The Blind Spot Podcast

Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Dean of Social Sciences at Wesleyan University and expert on the interplay between science and religion, joins the discussion on the multiverse. She explores how cosmological questions often reflect monotheistic assumptions and contrasts Western linear narratives with cyclical views from Indian and Tibetan traditions. The conversation delves into the implications of the multiverse as an alternative to God, critiques of fine-tuning, and the role of awe in scientific practice, as well as her insights from her book, Astrotopia.

EN:The Planet and The Planetary.In this episode we talk with philosopher Lukáš Likavčan about how human culture will respond to a climate changing planet.PT:O Planeta e o Planetário..Neste episódio, conversamos com o filósofo Lukas Likavčan sobre como a cultura humana responderá a um planeta em mudança climática.

Theoretical physicist Jacques Pienaar joins to explore the complexities of quantum theory and its interpretations, including Many-Worlds and QBism. He shares insights on nonlinear quantum dynamics and the intriguing concept of the 'Everett telephone,' allowing hypothetical conversations across parallel universes. The discussion delves into the challenges of reconciling probabilities with unobservable realities and the innovative QBism perspective that treats wavefunctions as tools for understanding uncertainty. A fascinating journey into the fabric of reality!

Explore the captivating world of thermodynamics, where heat and motion intertwine. Discover how 19th-century scientific breakthroughs shaped our understanding of energy and entropy. Delve into the concept of microscopic reversibility versus macroscopic irreversibility using everyday examples. Learn how living systems defy equilibrium, creating order from chaos. Finally, find out how atmospheric chemistry could reveal signs of life on distant planets, linking the principles of thermodynamics to the search for extraterrestrial existence.

Delve into the fascinating Gaia Hypothesis, exploring how Earth behaves as a self-regulating system influenced by life. Uncover the history behind this concept and the pivotal roles of scientists like Lovelock and Margulis. Discover the Daisy World model, illustrating how daisies can stabilize planetary temperatures. The discussion touches on criticisms from biologists, the idea of planetary agency, and the emergence of meaningful information in complex systems. Join an enlightening journey through Earth's connections between life, climate, and regulation.

In this insightful conversation, John Dunne, a distinguished scholar of Buddhist philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, dives deep into the intersection of Buddhism and science. He discusses the empiricist strand in Buddhism, challenging traditional views of authority. John elaborates on causal relationships, arguing that our categories are human constructions. He highlights how contemplative practices can lead to non-conceptual insights and explores the mind's capacity for self-awareness, all while questioning our dualistic perceptions of reality.

Evan Thompson, a philosopher and cognitive scientist, dives deep into the connections between life and intelligence. He argues that intelligence is about biological sense-making and introduces the concept of autopoiesis. The discussion reveals how bacteria sense their environment far better than today's AI, which merely predicts outcomes without understanding. Thompson critiques traditional views of perception, presenting a more embodied approach to cognition that raises important ethical and planetary questions about intelligence.

Dive into the mind-bending world of quantum mechanics where strange phenomena defy logic! Explore the historical evolution of theories introduced by brilliant minds like Planck and Einstein. Unravel the challenges students face in grasping these abstract concepts. Discover how quantum physics intersects with philosophy and influences popular culture. The discussion also critiques misinterpretations in new age movements, revealing the necessity for a deeper understanding of this fascinating science.

ENG:Why science can’t figure out consciousness? In this conversation we explore this question by exposing some of the flaws of thinking about consciousness as something that can be modeled in some sort of mechanistic sense- science gets stuck when we try to think about thinking from the outside in — When we can’t escape the fact that we can abstract mind from within mind.PT: Por que a ciência não consegue explicar a consciência?Nesta conversa, exploramos essa questão revelando algumas falhas na forma de pensar a consciência como algo que pode ser modelado de maneira puramente mecanicista. A ciência tende a empacar quando tentamos pensar o pensamento de fora para dentro — já que não conseguimos escapar do fato de que só podemos abstrair a mente a partir da própria mente.

EN:What is the world made of? In this episode we dive deep into the history of what philosophers call “ontology”, the study of being or. more colloquially, of what is there in reality. Starting in Ancient Greece with the pre-socratics, we explore how the very transitional nature of what we know exists tells us about how science works, and it’s deep dependence on what we can know of the world.PT:Do que é feito o mundo? Neste episódio, mergulhamos fundo na história do que os filósofos chamam de "ontologia", o estudo do ser ou, mais coloquialmente, do que existe na realidade. Começando na Grécia Antiga com os pré-socráticos, exploramos como a própria natureza transitória do que sabemos que existe nos diz como a ciência funciona e sua profunda dependência do que podemos saber sobre o mundo.