1 - Haim Gaifman: Vagueness & the Sorites Paradox

Geoffrey West is Shannan Distinguished Professor and Past President at the Santa Fe Institute. He is a theoretical physicist who has worked broadly on topics related to elementary particles and their cosmological implications. Among other topics, he has also worked on complexity theory, scaling laws in biology, and how they can be applied in other areas, such as cities and problems involving global sustainability. This is precisely what Robinson and Geoffrey discuss in this episode, with particular reference to his recent book, Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies (Penguin, 2017).  Scale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ05syiaUxg OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:25 Introduction 02:21 Complexity and the Santa Fe Institute 22:14 What Are Emergent Phenomena? 34:18 What is Complexity Theory? 45:51 Why Do All Animals Have the Same Number of Heartbeats in a Lifetime 01:11:43 Does Complexity Theory Tell Us How to Live Longer 01:22:49 Why Don’t Cities Die Like Organisms Do? 01:59:40 The Pandemic and the Increasing Pace of Life 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 Nov 20232h 8min

Daniel Levitin is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University and Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at Minerva University. He is also a record producer, musician, and writer. In this episode, Robinson and Daniel discuss one of his best-selling books, This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (Penguin, 2006), as well as some of the songs on his two albums, Turnaround (2020) and Sex & Math (2021). More particularly, they talk about whether a neurological understanding of the mind and music reduces or increases one’s appreciation for music, how the brain processes complex music, whether music is evolved, why we get songs stuck in our head, and why some sounds are more pleasing than others. Daniel’s Website: https://www.daniellevitin.com This Is Your Brain On Music: https://a.co/d/fDxIvxd Sex & Math: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/daniellevitin/sex--math OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:56 Introduction 03:05 Music, Awe, and Neuroscience 11:12 Neuroscience and Songwriting 17:10 Why Can the Brain Easily Process Complex Music? 34:59 Why Do We Get Songs Stuck in Our Heads? 41:12 Why Do We Prefer Some Musical Time Signatures and Sounds to Others? 58:02 What Gives Some Musicians the IT Factor? 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.

5 Nov 20231h 8min

Tim Palmer is Royal Society Research Professor in Climate Physics at the University of Oxford, where he is a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin Institute and a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College. Tim works on the predictability and dynamics of weather and climate, including extreme events, and is well known within the field for developing probabilistic ensemble forecasting techniques. In this episode, Robinson and Tim discuss his recent book, The Primacy of Doubt: From Quantum Physics to Climate Change, How the Science of Uncertainty Can Help Us Understand Our Chaotic World (2022). More particularly, they talk about black holes and the holographic principle, the foundations of quantum mechanics, meteorology and probabilistic forecasting, chaos theory and consciousness, and the problem of climate change. The Primacy of Doubt: https://a.co/d/dL8JfTn OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:37 Introduction 02:37 From Physics to Meteorology 13:17 Black Holes and the Holographic Principle 35:09 What Is the Butterfly Effect? 43:31 Why Is Weather Chaotic and What Can We Do About It? 01:09:34 Can Principles of Meteorology Be Applied to the Problems of Consciousness and Free Will? 01:30:55 Chaos Theory and Climate Change 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.

3 Nov 20231h 56min

James Owen Weatherall is Professor of Logic and the Philosophy of Science and Department Chair at the University of California, Irvine, where he is also a member of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Science, the Center for Cosmology, and the Jack W. Peltason Center for the Study of Democracy. Jim is a physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, and works broadly on  the mathematical and conceptual foundations of classical and quantum field theories, as well as the philosophy of science more generally, though he has plenty of other interests, such as model building in finance. In this episode, Robinson and Jim discuss nothingness and the physics of the void, beginning with the debate between Leibniz and Newton on the nature of space, moving through the revolution ushered in by Einstein’s special and general relativity, and ending with the quantum vacuum state. Jim’s Website: http://jamesowenweatherall.com Void: https://a.co/d/eEwbGCh OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:49 Introduction 03:04 MFA, PhD, PhD 06:04 Physics and Metaphysics 16:00 Newton, Leibniz, and the Debate Over Absolute Space 39:32 How Did Einstein Change Our Understanding of Space? 01:03:28 How Does Quantum Theory Change Our Classical Picture of the World 01:14:15 Fields and the Quantum Mechanics of the Void 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.

1 Nov 20231h 27min

David Friedman is Professor Emeritus at the Santa Clara University School of Law. While he was trained as a physicist, David is best known for his work in economics, and particularly his defense of anarcho-capitalism, a political philosophy that advocates for a free-market system unhampered by government. In this episode, Robinson and David discuss some criticisms of current economic systems, the varieties of anarchism, David’s arguments for anarcho-capitalism, and one of his fascinating hobbies, anachronism. David’s Website: http://www.daviddfriedman.com David’s Substack: https://daviddfriedman.substack.com The Machinery of Freedom: https://a.co/d/iKpTQYK OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:17 Introduction 02:55 Physics to Economics 09:35 What is Anarchism? 16:09 Is Government an Agency of Legitimized Coercion? 27:41 Could Anarchy Be More Efficient than Government? 37:52 What Are Moral Facts? 44:46 Was John Rawls a Quack? 48:44 What Are Moral Facts? 56:07 How Much Should We Trust the Government? 01:02:05 Can Governments Prevent Climate Change? 01:13:18 Could We Privatize Police? 01:30:11 Would Anarchy Lead to Wealth Inequality? 01:40:08 Will the United States Ever Become Anarchic? 01:46:26 Anachronism 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.

29 Okt 20231h 59min

Erik Verlinde is Professor of Physics in the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam, where he specializes in quantum gravity and string theory, black holes, and cosmology. In this episode, Erik and Robinson discuss his studies with the Nobel laureate Gerard ’t Hooft, black holes, the holographic principle, string theory, entropic gravity, and dark matter. OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:51 Introduction 02:16 Studying with Gerard ‘t Hooft 13:33 How Do Black Holes Connect Quantum Theory and General Relativity? 20:57 Why Are Black Holes the Most Symmetric Objects in the Universe 24:10 How Do You Measure a Black Hole’s Entropy? 30:32 What Is The Holographic Principle in Physics? 44:17 What is String Theory and What Does It Teach Us About Black Holes? 01:04:49 What Is Entropic Gravity?  01:24:09 What’s the Connection Between String Theory and Quantum Mechanics? 01:29:33 Entropic Gravity and General Relativity 01:40:32 Does Entropic Gravity Explain Dark Matter? 01:47:50 The Present and Future of Emergent Gravity 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.

27 Okt 20231h 51min

Sheldon Solomon is Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College. He is best known for developing terror management theory with Tom Pyszczynski and Jeff Greenberg, which explores human psychology and mortality. In this episode, Robinson and Sheldon discuss Ernest Becker’s groundbreaking book The Denial of Death, how it influenced him and his collaborators, and how they have studied—with the tools of contemporary social psychology—how humans are affected by their sense of mortality. The Worm at the Core: https://a.co/d/7p05yA6 OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:51 Introduction 03:33 Discovering Ernest Becker 08:29 What Is Self-Esteem? 19:04 Freud and the Denial of Death 27:20 Man and the Heroic Journey 46:41 Where Was Becker Wrong? 54:44 What Is Terror Management Theory? 01:06:26 Children’s Fear of Death 01:10:23 A History of Death Denial 01:14:19 Possible Criticisms 01:18:00 A Prescriptive Dimension to Death Denial 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.

25 Okt 20231h 22min

David Albert is the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University and one of the world’s most respected philosophers of physics. He is also the director of the Philosophical Foundations of Physics program at Columbia and a faculty member of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. This is David’s fifth (!) appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. He appeared on episode #23 with Justin Clarke-Doane on metaethics and absolute space, episode #30 on the philosophy of time, episode #67 with Tim Maudlin on the foundations of quantum theory, and episode #106 with Sean Carroll on Many-Worlds and fine-tuning. In this episode, Robinson and David discuss his new book, A Guess at the Riddle: Essays on the Physical Underpinnings of Quantum Mechanics (Harvard, 2023), and the metaphysics of quantum mechanics. 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. A Guess at the Riddle: https://a.co/d/6qcsidl The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:56 Introduction 05:12 On The Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics 30:24 The Complex Origins of Antirealism in Quantum Physics 37:29 Instrumentalism and String Theory  45:31 The Amazing History of Locality in Physics 01:22:38 Quantum Mechanics as Experimental Metaphysics 01:26:27 What Is Wave-Function Realism in the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics? 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.

22 Okt 20231h 54min