Reason with Science

This episode is with Paul Zachary (PZ) Myers. He is an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota where he works in the field of developmental biology. He is also a founder and author of Pharyngula science blog.  Here we talk about science based atheism, evolution of religion, god of gaps argument, origin and evolution of life, human values in the society, free speech and future of humanity. Guest info:  Blog website: https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/pzmyers Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PZMyersBiology Episode links:   Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/scienceevolution-and-atheism-with-pz-myers Youtube: https://youtu.be/SxyTgw8lYuI  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0TTztvoHbH7c8xI4b9UbAI?si=wuO3j2nrT1eRifB7dkwaIg  Apple podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/reason-with-science/407cd478-4271-4319-8318-fc378d4e7ccb/episode/science-evolution-and-athiesm-with-pz-myers/62fb9808-521f-43d8-8afd-7dc03300fc6a Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/MjJmZjJjZWEtZTIyNS00NzEzLWI4ZDMtMmMyMjI2NDAwYWY1?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwj41_fakZz6AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA Follow Reason with Science:   Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh   Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894   Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction   00:01:08 How did your scientific career started?  00:03:24 PZ's view on atheism 00:05:53 Science based atheism   00:08:29 Why we need to leave religion or God to become a scientist?   0:10:36 Preconceived biases because of faith   00:11:26 There's no clear definition of God   00:13:00 God of gaps argument   00:16:38 Can we bridge the gaps with science?   00:19:12 Transition of chemistry to biology (origin of life)  00:24:46 Evolution of life on the planet   00:29:06 Multicellularity and Sexual reproduction   00:34:59 Variation for natural selection   00:40:53 Role of chance in biology   00:44:45 Evolution-Development (Evo-Devo) biology   00:52:42 Hox genes   00:56:18 Evolutionary theory is most opposed theory!   00:59:07 Evolution of religion   01:01:58 Nature-nurture   01:04:38 Free will   01:07:28 Consciousness   01:12:58 Teleology (Purpose) in science   01:19:24 Religion in artificial intelligence   01:26:48 Morality and atheism   01:38:38 Meaning and purpose of life   01:41:31 Spirituality   01:46:07 Education and a dialogue   01:49:30 Thank you!

This is second episode with Donald Hoffman.  Donald is a Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences at the University  of California, Irvine. He is an author of three books, including The  Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes. Here we talk about what is mathematics?, Interface theory of perception,  fundamental nature of consciousness, origin of life, spiritual  experiences and meaning of death.  Link for the first episode: https://youtu.be/pPJZm_-OKQ8).    Guest info:  Website: http://www.cogsci.uci.edu/~ddhoff/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/donalddhoffman  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001HPIWAW    Episode links:   Website:  https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/nature-of-reality-with-bernardo-kastrup/reality-is-an-illusion-with-donald-hoffman Youtube: https://youtu.be/5zHdq_ba2W8 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/06YcGkK0C6wcFdSzu3E9Za?si=TyTDzaOkSUOiVW4jfP-ViA Apple podcast:   Google podcast:   Follow Reason with Science:   Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh   Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894   Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw    Timestamps:  00:00:00 Introduction   00:00:51 Interface theory of perception   00:09:12 Reductionist approach in science  00:13:52 What is mathematics?  00:22:12 Emergence of mathematics   00:25:28 Conscious agents and complexity  00:32:52 Modern science on consciousness   00:39:07 Experiments to study structures beyond space-time   00:57:19 Complexity from conscious agents  01:03:03 Is there an objective reality?  01:09:19 Limited semantics to explain reality beyond space-time   01:15:34 Intelligence and consciousness   01:17:39 Perception of a self    01:24:30 Is consciousness a gradient or discrete?   01:27:14 Understanding universal consciousness   01:38:38 Meditation, psychedelics and spiritual experiences   01:40:40 Bernardo Kastrup's analytical idealism   01:43:37 Fundamental consciousness is scientific or philosophical problem   01:47:26 Can we go beyond our interface to see reality?   01:49:44 Importance of silence in life   01:55:16 Worldview of consciousness as fundamental   02:03:50 Thank you!    Other conversations and talks:  1) Do we see reality as it is? @TED    2) Donald Hoffman on Ultimate Reality  @Closer To Truth    3) The Case Against Reality  @Skeptic    4) The Death of SpaceTime & Birth of Conscious Agents  @Science and  Nonduality    5) Donald Hoffman Λ Joscha Bach on Consciousness, Free Will, and Gödel  [Theolocution]  @Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal    6) The Case Against Reality  @The Institute of Art and Ideas    7) Lex Fridman  @Lex Fridman   (https://youtu.be/reYdQYZ9Rj4)   #reasonwithscience #consciousness #donaldhoffman

