Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

• Academia's Darkest Secret: The Graduate Student Crisis... | Tyler Cowen

  In today's episode of Theories of Everything, Tyler Cowen proposes that tariffs erode economic efficiency, ultimately passing much of the burden onto smaller countries such as Canada. Moreover, he suggests that the rise of AI and evolving institutional structures demand both intellectual humility and stronger mentorship for a more resilient academic landscape. As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Links Mentioned: - Tyler’s website: https://tylercowen.com/ - Tyler’s blog: https://marginalrevolution.com/ - Tyler’s podcast: https://conversationswithtyler.com/ - Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World (book): https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Identify-Energizers-Creatives-Winners/dp/1250275814 ---------------------- Timestamps: 00:00 - Tariffs and Trade Policies 01:21 Economic Consequences of Tariffs 03:07 Canada as a 51st State? 04:00 Canada's Defense Spending Debate 05:41 Positive Aspects of Hostility 06:35 Transitioning to Theoretical Economics 08:07 The Role of Tenure 11:43 The Academy's Strengths 13:04 Problems in Academia 14:08 Understanding the Grant System 15:10 The Need for Grants 16:33 Is the Academic System Broken? 17:18 Improving the Academic System 17:47 The Role of AI in Academia 22:39 Exploring Deep Research 29:32 Writing as Thinking 31:53 Truth in Worldviews 33:22 Patchwork Theory of Reality 34:11 Economics and Theories of Everything 35:07 Disagreements Among Intelligent People 37:48 The Concept of Metarationality 45:10 Cultivating Metarationality 46:55 Distinction Between Stamina and Grit 49:03 Risk-Taking in Academia 51:28 Interviewing Style 56:28 The Value of Preparation 1:13:33 Critiquing Nassim Taleb 1:18:23 Public Debates vs. Private Discussions 1:20:46 Focus on Money 1:22:45 Healthy vs. Unhealthy Ambition 1:23:49 Complexity in Theories of Everything 1:24:39 The Importance of Mentoring 1:26:08 Current Projects and Interests 1:31:15 Advice for Students 1:32:39 The Future of Networking 1:32:53 Closing Thoughts and Reflections -------------------- Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #economy #science #technology #news #tariffs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  1:34:57
• The Complete Consciousness Iceberg | 2 Hours of Obscure Consciousness Theories Explained

  Welcome to the complete Iceberg of Consciousness. As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join --------------------- LAYER 1 01:31 – Introduction to Layer 1 01:38 – What Is Consciousness? 04:20 – The Mind-Body Problem 06:02 – Sleep, Dreams, and Altered States 08:53 – Free Will vs. Determinism 10:58 – The Self and Identity LAYER 2 12:56 – Introduction to Layer 2 13:02 – The Hard Problem of Consciousness 16:59 – Qualia and Phenomenal Consciousness 19:27 – Advaita Vedanta (Non-Dualism) 22:59 – John Vervaeke’s Relevance Realization 24:45 – Panpsychism and the Combination Problem 26:58 – Buddhist Consciousness (Yogācāra & Madhyamaka) 29:04 – Global Workspace Theory 31:59 – Carl Jung’s Explanation for Consciousness LAYER 3 36:03 – Introduction to Layer 3 36:47 – Heidegger’s Concept of Dasein 39:28 – Attention Schema Theory (Michael Graziano) 42:53 – EM-Field Topology & Boundary Problem (Andrés Gómez Emilsson) 46:49 – Joscha Bach’s Theory 53:41 – Donald Hoffman’s Theory 57:47 – Nir Lahav’s Relativistic Consciousness LAYER 4 01:05:46 – Introduction to Layer 4 01:06:25 – Douglas Hofstadter’s Strange Loops 01:11:50 – Penrose’s Quantum Consciousness 01:16:04 – Christopher Langan’s CTMU 01:20:31 – Johnjoe McFadden’s CEMI Field Theory 01:24:24 – David Chalmers’ Extended Mind Hypothesis 01:29:18 – Iain McGilchrist’s Relational Dual-Aspect Monism LAYER 5 01:33:04 – Introduction to Layer 5 01:34:35 – Bernardo Kastrup’s Analytic Idealism 01:38:54 – Karl Friston’s Enactive Approach / Free Energy Principle 01:42:12 – Alfred North Whitehead’s Pan-Experientialism 01:46:56 – Mark Solms’ Felt Uncertainty & Affective Theory 01:51:20 – Thomas Metzinger’s Minimal Phenomenal Selfhood --------------------- Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science #consciousness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  2:08:20
• "There is No Quantum Multiverse" | Jacob Barandes

