Sean Carroll: The Worst Guru Yet?!?
Decoding the Gurus2 Maalis 2024

Sean Carroll: The Worst Guru Yet?!?

Controversial physics firebrand Sean Carroll has cut a swathe through the otherwise meek and mild podcasting industry over the last few years. Known in the biz as the "bad boy" of science communication, he offends as much as he educ....

<< Record scratch >>

No, we can't back any of that up obviously, those are all actually lies. Let's start again.

Sean Carroll has worked as a research professor in theoretical physics and philosophy of science at Caltech and is presently an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He currently focuses on popular writing and public education on topics in physics and has appeared in several science documentaries.

Since 2018 Sean has hosted his podcast Mindscape, which focuses not only on science but also on "society, philosophy, culture, arts and ideas". Now, that's a broad scope and firmly places Sean in the realm of "public intellectual", and potentially within the scope of a "secular guru" (in the broader non-pejorative sense - don't start mashing your keyboard with angry e-mails just yet).

The fact is, Sean appears to have an excellent reputation for being responsible, reasonable and engaging, and his Mindscape podcast is wildly popular. But despite his mild-mannered presentation, Sean is quite happy to take on culture-war-adjacent topics such as promoting a naturalistic and physicalist atheist position against religious approaches. He's also prepared to stake out and defend non-orthodox positions, such as the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, and countenance somewhat out-there ideas such as the holographic principle.

But we won't be covering his deep physics ideas in this episode... possibly because we're not smart enough. Rather, we'll look at a recent episode where Sean stretched his polymathic wings, in the finest tradition of a secular guru, and weighed in on AI and large-language models (LLMs).

Is Sean getting over his skis, falling face-first into a mound of powdery pseudo-profound bullshit or is he gliding gracefully down a black diamond with careful caveats and insightful reflections?

Also covered the stoic nature of Western Buddhists, the dangers of giving bad people credit, and the unifying nature of the Ukraine conflict.

Links


Jaksot(211)

Jordan Peterson: The Alchemical Lemon explains the Crystalline Structure of Logos

Jordan Peterson: The Alchemical Lemon explains the Crystalline Structure of Logos

Chris and Matt finally discuss the big kahuna Jordan Peterson by taking a deep dive into his extended 2017 interview on the Transliminal YouTube channel titled 'Ideology, Logos & Belief'.They learn about the alchemical nature of lemons, whether a professional footballer is playing a game or living life, and Jordan Peterson's crystal clear views on the nature of Jesus & his resurrection.Some people will say this episode is too cynical, but it's like... 'No. It isn't, man!' And furthermore, it's not at all obvious that we actually know... on a fundamental level... what cynicism is! It's mysterious and there is a lot we do not know.LinksJordan Peterson's 2017 interview on TransliminalA Transcript of the InterviewA Good (but very critical) article on JBP by Nathan Robinson at Current AffairsAn article by JBP's old mentor suggesting his long term goal was to become a religious guru

9 Loka 20202h 26min

James Lindsay: The monkey is out of the box and it HATES liberalism

James Lindsay: The monkey is out of the box and it HATES liberalism

Chris and Matt discuss James Lindsay's talk at the Speaking Truth to Social Justice conference held at the ostentatious National Liberal Club, in an episode that will disappoint Lindsay fanboys and haters alike. Blindingly hot takes include, "He's a bit hyperbolic" and "Critical Theory is complicated".They discuss some pretty strong metaphors (or are they analogies?) of Critical Social Justice involving monkeys, viruses, and boxes.Most importantly, the duo establish definitively that, despite James' assertions, Jeff Goldblum did NOT die on a toilet in Jurassic Park (which, let's face it, would have ruined the entire movie).LinksJames' talk on YouTubeEmbrace The Void episode on Sovereign NationsTwo Psychologists Four Beers episode on Diversity StatementsNot Jeff Goldblum being eaten on a Toilet in Jurassic Park

23 Syys 20201h 59min

Eric and Bret Weinstein: A Dark Horse Gallops through the Portal

Eric and Bret Weinstein: A Dark Horse Gallops through the Portal

Matt and Chris introduce themselves and the overall concept for the podcast then take a deep dive into an infamous episode of Eric Weinstein's podcast 'The Portal', featuring his brother Bret Weinstein (Episode 19). They cast a critical eye over Eric and Bret's claims that they are fighting back against the 'Distributed Idea Suppression Complex' and alerting the world to one of the greatest untold scientific scandals of the modern era.

9 Syys 20203h 17min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
utelias-mieli
rss-poliisin-mieli
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast
rss-duodecim-lehti
docemilia
rss-laakaripodi
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-ilmasto-kriisissa
rss-ylistys-elaimille
hippokrateen-vastaanotolla
radio-antro
rss-ammamafia
rss-mental-race
rss-murremyytin-murtajat
rss-taivaanranta