Jeffrey Ladish, director of Palisades Research, dives into the looming dangers of AI in this insightful conversation. He discusses how AI agents, if unleashed, could lead to unforeseen chaos, stressing the importance of caution in their development. The conversation touches on the potential for AI to mimic human decision-making and the moral implications of treating these systems as tools versus intelligent agents. Ladish also highlights the alarming intersection of AI risks with corporate governance and emphasizes the need for global regulatory frameworks.

Ben Landau Taylor, a historian focused on civilizations' life cycles, challenges the conventional understanding of societal dynamics. He contrasts economic and spiritual motivations behind the rise and fall of civilizations, drawing from Quigley and Toynbee's theories. Discussing China's historical stagnation, Taylor links its imperial complacency to socio-economic decline. He also warns about modern technological stagnation in the U.S. and the implications of unchecked capitalism, urging a need for adaptability in response to historical lessons.

Today we're bouncing off our recent conversation with evolutionary biologist, Dr. Michael Lachmann from SFI, and unpacking why the modern definition of life sucks and why it matters. We attempt to construct a more scientific (i.e. less circular) definition of life and take it for a walk in the park. As a test case we examine an inadvertent hypothesis, which stems from Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker, a science fiction work that supposes stars themselves have an interior life and that when they move according to gravity they are simply doing the dance of a school of fishes or drivers on a freeway. We pull out cases where the stars satisfy a scientific definition of life and also problems with the theory. The notion forces us to reconsider the limits of life and its possible forms in the universe. READ OLAF STAPLEDON'S STAR MAKER: https://amzn.to/4fkT6jd PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/ AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98 (00:00) Go! (00:06:01) Rethinking Life's Definition (00:09:03) Anthropocentric cosmology (00:14:47) Life's Persistence (00:23:16) Harnessing Tension (00:30:20) Information and Evolution (00:36:29) Life Beyond Earth (00:41:13) Cosmic Communication (00:47:37) Communication and Understanding (00:57:00) Communication Across the Cosmos (01:10:47) Galactic Dynamics and Gravity (01:13:31) Stars as Autonomous Entities; Olaf Stapledon (01:22:29) Life's Potential Ubiquity (01:25:32 )Science's Quest for Understanding #LifeBeyondEarth, #LifeDefinition, #ExtraterrestrialLife, #starmaker, #CosmicPerception, #StellarLife, #Astrobiology, #PhilosophyOfLife, #CosmicCommunication, #GalacticDynamics, #StellarConsciousness, #UniversalLife, #ScienceAndPhilosophy, , #CosmicInteractions, #StellarProcesses, #LifeInTheUniverse, #Astrophysics, #SpaceExploration, #CosmicEvolution, #InterstellarCommunication, #LifeAndTheCosmos, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

In today's episode we chart the debate surrounding Gunung Padang, an enigmatic site in Indonesia, and its implications for the possibility of ice age civilization. Our guide, Dr. Danny Hillman Natawidjaja, an Indonesian geologist specializing in earthquake geology and geotectonics at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Research Center for Geotechnology, walks us through the difficulties of dating archaeological structures with tools like seismic imaging and LiDAR, particularly in a region shaped by natural upheavals. We unpack how environmental changes have influenced historical narratives and the survival of early sites. We also critique the institutional barriers and interpretative conflicts that shape modern archaeology, including the suspect retraction of Danny's seminal work on Gunung Padang - an interdiction not based on allegations of data manipulation, but rather on account of the conclusions drawn by its authors. PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/ AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98 (00:00) Go! Gunung Padang's Archaeological Controversy (00:06:28) Indonesian Archaeology and Geology (00:13:16) Natural Disasters & Social Transformations (00:19:30) Geoscience Meets Archaeological Research (00:24:34) Identifying Potential Archaeological Sites (00:27:36) Megalithic Sites in Indonesia (00:32:07) Problems Dating Megalithic Sites (00:37:47) Interpreting Archaeological Data (00:44:46) Archaeology as Archtypical Conservative Science (00:49:55) Retraction of paper over conclusions? (00:58:11) Study Details and Initial Findings (01:02:48) Archaeological Evidence (01:11:28) Site Controversy and Future Research (01:16:40) Ancient Civilizations and Structures (01:24:11) Debates on Archaeological Interpretations (01:29:04) Cyclical Views of Civilization (01:35:11) Impact of Changing Sea Levels on Civilizations (01:39:16) Ancient Indonesian Civilization and Geography (01:43:07) Underwater Archeological Evidence (01:46:11) Ancient Artifacts and Challenges (01:50:09) Earthquake Research and Hazard Mapping (01:58:30) Prehistoric Cave Paintings (02:03:19) Neanderthals & Speciation #Archaeology, #AncientHistory, #MegalithicStructures, #IndonesianHeritage, #GunungPadang, #AncientCivilizations, #Geoscience, #HistoricalResearch, #PrehistoricSites, #CulturalHeritage, #AncientMysteries, #ArchaeologicalDiscoveries, #AncientMonuments, #HistoricalControversy, #AncientArtifacts, #LostCivilizations, #AncientStructures, #HistoricalDebate, #AncientSites, #ArchaeologicalResearch, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

Helena Norberg-Hodge, an anthropologist and founder of Local Futures, shares her insights on the detrimental effects of globalization and the myth of progress. She draws from her experiences in Ladakh to highlight how urbanization and modern education can lead to mental health issues and societal disconnection. The conversation challenges conventional narratives surrounding economic metrics and community resilience, advocating for localized living and diversified farming. Helena underscores the importance of reclaiming cultural values to foster true fulfillment and a balanced relationship with nature.

Today we're digging into the deep and often overlooked connections between neodarwinian evolution, life’s origins, and the evolution of non-living systems. We're guided by Dr. Michael Lachmann of the Santa Fe Institute, who investigates how life may have begun as a more generalized cosmic selection process, with planetary conditions shaping its emergence and survival. Through discussions of thermodynamics, functional information, and entropy, we examine whether life might be present in forms beyond Earth’s biology - and how'd know what to look for. In the end, this discussion swirls around what it means to be “alive” and how we can narrow boundaries of "life" to get closer to a true scientific definition of it. PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/ AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98 More about Dr. Lachmann: https://www.santafe.edu/people/profile/michael-lachmann (00:00) Go! (00:07:08) Defining Life and Functional Information (00:17:13) Selection in Planetary Systems (00:24:02) Complexity and the Threshold of Life (00:30:24) Defining the Threshold of Life (00:36:01) Life’s Emergence and Definitions (00:45:18) Rethinking Universal Timelines (00:51:05) Eternal Existence and Origin Concepts (01:00:23) Emerging Microbial Life (01:07:25) Stars and Large-Scale Life (01:19:59) Distinction Between Life and Alive (01:25:00) Characteristics of Life Without Complex Parameters (01:31:05) Artificial Life and Consciousness (01:41:43) Distinguishing Life and Artificial Life (01:54:50) Human Purpose and Cooperation (02:00:03) Understanding AI and Human Systems (02:09:44) Scientific Understanding and Cultural Narratives (02:15:03) Happiness, Evolution, and Societal Constraints (02:21:43) The Quest to Understand Life #Evolution, #OriginOfLife, #Astrobiology, #ArtificialIntelligence, #Consciousness, #CosmicEvolution, #Biogenesis, #UniversalLife, #QuantumBiology, #LifeBeyondEarth, #LifeScience, #SpaceExploration, #ComplexSystems, #Thermodynamics, #FunctionalInformation, #ExtraterrestrialLife, #DeepSpace, #SelectionTheory, #Entropy, #LifeInTheUniverse, #CosmicOrigins, #MicrobialLife, #AIConsciousness, #SelfReplicatingSystems, #AstrobiologicalResearch, #LifeDefinition, #Metaphysics, #GalaxyFormation, #ScientificDiscovery, #PlanetaryLife, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

Dr. Norman Fenton and Dr. Martin Neil, both professors at Queen Mary University of London, dive into the misuse of mathematics in various fields, from military technology to health sciences. They discuss how Bayesian statistics can enhance reliability assessments and help unpack statistical misinterpretations in legal cases, particularly concerning forensic evidence. The conversation also tackles the manipulation of pandemic data and its implications for public trust in health narratives, urging for critical thinking and transparency in the statistical discourse.

Dr. Andreas Schlatter is a classically trained physicist (EPFL, Princeton) with a decidedly heretical approach to physics. Though deeply mathematical in his approach, he dispenses with the purely field-based approach to understanding the building blocks of nature, and asks far deeper question about what the mathematics is telling us about the hidden structures of nature. Rather than take the positivist approach, which suggests that anything that cannot be experimentally encountered is not worth considering, Schlatter follows in the tradition of Gödel and the other mid 20th century logicians, who believed that a layer of the universe beyond the visible is available to us if we can reason our way to it. By following this path, Schlatter has reached the conclusion that the only viable interpretation of quantum mechanics is the transactional one. Unlike the other transnational theorists we’ve had on the show, Schlatter has gone one step further to propose that there is a transactional interpretation of gravity just as is there is for quantum mechanics. He calls it entropic gravity, and in this episode we explore the convoluted path he took to physics, how he found the transactionalists, and how he and Ruth Kastner formulated an entropic explanation for spacetime. PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/ AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link for Caver Mead's Collective Electrodynamics: https://amzn.to/4e01Slj (00:00) Go! (00:05:28) Andreas Schlatter's Academic Journey (00:10:39) Exploration of Mathematics in Physics (00:25:51) The Vienna Circle and Logical Positivism (00:30:04) Einstein's Transition in Theoretical Approach (00:37:37) Philosophical Inquiry in Physics Education (00:41:08) The Quest for Understanding in Logic and Set Theory (00:48:02) Transition from Academia to Finance (00:56:02) Challenges of Financial Modeling (01:09:59) Trust and Economic Stability (01:16:10) Light and Gravity Intersect (01:23:02) Entropy and Information Theory (01:31:07) Absorption and Entropy Dynamics (01:37:22) Exploration of Quantum Transactions (01:46:30) Transactional Approach to Gravity (01:56:31) Light Clocks and the Nature of Time (02:04:13) Multiverses and Quantum Realms #Physics, #QuantumMechanics, #Mathematics, #PhilosophyOfScience, #LogicalPositivism, #EmpiricalScience, #TheoreticalPhysics, #Einstein, #Newton, #QuantumReality, #Entropy, #Cosmology, #Multiverse, #GravityTheory, #EconomicStability, #TransactionalInterpretation, #ScienceEducation, #Philosophy, #QuantumGravity, #FinanceAndPhysics, #ScientificUnderstanding #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

Jeff Snider, an economic outsider with a critical eye on mainstream economics and central banking, dives deep into the hidden dynamics of the 2008 financial crisis. He argues that the Eurodollar system played a pivotal role, overshadowed by the subprime mortgage narrative. Trust in financial institutions eroded, leading to systemic failures in lending practices. Snider also critiques Modern Monetary Theory and emphasizes the need for redefining economic principles to address contemporary global challenges. His insights point towards the necessity of evolving our understanding of banking and monetary systems.

Join Jeff Snider, a street-smart scholar and former investment manager, as he unravels the complex world of Eurodollars. He discusses how these dollars have shaped international trade and banking, transitioning from a gold standard to ledger-based systems. Snider also sheds light on the evolution of central banks and the significance of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency. Get ready for insights into the economy's future and the interplay of monetary evolution—this is just the beginning!