68 | Melanie Mitchell on Artificial Intelligence and the Challenge of Common Sense
Artificial intelligence is better than humans at playing chess or go, but still has trouble holding a conversation or driving a car. A simple way to think about the discrepancy is through the lens of ...
14 Loka 20191h 22min
67 | Kate Jeffery on Entropy, Complexity, and Evolution
Our observable universe started out in a highly non-generic state, one of very low entropy, and disorderliness has been growing ever since. How, then, can we account for the appearance of complex syst...
7 Loka 20191h 12min
66 | Will Wilkinson on Partisan Polarization and the Urban/Rural Divide
The idea of "red states" and "blue states" burst on the scene during the 2000 U.S. Presidential elections, and has a been a staple of political commentary ever since. But it's become increasingly clea...
30 Syys 20191h 52min
65 | Michael Mann on Why Our Climate Is Changing and How We Know
We had our fun last week, exploring how progress in renewable energy and electric vehicles may help us combat encroaching climate change. This week we're being a bit more hard-nosed, taking a look at ...
23 Syys 20191h 17min
64 | Ramez Naam on Renewable Energy and an Optimistic Future
The Earth is heating up, and it's our fault. But human beings are not always complete idiots (occasional contrary evidence notwithstanding), and sometimes we can even be downright clever. Dare we imag...
16 Syys 20191h 16min
63 | Solo -- Finding Gravity Within Quantum Mechanics
I suspect most loyal Mindscape listeners have been exposed to the fact that I've written a new book, Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime. As I release this episode o...
9 Syys 20191h 50min
62 | Michele Gelfand on Tight and Loose Societies and People
Physicists study systems that are sufficiently simple that it's possible to find deep unifying principles applicable to all situations. In psychology or sociology that's a lot harder. But as I say at ...
2 Syys 20191h 12min
61 | Quassim Cassam on Intellectual Vices and What to Do About Them
All of us have been wrong about things from time to time. But sometimes it was a simple, forgivable mistake, while other times we really should have been correct. Properties that systematically preven...
26 Elo 20191h 10min
