Thoughtforms Life

This is a ~1 hour discussion with Kevin Mitchell (https://www.kjmitchell.com/), Nick Cheney (https://www.uvm.edu/cems/cs/profiles/nick-cheney), and Ben Hartl (https://allencenter.tufts.edu/benedikt-hartl-ph-d/) on the application of connectionist generative models in understanding the role of the genome in evolution and the control of form and function. Links to relevant materials mentioned in the discussion: Nick and Kevin's recent paper preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.15908 Kevin's rec... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is another episode in our series on the great figures in developmental bioelectricity. We interview (~1 hour) Mustafa Djamgoz, who has made pivotal discoveries about the role of bioelectricity in the problem of cancer and its eventual solution. Mustafa's book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17612801-beat-cancer Mustafa's papers: https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/m.djamgoz/publications Mustafa and I are co-editors of the new journal Bioelectricity: https://home.liebertpub.com/publicat... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~1 hour discussion with Dr. Alex Schmidt (www.schmidtpsychologicalservices.com) and Alexey Tolchinsky, Psy.D. (https://montgomerycountypsychologist.com/). We touch on issues of trauma, somatic memory, dissociation, and protective mechanisms at the interface of the psychiatry and developmental biology. In private practice, Dr. Schmidt works with children and adults who exhibit severe and lasting emotional and physical trauma and who present with assorted presentations of PTSD. She has... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~1 hour discussion with Richard Watson (https://www.richardawatson.com/) and Josh Bongard (https://www.uvm.edu/cems/cs/profiles/josh_bongard) touching on topics of agency, polycomputing, oscillations, and evolution. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~1 hour conversation between Josh Bongard (https://www.uvm.edu/cems/cs/profiles/josh_bongard), Tom Froese (https://www.oist.jp/research/tom-froese), and I on Irruption theory, polycomputing, and the mind-body relationship. Some relevant links from the discussion: Tom's paper on irruption theory: https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/26/4/288 Josh and I on polycomputaton: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/8/1/110 Eduardo's paper on multiple embodiment: https://scholar.google.com/citations?view... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~50 minute conversation between Josh Bongard (https://www.uvm.edu/cems/cs/profiles/josh_bongard), Atoosa Parsa (https://www.atoosaparsa.com/), Richard Watson (https://www.richardawatson.com/), and I on topics of agency, computation, polycomputing, oscillations, selfhood, and similar subjects. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

In a fascinating discussion, Tim Jackson, an evolutionary biologist, Karl Friston, a theoretical neuroscientist, and Chris Fields, a researcher in cognition, dive deep into the free energy principle. They explore how this principle applies to self-organization and evolutionary processes. Key topics include the role of generative models in understanding systems, the origins and significance of attractors, and the impact of noise on novelty in evolution. Each guest provides unique insights, grounding their ideas in physics while navigating philosophical implications.

Join Rafael Kaufmann, a mathematician at Google focusing on collective intelligence, and Pranav Gupta, a business researcher studying human-machine teams, as they explore fascinating concepts in active inference. They discuss how agent interactions influence collective behavior and the role of goal alignment in team success. Rafael shares insights on modeling dynamics between strong and weak agents, while Pranav highlights the importance of collective memory and attention. They even touch on how motivation can elevate performance in both human and AI collaborations.

"Metaphysics and the Matter with Things: Thinking with Iain McGilchrist was a collaborative conference put on by the Center for Process Studies (CPS) and the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in March of 2024. This three-day conference brought leading process thinkers across various disciplines, including physics, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and theology into critical dialogue with McGilchrist’s work in a collegial effort to assess, question, extend, and apply it. For mor... CHAPTERS:(00:03) Embodied Minds & Intelligence(02:00) Diverse Intelligences Framework(03:50) Origin of Agential Material(05:30) Collective Cellular Intelligence(07:36) Self Boundaries & Individuation(08:55) Bioelectricity & Body Asymmetry(10:40) Collective Problem Solving(12:00) Adapting to Changing Parts(13:30) Bioelectrical Network Minds(15:00) Reading Collective Mind(16:00) Hacking Bioelectric Memory(18:00) Rewriting Planarian Memory(20:00) Cancer as Self Failure(21:00) Somatic Psychiatry Approach(22:00) Plasticity Beyond Development(23:00) Xenobots & Anthropods(26:00) Exploring Capability Space(27:00) Conclusion & Resources CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is ~1 hour conversation with Daniel McShea (https://scholars.duke.edu/person/dmcshea) and Gunnar Babcock (https://gunnarbabcock.com/) on topics of biology, evolution, causation, explanation, and the machine metaphor. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab