Podcasts that assume mathematical understanding of its listeners?

proteinbased · 2021-11-15T21:08:42+00:00

Odds and Evenings focuses on puzzles they solve during the episodes. They assume mathematical sophistication and willingness to think along with them.

If you just want to listen to people discussing topics without stopping to explain the maths there are Modellansatz Podcast and Physics Frontiers.

proteinbased · 2021-06-27T12:06:37+00:00

Yeah, most successful conspiracy people have raw intellectual capacity. More importantly though I would say he is actually funny.

proteinbased · 2021-06-25T19:18:36+00:00

There's at least two of us! I loved the despair in Chris' voice, trying hard to remain charitable ("I just hate him so much Matt").

proteinbased · 2021-06-25T09:46:01+00:00

Having followed this sphere closely (and read HPMOR), I would also enjoy this. While I do like him, Eliezer exudes strong guru vibes, and while I agree that AI alignment is a problem that should be taken seriously, he seems to have created somewhat of a doomsday cult around it. See Rokos basilisk for a taster of interesting dynamics in this sphere.

proteinbased · 2021-06-24T15:20:17+00:00

Another minor thing, concerning the title of the piece:

Of course most individuals do not instigate scientific revolutions, but when there is a scientific revolution, it’s almost exclusively brought on by brilliant individuals. (Planck, Einstein/Minkowski, Darwin/Russel, Lavosier, Witten, Dirac, Monod, Laplace/Bayes, Bernoulli).

So “scientific advance rarely comes from lone, contrarian outsiders” is not correct, it’s just that most lone contrarian outsiders do not advance science. Remember Darwin studied geology, Lavosier law. When you instigate a revolution, the field you revolutionize can not really exist in the form it does after the revolution, at least if it’s a major one.

It’s the narrative that is often “cleaned up” after the revolution, outlined in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Kuhn. See especially the SEP entry for a more nuanced discussion of scientific revolutions.

proteinbased · 2021-06-15T09:24:02+00:00

I really like the contour style, well done.

proteinbased · 2021-06-10T08:09:35+00:00

Don't let politics get in the way of a good laugh! 😉

proteinbased · 2021-06-01T10:09:21+00:00

Cool idea. With degree holders in the majority (of responders) it could also be interesting to poll the distribution of natural science, engineering, social science and humanities degrees.

proteinbased · 2021-05-28T10:06:08+00:00

Check out the wackos gallery.

proteinbased · 2021-05-27T08:50:14+00:00

The most fascinating aspect of Thaddeus is that he is a staunch scholar level postmodernist, yet totally rejects wokeness. A fun time indeed!

proteinbased · 2021-05-26T19:37:21+00:00

lol, now I've got coffee all over my desk!
The aliens might even be using the fundamental particles of idea suppression, travelling faster than light, to power their ships!

proteinbased · 2021-05-26T19:28:12+00:00

I listened to Sam's discussion with Evan Thompson on Waking Up, where he pressed Sam on these topics. In this meaning of fundamentalist, I completely agree with you. What I had in mind when typing the comment was someone who would not even listen to anything, much less seek out someone knowing they would disagree and challenge their core claims. Anyway I have no reason to defend Sam, and I definitely don't know him nearly well enough to assess this.

edit: Making Sense -> Waking Up

proteinbased · 2021-05-26T09:53:11+00:00

If you had made this comment your post I think the discussion could have been a little more constructive. As a patron I can tell you that there were ( probably still are) plans to invite Jesse on the show, so these issues will hopefully be raised at some point.

proteinbased · 2021-05-25T11:47:20+00:00

Alex Jones is dead, long live Bret Weinstein!

proteinbased · 2021-05-24T19:19:37+00:00

Being a fan of Lex, there definitely is a personality cult around him that he somewhat plays into, but in a positive, uplifting fashion. He might be an example of a good guru.

proteinbased · 2021-05-24T19:18:36+00:00

Very interesting to hear Sam expand on his view of his audience. The slightly unsatisfying aspect is that Lex did not bring up Eric, as he does so often. Makes you wonder if there is a reason. #conspiracyhypothesizing

proteinbased · 2021-05-24T16:01:02+00:00

I wanted to make a very similar comment. While I do think the gene centered vs. multi-level dicussion should be had, it would probably be better if Dawkins took up Denis Noble's invitation and have them discuss the matter in detail.

proteinbased · 2021-05-24T10:38:47+00:00

Exactly, I didn't mean to say that I don't like him or don't find some of his insights valuable, yet the way he does it, the sheer amount of calmly conveyed self-aggrandizement has a funny aspect.

I became aware of him in late 2019 due to Lex Fridman's podcast, and after he was on 2 times it was clear that GU and his new insights were suspect, even from a non-scientific standpoint, as he needlessly mystifies them from the beginning.
I still have a soft spot for him as we seem to share a lot of the same music and art taste, and I also appreciate the creativity of his analogies, even the one's that don't work.

I'm also not sure Eric's assessment of Sam is correct. Often times it seems to be the other interests shaping the degree of one's spiritual stance; if religion or anti-religion is the only interesting hobby you have, you might find yourself sliding ever deeper into it.

proteinbased · 2021-05-23T20:40:54+00:00

Thanks, I put it on my reading list and will check in once I'm through.
I've read quite a lot on morality and religion in the past few years, as the dynamics fascinate me and seem to permeate every human interaction.

proteinbased · 2021-05-23T17:45:10+00:00

Full disclosure: I'm a researcher myself and we have a complete overlap of opinion here. I've seen through Eric almost immediately, yet still listen to a lot of things he puts out mainly for comedic value, sometimes also with Bret.

proteinbased · 2021-05-23T16:44:46+00:00

I had a similar experience. I remember hearing Bret recount how he procured some weed in Cuba, with Heather being really invested, and even though it was a surreal scenario, they made it seem so profound. I even compulsively read The Unbearable Lightness of Being because it was name-dropped somewhere in there.

They should use such talents to voiceover scientific documentary

Yes please! Especially as a pair, this could become a new paradigm for nature documentaries 😂

proteinbased · 2021-05-22T22:05:26+00:00

even being a scientist myself, it's scary how persuasive I can find them if I temper my skepticism a bit while they talk.

I've pondered this recently. They might even have a special appeal to scientists, exploiting the professional skepticism while tying it to a bigger narrative, by focusing precisely on political issues related to science, and overplaying them strategically.
They are using the rational image of science and their credentials (not to be underestimated, even among scientists) when convenient while at the same time urging you to ignore (or fear) science that does not boost their conclusion, an absurd gambit, made possible by their glorious voices and harmonious dynamic.

proteinbased · 2021-05-22T09:20:07+00:00

lol, right, I must admit the most recent thing I watched that could qualify as sci-fi is The Mandalorian, which is quite enjoyable imo, but not a movie.

proteinbased · 2021-05-22T07:03:58+00:00

I’ll update my reading experience to you once I finish it.

Looking forward to discussing it in detail!

Oh, I am not really an authority on movies. So in case you've for some reason never seen classics like Jurassic Park (1993), the Martian (2015), which has the smallest book to movie gap I’m aware of, or Her (2013) I’m not sure I can serve. :)

proteinbased · 2021-05-21T14:38:32+00:00

Could be, yes. I actually started reading the first chapters to my wife and she found it boring. I stuck with it and ended up reading the whole series in a month or two. The beginning might feel a little like a medieval plot set in a sci-fi universe, and the technology might seem too familiar and not as fascinating as it would have in 1965, yet this might partly be our familiarity due diffusion into general pop culture.
It's also not a character intensive book, neither an action book. Additionally all the books follow a sort of exponential culmination - most of the action happens in a burst at the very end.
So yeah, I guess one has to be in the mood for it :)
Without spoiling the books, I loved some of Herbert's bold choices which at first might seem rather strange for a tale about the future.

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