124 | Solo: How Time Travel Could and Should Work

124 | Solo: How Time Travel Could and Should Work

Time! It doesn't stop, psychological effects of being under lockdown notwithstanding. How we experience time depends on our situation, but time itself just marches forward. Unless, of course, it's possible to travel to the past, as countless science-fiction scenarios have depicted. But does that really make sense? Couldn't we then change the past, even so dramatically that our own existence would never have happened? In this solo podcast I talk about both the physics and fiction of time travel. I point out that it might be allowed by the laws of physics, and explain how that would work, but that we really don't know. And I try to make sense of some of the less-sensible depictions of cinematic time travel. Coming up with a logical theory that could account for Back to the Future isn't easy, but podcasting isn't for the squeamish.

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But wait, there's more! I was contacted by Janna Levin, who we fondly remember from Episode 27. Janna moonlights as Chair and Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works, an institution dedicated to bringing together creative people in art and science. Like the rest of us, they've been looking for ways to offer more online content in these pandemic times, so we thought about ways to collaborate. Here's what they came up with: artist Azikiwe Mohammed has created an animated video backdrop to this podcast episode. The visuals are trippy, colorful, and inspired by (without trying to directly illustrate) what I talk about in the episode. You can check out a brief write-up at the Pioneer Works site, or view the video directly below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHy1j4LiyGQ

Jaksot(415)

308 | Alison Gopnik on Children, AI, and Modes of Thinking

308 | Alison Gopnik on Children, AI, and Modes of Thinking

We often study cognition in other species, in part to learn about modes of thinking that are different from our own. Today's guest, psychologist/philosopher Alison Gopnik, argues that we needn't look ...

17 Maalis 20251h 9min

AMA | March 2025

AMA | March 2025

Welcome to the March 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patre...

10 Maalis 20252h 58min

307 | Kevin Peterson on the Theory of Cocktails

307 | Kevin Peterson on the Theory of Cocktails

A lot of science goes into crafting the perfect cocktail. Balancing sweet and bitter notes, providing the right amount of aeration and dilution, getting it to just the right temperature and keeping it...

3 Maalis 20251h 16min

306 | Helen Czerski on Our Energetic Oceans

306 | Helen Czerski on Our Energetic Oceans

It is commonplace to refer to the Earth's oceans as vast and largely unexplored. But we do understand some aspects, and improving that understanding is crucial to ensuring the continued viability and ...

24 Helmi 20251h 12min

305 | Lilliana Mason on Polarization and Political Psychology

305 | Lilliana Mason on Polarization and Political Psychology

Political outcomes would be relatively simple to predict and understand if only people were well-informed, entirely rational, and perfectly self-interested. Alas, real human beings are messy, emotiona...

17 Helmi 20251h 17min

Bonus | Cuts to Science Funding and Why They Matter

Bonus | Cuts to Science Funding and Why They Matter

The Trump administration, led by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, has proposed sweeping cuts to spending on science research here in the US, in particular at the National Institu...

12 Helmi 20251h 10min

304 | James Evans on Innovation, Consolidation, and the Science of Science

304 | James Evans on Innovation, Consolidation, and the Science of Science

It is a feature of many human activities - sports, cooking, music, interpersonal relations - that being able to do them well doesn't necessarily mean you can accurately describe how to do them well. S...

10 Helmi 20251h 16min

303 | AMA | February 2025

303 | AMA | February 2025

Welcome to the February 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Pa...

3 Helmi 20253h 44min

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