This is a conversation with Konstantin Batygin. He is a planetary science professor at Caltech known for his work on  planet 9. He is also a part of a rock band "The seventh season". In this  conversation we talk about how do new solar systems form?, what is a  planet?, Planet 9,  Kuiper belt, and the Edge of our solar system.   More about Konstantin's work: https://www.konstantinbatygin.com/  Follow him in Twitter: https://twitter.com/kbatygin  His music and band: https://theseventhseason.band/home   Time stamps:  00:00:00 Introduction  00:01:51 Science and music  00:04:37 How our solar system formed?   00:10:33 How different planets form?   00:13:13 Solar system as a disc   00:14:34 Rocky and gas planets   00:18:39 What sort of planets form first?  00:21:36 Orbits of the planets during the formation of a solar system  00:25:45 What is a planet?  00:28:41 Major contribution of planets in the stability of a solar system  00:30:52 Gravitational Pull 00:33:47 Why there's Planet 9?   00:36:27 History of Planet 9!  00:42:11 Why don't we have the evidence for planet 9 yet?  00:45:01 Tools to study unexplored part of solar system  00:47:44 Kuiper belt   00:48:08 What kind of planet is planet 9?  00:49:19 Orbit of Planet 9  00:51:07 Can planet 9 be a black hole?  00:53:40 What is the edge of our solar system?    00:55:36 Oumuamua  01:00:00 Concluding and thanks!  

This episode is with Bernardo Kastrup.Bernardo is an author, philosopher, and director of the Essentia Foundation. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and another Ph.D. in computer engineering specializing in artificial intelligence. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered).In this conversation we talk about drawbacks of materialism, what is consciousness?, nature of reality, panpsychism, analytical idealism, free will, what is time?, meaning of life and death. Guest info: Website: https://www.bernardokastrup.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BernardoKastrup Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BernardoKastrup/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeDZCa3VrRQvzBlVR-oVVmA Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bernardo-Kastrup/e/B004OFGCA4/ Episode links: Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/nature-of-reality-with-bernardo-kastrup Youtube: https://youtu.be/hP8zqrVndfQ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/67MtexvfkKy95rZv5ylZ2F?si=rJWth3e0R8mY7CkwMubSmQ Apple podcast: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/reason-with-science/407cd478-4271-4319-8318-fc378d4e7ccb/episode/nature-of-reality-with-bernardo-kastrup/f99141b8-28a8-415e-b47c-a379664d3e66 Google podcast: https://podcastsmanager.google.com/episode?show=show%3AktGOqSvOM5S386E5jDIB0g&episode=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3BsYXkvNTcwMzY4NDUvaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZkM2N0eGxxMWt0dzJubC5jbG91ZGZyb250Lm5ldCUyRnN0YWdpbmclMkYyMDIyLTgtMyUyRjcwZjY0ZTJmLWJjYzQtOGUzMi1lMjc1LTMyMWM0ZDNiYzdkNi5tcDM&daterange=LAST_28D&hl=en Follow Reason with Science: Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894 Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:02 Most difficult questions about the cosmos 00:02:54 Science and materialism 00:05:27 Limitations of minds 00:07:36 How well science describes the nature of reality? 00:11:43 Is consciousness an illusion? 00:16:39 Issues with materialism 00:25:24 Origin of life 00:27:56 Science of complexity 00:33:54 How to refute emergence of consciousness? 00:42:19 Psychedelic experiences 00:48:19 Consciousness under analytical idealism 00:50:33 Idealism and trans-personal experiences 00:57:16 Origin of consciousness 01:00:38 What is wetness of the water? 01:05:36 Panpsychism and Solipsism 01:17:58 Consciousness in other species 01:24:31 Will artificial life be conscious? 01:29:10 What is death? 01:33:02 Idealism for meaning of life 01:39:46 What is time? 01:48:11 Western mind 01:53:44 Science of consciousness under idealism 02:24:14 Thank you!

