political elites in spreading misinformation, the impact of social media algorithms, and potential solutions to improve democracy.

Peter Godfrey-Smith, expert in cognition and sentience, discusses the nature of thinking in animals with different brains. Topics include the evolution of consciousness, the intelligence of octopuses, and the complexity of nervous systems. They also explore autonomy in octopus limbs and perspectives on brain activity and oscillatory dynamics.

The podcast covers a range of interesting topics, including the decline of Twitter and the search for alternatives, the use of Feynman diagrams in calculations, the ethical implications of the many worlds interpretation in quantum mechanics, teaching statistics and discouraging watered-down math curriculums, comfort food and interdisciplinary academia, the television show 'Jane the Virgin', the concept of quality and challenges in predictions, genetic differences and the concept of race, pre-selection and post-selection in quantum mechanics, chaos theory and emergence, the concept of inertia and speculations on extrasolar metallic particles, the existence of artifacts pointing towards extraterrestrial intelligent origin, the doomsday argument and the arrow of time, choosing questions for the AMA segment, breadth vs. depth of interests in academia, the dilemma of letting cats roam outdoors, keeping cats indoors and eternalism in relation to relativity.

AI researcher Yejin Choi discusses the common sense understanding of AI large-language models. They explore topics such as the challenges of training AI with common sense, the limitations of chat GPT in handling higher-level analogies, the consequences of relying on AI models for accuracy, the concept of 'jailbreaking' language models, the challenges of aligning AI with human values, the creative capabilities of AI, the limitations of GPT models in common sense reasoning, and the difficulties in determining truth in social media through AI.

Samuel Bowles, economist and expert in collective behavior, discusses the relationship between economics and human behavior, the limitations of physical science analogies, and the complexities of economic models. He explores the neoliberal economic paradigm, Adam Smith's views on self-interest and the market, and the historical methods of punishing free riders. The podcast also delves into global-scale problems and the potential for a more global mentality.

You might remember the somewhat bizarre worries that swept through certain circles back in 2012, based on the end of the world being predicted by the Maya calendar. The world didn't end, which is unsurprising because the Maya hadn't predicted that, and for that matter they had no way of doing so. But there is very interesting archeology behind our understanding of how the Maya developed their calendar, as well as other aspects of their language and scientific understanding. Mayanist David Stuart takes us on a tour of what we know and what we're still discovering.Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/08/14/246-david-stuart-on-time-and-science-in-maya-civilization/Support Mindscape on Patreon.David Stuart received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Vanderbilt University. He is currently professor of Art History and Director of the Mesoamerica Center at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the youngest-ever recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship. Among his books is The Order of Days: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Maya.Web siteUniversity of Texas web pageGoogle Scholar publicationsWikipediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the August 2023 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good -- and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic. Enjoy!Blog post with questions and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/08/07/ama-august-2023/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Physics is in crisis, what else is new? That's what we hear in certain corners, anyway, usually pointed at "fundamental" physics of particles and fields. (Condensed matter and biophysics etc. are just fine.) In this solo podcast I ruminate on the unusual situation fundamental physics finds itself in, where we have a theoretical understanding that fits almost all the data, but which nobody believes to be the final answer. I talk about how we got here, and argue that it's not really a "crisis" in any real sense. But there are ways I think the academic community could handle the problem better, especially by making more space for respectable but minority approaches to deep puzzles.Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/07/31/245-solo-the-crisis-in-physics/Support Mindscape on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarrollSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is metaphysics like physics, but cooler? Or is it a relic of an outdated, pre-empirical way of thinking about the world? Closer to the former than the latter. Rather than building specific quantitative theories about the world, metaphysics aims to get a handle on the basic logical structures that help us think about it. I talk with philosopher Katie Elliott on how metaphysics helps us think about questions like counterfactuals, possible worlds, time travel, mathematical equivalence, and whether everything happens for a reason.Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/07/24/244-katie-elliott-on-metaphysics-chance-and-time/Support Mindscape on Patreon.Katrina (Katie) Elliott received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. After being an assistant professor of philosophy at UCLA, she is now on the faculty at Brandeis. Her research covers topics in metaphysics and the philosophy of science, including explanation, chances, and the logic of time travel.Web pageBrandeis web pagePhilPeople profileSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Earth's atmosphere is good for some things, like providing something to breathe. But it does get in the way of astronomers, who have been successful at launching orbiting telescopes into space. But gravity and the ground are also useful for certain things, like walking around. The Moon, fortunately, provides gravity and a solid surface without any complications of a thick atmosphere -- perfect for astronomical instruments. Building telescopes and other kinds of scientific instruments on the Moon is an expensive and risky endeavor, but the time may have finally arrived. I talk with astrophysicist Joseph Silk about the case for doing astronomy from the Moon, and what special challenges and opportunities are involved.Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/07/17/243-joseph-silk-on-science-on-the-moon/Support Mindscape on Patreon.Joseph Silk received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University. After serving on the faculty at UC Berkeley and Oxford, he is currently Professor of Physics at the Institut d'astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, and Homewood Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Astronomical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among his awards are the Balzan Prize, the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, and the Gruber Prize in cosmology. His new book is Back to the Moon: The Next Giant Leap for Humankind.Johns Hopkins web pageGoogle Scholar publicationsAIP Oral History interviewWikipediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.