Ep60 "Can we think better by wrestling with conflicting ideas?"
Why do we believe our own truths so strongly? What is steel-manning, and why is it so important? What does any of this have to do with F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Keats, or the future of our society? Th...
27 Maj 202455min
Ep59 "Do you visualize like I do?"
How do brains picture things internally, and how might you and I imagine differently? How have recent discoveries completely changed the debate and the way we understand internal experience? What does...
20 Maj 202455min
Ep58 "What do brains teach us about whether AI is creative?"
From a neuroscience point of view, what is creativity? How does it shine light on the current lawsuits over large language models and whether they produce anything fundamentally new... or are simply r...
13 Maj 202442min
Ep57 "When should new technologies enter the courtroom?"
Can we measure a lie from a blood pressure test, or pedophilia from a brain scan? And how should a judge decide whether the technology is good enough? What does this have to do with Ronald Reagan, or ...
6 Maj 202440min
Rebroadcast of Ep7 "Is AI truly intelligent? How would we know if it got there?"
David is taking his birthday week off and wanted to re-share this episode due to it's ongoing relevance. Modern AI is blowing everyone’s mind. But is it intelligent like humans, or is it just playing ...
29 Apr 202446min
Ep56 "Why do we care so much about touch?"
Why does a cold pool feel warmer the second time you dip your toes in? Why does a safecracker run his fingers over sandpaper? Why do Mediterranean cultures touch each other more than Scandinavian cult...
22 Apr 202443min
Ep55 "Could a brain plugin instantly teach you to fly a helicopter?"
Could you instantaneously learn to fly a helicopter -- not by practicing, but instead by uploading instructions directly to your brain? What would society do if children no longer had to go to school?...
15 Apr 202434min
Ep54 "Where do you end and others begin?"
From the brain’s point of view, what is the self? How do 30 trillion cells come to feel like a single entity? Does the "self" of a blind person include the tip of her walking stick? How flexible is ou...
8 Apr 202437min
