242 - Victor Davis Hanson: President Donald J. Trump and the Fate of the United States

Fay Dowker is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London, where she works broadly on quantum gravity, and more particularly on an approach called causal set theory that takes the most basic pieces of the universe to be atoms of spacetime. In this episode, Robinson and Fay begin by discussing her studies with Stephen Hawking and their work on wormholes before turning to quantum gravity and causal set theory. Fay is also a faculty member at the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics—which you absolutely should be—then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life. The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:50 Introduction 04:49 How Do Physicists Think of Wormholes? 15:56 Stephen Hawking, Philosophy, and Quantum Gravity 26:00 Causal Set Theory and The Problem of Quantum Gravity 43:45 What is the Path Integral? 54:43 Is Spacetime Discrete? 57:40 Causal Set Theory and Black Holes 01:14:27 Lorentz Symmetry, Non-Locality, and Phenomenology in Causal Set Theory Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

20 Loka 20231h 40min

Tony Padilla is Professor of Physics in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, where he is the Associate Director of the new Nottingham Centre of Gravity. Tony works in cosmology, quantum gravity, and related areas. He is also a host of the YouTube channel Numberphile, and the author of Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: A Cosmic Quest from Zero to Infinity (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2022). In this episode, Robinson and Tony discuss some of these fantastic numbers. They begin with the question of how numbers relate to physics and the world more generally before turning to Graham’s Number, Tree(3), and the question of whether or not we have doppelgängers elsewhere in the universe. Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: https://a.co/d/jiLCOJe Numberphile: https://www.youtube.com/@numberphile OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:13 Introduction 02:57 Tony’s Interest in Numbers 07:51 Are Numbers Parts of the Physical World? 20:12 Do We Have Doppelgängers Elsewhere in the Universe? 54:16 What is Graham’s Number? 01:03:22 Tree(3) Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

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Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. This is Richard’s second appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In episode #127, he and Robinson discussed some of the most profound criticisms of capitalism. In this installment, they focus on Marx himself, including Karl Marx’s background, his most important views, what he wrote and didn’t write, and some of the common—and potentially devastating—criticisms of Marxism. Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate The Sickness is the System: https://a.co/d/jf5w5wy OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:22 Introduction 03:55 Who Was Karl Marx? 32:15 Karl Marx, Armchair Intellectual? 37:40 Answering Karl Marx’s Critics 50:38 Is Karl Marx Responsible for the Communist Genocides? 01:14:09 Marxism and The World Economy of Today 01:17:53 Is Socialism a Monolith? Does Marxism Evolve? 01:25:13 On Marxism and Mass Death Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

15 Loka 20231h 41min

Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. He leads NASA’s 880 million dollar New Horizons mission, which explored Pluto and its moons before heading deeper into the Kuiper Belt that surrounds the solar system. In 2007 and 2008, Alan was also NASA’s chief of space and Earth science programs. In this episode, Robinson and Alan talk all about Pluto and how Earth got there through New Horizons. They begin by discussing whether or not Pluto should be classified as a planet, before turning to the logistics of flying to Pluto and then what the New Horizons probe discovered there. Alan’s book, Chasing New Horizons (Picador, 2018) details the story of the groundbreaking mission. Alan’s Website: https://alanstern.space Chasing New Horizons: https://a.co/d/gwvun3e OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:56 Introduction 02:46 Why Planets? 08:23 Is Pluto a Planet? 22:19 New Horizons’ Journey to Pluto 30:14 NASA’s Flyby-Then-Probe Model 37:20 What Did NASA’s New Horizons Mission Learn About Pluto? 50:11 New Horizons After Pluto and Beyond Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

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Geraint F. Lewis is Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy in the University of Sydney’s School of Physics. While the focus of his research is on dark matter and energy, Geraint has written about and worked on many topics in cosmology and astrophysics more generally. In this episode, Robinson and Geraint discuss the question of fine-tuning: Our universe seems extremely well-suited for life, and with just the slightest variations in physics life as we know it would not exist. In what ways does the universe appear finely tuned, and how should we account for this? Geraint’s Website: https://www.geraintflewis.com A Fortunate Universe: https://a.co/d/aLKIcG5 OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:34 Introduction 2:59 The Bigger Questions 05:40 Was the Earth Designed for Humans? 10:33 Fine-Tuning and the Standard Model of Particle Physics 18:40 What Is the Anthropic Principle? 28:46 Is the Weak Nuclear Force Necessary For Life? 36:36 Are The Strong and Electromagnetic Forces Necessary for Life? 52:52 The Higgs Boson and Fine-Tuning 59:23 Is Gravity Necessary for Life? 01:03:10 Fine-Tuning and the Multiverse 01:14:03 Entropy and Fine-Tuning 01:37:54 Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Fine-Tuning Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

11 Loka 20231h 52min

Michael Levin is a Distinguished Professor in the Biology Department at Tufts University, where he holds the Vannevar Bush endowed Chair, and he is also associate faculty at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. Michael and the Levin Lab work at the intersection of biology, artificial life, bioengineering, synthetic morphology, and cognitive science. In this episode, Michael and Robinson discuss what it means—if anything determinate—to be intelligent and to be alive before turning to the various fascinating ways collective intelligence arises at all levels of the spectrum, from microbes to synthetic chimaeras, which all adaptively solve complex problems using sophisticated cognition. The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org/ OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:55 Introduction 03:38 Michael’s Research Program 05:48 What Is Intelligence? 23:26 Does It Mean Anything to be Alive? 34:50 What Is Morphogenesis? 53:20 Slime Molds, Exploding Planaria Brains, and Intercellular Communication 01:11:48 Why Is Synthetic Life Useful in the Lab? 01:27:48 Final Thoughts Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

8 Loka 20231h 33min

John Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He was the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his role as Principle Investigator for the Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer on COBE, which observed the cosmic microwave background and helped support the big bang theory of the origin of the universe. John has also worked on many other projects for NASA, including the James Webb Space Telescope. In this episode, Robinson and John discuss the big bang and the cosmic microwave background before detailing the COBE satellite, its extraordinary findings, and the work that led to winning the Nobel Prize. The Very First Light: https://a.co/d/6iaWMOK OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:35 Introduction 02:56 John’s Scientific Background 12:50 Where Did the Big Bang Theory Come From 22:28 The Electromagnetic Spectrum 27:48 John’s Thesis and the Road to COBE 42:57 Designing the Nobel-Winning COBE Satellite 01:05:38 Some Further Background 01:08:08 The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Nobel Prize 01:35:52 John’s More Recent Projects Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

6 Loka 20231h 47min

Jonathan Lear is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Philosophy and at the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He is also a practicing psychoanalyst. Jonathan’s work focuses on understanding the human psyche both through philosophy—with an emphasis on Aristotle and the ancients—and psychoanalysis. In this episode, Jonathan and Robinson discuss three pinnacles of psychoanalysis: free association, the unconscious, and transference. Jonathan’s most recent book is Wisdom Won From Illness: Essays in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis (Harvard, 2017). Jonathan’s Website: https://home.uchicago.edu/~jlear/ Wisdom Won From Illness: https://a.co/d/hxkokCz OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:50 Introduction 03:28 Philosophy and Psychoanalysis 12:29 What Is The Fundamental Rule of Psychoanalysis? 20:02 On Slavoj Žižek and Free Association 25:26 Following Freud 37:55 Transference and Changing One’s Mind 49:22 How the Analyst Listens 01:09:40 Analysis and Contradiction 01:25:44 Dreams and Free-Association 01:34:42 Transference 01:55:12 Who Is Psychoanalysis For? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

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