This is a conversation with a theoretical physicist Avi Loeb. He is a  Professor of Science at Harvard University and a bestselling author of  the book "Extraterrestrial: the first sign of an intelligent life beyond  earth" In this conversation we talk about are we alone in the  universe?, first interstellar object named Oumuamua, how we can detect  alien intelligent life and the Galileo project.   More about Avi's work: https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/  Buy Avi's book:  https://www.amazon.com/Extraterrestrial-First-Intelligent-Beyond-Earth-ebook/dp/B081TTY4NX   Timeline of the session:  00:00:00 Introduction  00:01:22 Journey to become a professor at Harvard university  00:07:15 Drake's equation and number of intelligent civilizations in the Universe  00:13:36 Oumuamua 00:17:55 Oumuamua like objects  00:18:55 Oumuamua product of another intelligent civilization  00:24:40 Nature of Oumuamua  00:31:26 The Galileo project   00:37:38 Size of the extraterrestrial objects and our telescopes  00:42:02 Are we ready to meet an alien intelligent civilization?  00:50:56 Scientific method   00:58:29 Are there any good/bad questions in science?  01:02:20 Wars and progress of humanity!  01:04:45 Impact of realizing that we are not alone!  01:05:45 Probability of humanity getting extinct!  01:07:49 Space exploration  01:10:11 Purpose of humanity  01:12:36 Future of astrophysics and humanity  01:14:23 Thank you!   Other conversations and talks:  1) Intelligent Life Beyond Earth  @Commonwealth Club of California    2) Was Earth visited by intelligent life?  @KTLA 5    3) Aliens, Black Holes, and the Mystery of the Oumuamua  @Lex Fridman    4) How the Scientific Community Isn't Open Minded  @PowerfulJRE    5) Avi Loeb on evidence of close extraterrestrial encounters  @CBS Mornings    6) Extraterrestrial Life ( https://youtu.be/uFrBcy0P6iM)  @Museum of Science, Boston      #reasonwithscience #aliens #aviloeb

This is a conversation with Carole Hooven. She teaches in and co-directs the undergraduate program in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. She is also an author of a great book "T: The story of testosterone". Here we talk about what is testosterone?, Evolution of testosterone, how it affects the behavior and shapes the society?        More about Carole's work: http://www.carolehooven.com/ Follow Carole on twitter: https://twitter.com/hoovlet  Episode links: 1) Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/science-of-testosterone-with-carole-hooven 2) Youtube: https://youtu.be/mYqz5OYMvRI Timeline of the session:  00:00:00 Introduction  00:01:18 Carole's work area  00:03:36 Motivation to write a book on Testosterone  00:07:46 What is testosterone?   00:19:08 Testosterone levels  00:20:30 How do we define a male or a female?  00:27:56 Effects of Testosterone   00:36:04 Red deer and Testosterone levels  00:42:21 Effects of testosterone in other apes  00:47:15 Correlation between hierarchies and T-levels  00:48:29 Testosterone levels during lifetime  00:49:39 CAH (Congenital Androgen Hyperplasia) and CAIS (Congenital Androgen Insensitive Syndrome)   00:58:56 T-levels during the process of sex-change  01:03:29 Testosterone and homosexuality  01:07:08 Deterministic view of Testosterone  01:09:49 Meditation and testosterone   01:14:21 Testosterone and the society  01:21:06 Thank you! Follow for more!

This episode is with Martin Rees. Prof. Rees is a cosmologist and astrophysicist at Cambridge University  and  co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. He was  President of the Royal Society. His latest book is 'On the future: Prospects for humanity'. In this conversation we talk about the evidence for big bang, aliens,  threats to humanity, space travel and how to envision the future of  humanity?   More about Martin's work: https://www.martinrees.uk/  Follow Martin on twitter: https://twitter.com/LordMartinRees   Timestamps:  00:00:00 Introduction  00:00:55 Progress of humanity so far!   00:01:53 Contribution of science and technology to the future of humanity   00:04:40 What is science and technology?   00:06:16 Debates on science and religion  00:07:20 Copernican revolution   00:08:55 Our place in the universe  00:12:26 How complexity arises from matter?  00:13:23 Is everything deterministic?   00:14:28 Predicting effectively  00:15:46 How will we go extinct?   00:18:09 Issues with globalization   00:20:03 Why can't we resolve the issues of climate change?  00:22:50 Should we be alarmed about genetic engineering?  00:27:21 Artificial intelligence and it's future impacts  00:29:29 Silicon-based future of humanity   00:31:26 Humanity beyond earth   00:33:25 Humans exploring the universe  00:37:13 Space exploration advantages  00:39:30 Other species for humans survival   00:41:25 Message to humanity 00:44:22 Thank you!

This episode is with Frans De Waal. He is a professor in Emory  University's psychology department and the Director of the Living Links  Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He is the author  of several popular books like 'Chimpanzee politics', The age of empathy'  and 'The bonobo and the atheist'. His latest book is 'Different: gender  through the eyes of a primatologist'. In this conversation we talk about  evolution of sex and gender in humans, primates, and mammals.   More about Frans's work: https://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/people/dewaal.shtml  List of his books: https://www.amazon.com/Frans-De-Waal/e/B000APOHE0/ref=aufs_dp_mata_dsk   Timestamps:  00:00:00 Introduction  00:00:54 Primatologist's take on gender     00:06:54 Biases in human cultures   00:08:15 Sex and gender in the society   00:10:58 Difference between sex and gender    00:15:11 Toxic masculinity  00:16:48 Do sapiens have male dominated societies?  00:20:20 Power struggles in the societies   00:21:39 Violence in the societies   00:23:47 Violence in the bonobos  00:25:10 Can we decrease the violence?  00:28:19 Can nurture control nature?  00:28:50 Rapes in primates    00:31:15 Friendship, cooperation and peacemaking   00:35:39 Monogamy in primates   00:37:06 Same-sex sex   00:39:31 Transgenders  00:45:23 Maternal instincts and xenophobia    00:52:37 How far nurture can change nature?    01:00:07 Thank you!   

This is a conversation with Dr. Robert Lustig. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition.  He’s the Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UCSF. His latest book is Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine. In this conversation we talk about role of processed food in the chronic diseases, Focus of modern medicine, what is the best diet?, science of sugar and importance of nutrition.   Find our more about Dr. Lustig's work: https://robertlustig.com/ Check out his books: https://robertlustig.com/books/  Timestamps:  00:00:00 Introduction  00:02:14 What does healthy mean?   00:08:06 Prevention is better than cure!   00:09:16 Focus of present medicine  00:13:04 Metabolic syndrome   00:16:56 A calorie is calorie!  00:23:51 Protect the liver and feed the gut!  00:25:31 Importance of fiber in diet!  00:28:38 Role of exercise for health  00:30:42 Changing the society for good health   00:33:00 Role of genetics and metabolic syndrome  00:37:31 What is a good diet? 00:41:32 Intermittent fasting    00:43:25 Sugar in processed food  00:45:35 Real foods   00:48:23 Public education about nutrition   00:57:46 Eating desserts   01:01:18 Thank you!

This is second part of the conversation with Prof. Alice Hughes. She is  working at XTBG in China. Her work focuses on understanding patterns of  biodiversity and drivers of biodiversity change, with an aim to form  more rigorous & appropriate conservation. In this conversation we  discuss about what are bats, evolution of bats, importance of the bats  for the biodiversity, bats and viruses, eating bats, bats and pandemic,  biodiversity, importance of biodiversity, various ways for biodiversity  conservation, diversity in science and women in science. Guest info:  Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HNTYjVHFATRbARoPvs-VYFplsy6WSZpJ8CLexygh2IA/edit Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliceCHughes?s=20 Episode links: Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/bats-pandemic-and-women-in-science-with-alice-hughes Youtube: https://youtu.be/lmtiT04a1so Spotify:  Apple podcast:   Google podcast:  Follow Reason with Science: Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894 Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction  0:51 What are bats?  04:57 How many species of bats?  05:42 Evolution of bats?  08:12 Habitats of bats?  11:35 Immunity of bats  17:00 Are bats beautiful?  21:14 Eating bats  24:49 Why we should know, what to eat  26:30 Lifestyle for you and others  27:18 Why do we need biodiversity?  31:10 Biodiverse world  31:31 Challenges for the conservation of biodiversity  34:22 Biodiversity and role of consumers  36:13 Being conscious of what are you eating  39:13 What you can do from distance for biodiversity conservation?  44:03 Supporting local populations to support biodiversity  51:17 Diversity in science 52:28 Gender roles in science  54:53 Science of genders  57:02 How to overcome gender biases?   1:00:30 Can 50-50% formula work in research institutes?  1:05:10 Education and science communication to flourish science  1:07:27 Nobel prizes for women!  1:09:38 Experience of a woman in science  1:11:24 Find out more about Alice's work  1:12:07 Thanks!