  In this episode, Curt Jaimungal speaks with Jacob Barandes, a theoretical physicist from Harvard, about the complexities of quantum mechanics. They explore wave-particle duality, Jacob's reformulation of quantum theory through indivisible stochastic processes, and the historical perspectives of figures like Schrödinger and Einstein. As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Links Mentioned: •⁠ ⁠Watch Part 1 of this conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaS1usLeXQM •⁠ ⁠Jacob’s talks covering many of his points in this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/@JacobBarandesPhilOfPhysics •⁠ ⁠Jacob’s first appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oWip00iXbo •⁠ ⁠New Prospects for a Causally Local Formulation of Quantum Theory (Jacob’s paper): https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.16935 •⁠ ⁠The Stochastic-Quantum Correspondence (Jacob’s paper): https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.10778 •⁠ ⁠Schrodinger’s wave function paper (1926): https://github.com/yousbot/Quantum-Papers/blob/master/1926%20-%20E.%20Schrodinger%2C%20An%20Undulatory%20Theory%20of%20the%20Mechanics%20of%20Atoms%20and%20Molecules.pdf •⁠ ⁠The Born-Einstein Letters (book): https://www.amazon.com/Born-Einstein-Letters-1916-1955-Friendship-Uncertain/dp/1403944962/ •⁠ ⁠Probability Relations Between Separated Systems (paper) : https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/schrodinger/Schrodinger-1936.pdf •⁠ ⁠John Bell on Bertlemann’s socks (paper): https://cds.cern.ch/record/142461/files/198009299.pdf •⁠ ⁠John Bell on the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox (paper): https://journals.aps.org/ppf/pdf/10.1103/PhysicsPhysiqueFizika.1.195 •⁠ ⁠Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete’? (paper): https://journals.aps.org/pr/pdf/10.1103/PhysRev.47.777 •⁠ ⁠Causation as Folk Science (paper): https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/003004.pdf Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics 06:01 Wave-Particle Duality Explained 08:44 Distinctions Between Waves 10:36 Quantum Field Theory Insights 15:10 Research Directions in Quantum Physics 24:27 Challenges in Quantum Field Theory 31:38 Quantum Mechanics vs. General Relativity 35:47 Fluctuations in Spacetime 45:09 Probabilistic General Relativity 54:00 Bell's Theorem and Non-Locality 1:20:48 The Nature of Causation in Physics 1:23:52 Causation in Modern Science 1:30:26 Reichenbachian Factorization Debates 1:31:44 Bell's Theorem Evolution 1:35:45 Indivisible Stochastic Approach 1:38:17 Understanding Entanglement 1:42:28 Information and Black Holes 1:45:44 Phase Information Loss 1:49:03 Heisenberg and Copenhagen Interpretation 1:52:29 The Nature of Electrons 1:53:09 Exploring Open Research Questions 1:59:09 Probabilities in Statistical Mechanics 2:11:30 Problems with Many Worlds Interpretation 2:27:42 Challenges of Probability in Many Worlds 2:35:14 The Case for a New Interpretation 2:43:11 Building a Collaborative Reputation Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science #quantummechanics #quantumphysics #physics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  2:54:41
• How Free Energy Constructs Our Reality | Michael Levin and Karl Friston

  Curt Jaimungal is joined by Michael Levin and Karl Friston. This conversation incorporates insights from physics and information theory, particularly regarding self-organization and the significance of entropy and free energy. As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 3:43 The Free Energy Principle Explained 5:41 Creativity and Adaptive Utilization 11:56 In-Painting vs. Out-Painting 15:33 The Unreliable Medium of Biology 20:05 Aging: Noise or Psychological? 25:25 The Nature of Selfhood 45:10 Distinctions in Organic and Psychological Disease 48:54 Goal-Directed Systems and Aging 52:32 The Dynamics of Life and Death 55:49 Continuous Self in a Changing Form 1:01:35 The Constructive Nature of Science 1:08:02 Inferring Actions and Counterfactuals 1:11:40 Closing Thoughts and Future Conversations Links Mentioned: - Michael’s website: https://thoughtforms.life/ - Karl’s publications: https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/~karl/ - Michael’s previous appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aLhkm6QUgA - Karl’s previous appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk4NZorRjCo - Michael on Anthrobots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG6GIzNM0aM - Michael’s paper on stress sharing as cognitive glue for collective intelligences: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X2400932X?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=911840d57c51eace - Karl and Michael with Chris Fields on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6eJ44Jq_pw - Karl Friston on the ‘Free Energy Principle’ on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7LBABwZKA - Michael’s recent paper with Chris Fields: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064525000089?dgcid=coauthor - Top-down models in biology (paper): https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rsif.2016.0555 Geoffrey Hinton on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_DUft-BdIE Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science #podcast #reality #mind #consciousness #theoreticalphysics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  1:20:29
• Top AI Scientist Unifies Wolfram, Leibniz, & Consciousness | William Hahn

  As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Rubin Gruber Sandbox (referenced by Will): https://www.fau.edu/sandbox ➡️Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com ➡️Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE ➡️Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Links Mentioned: William Hahn’s first appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr4R7eh5f_M William Hahn’s Website: https://hahn.ai/ Jacob Barandes’s first appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oWip00iXbo Lilian Dindo on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_hI7JNsbt0 Stephen Wolfram on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YRlQQw0d-4 Stephen Wolfram’s Mindfest presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHPQ_oSsJgg Curt’s Substack article on Hahn: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-hahn-jaimungal-conjecture-the Michael Levin and Anna Ciaunica on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aLhkm6QUgA&t=81s What is it like to be a bat? (paper): https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Nagel_Bat.pdf TOE’s Consciousness Iceberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDjnEiys98o&t=21s&ab_channel=CurtJaimungal Karl Friston on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7LBABwZKA&ab_channel=CurtJaimungal If you're struggling with your mental health or experiencing a crisis, please reach out. You're not alone. Here are free, confidential support hotlines: Mental Health Support Hotlines * US: 988 (Crisis Lifeline) - https://988lifeline.org * Canada: 988 or 1-833-456-4566 (Talk Crisis Canada) - https://talksuicide.ca * UK: 116 123 (Samaritans) - https://www.samaritans.org * Australia: 13 11 14 (Lifeline) - https://www.lifeline.org.au * Germany: 0800 1110 111 / 0800 1110 222 (Telefonseelsorge) - https://www.telefonseelsorge.de * India: 1800-599-0019 (Kiran) - https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1651963 * France: 3114 (Crisis Support) - https://3114.fr * Netherlands: 113 or 0800-0113 (113 Crisis Support) - https://www.113.nl * Sweden: 90101 (Mind Helpline) - https://mind.se/hitta-hjalp/sjalvmordslinjen/ * China: 800-810-1117 / 010-8295-1332 (Beijing Crisis Intervention Center) - http://www.crisis.org.cn * Japan: 0120-783-556 (Inochi no Denwa) - https://www.inochinodenwa.org/ * New Zealand: 1737 (National Helpline) - https://1737.org.nz * Spain: 024 (Crisis Line) * Brazil: 188 (CVV) - https://www.cvv.org.br/ * Ireland: 116 123 (Samaritans Ireland) - https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/ * South Africa: 0800 567 567 / SMS 31393 (SADAG) - https://www.sadag.org In an emergency, always call your local emergency number (e.g., 911 in the US, 112 in Europe). Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  1:06:29

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