118: Attention is All You Need: The World After Capital
Made You Think
“The amount of human attention in the world is finite. We have 24 hours in the day, some of which we need to spend paying attention to eating, sleeping and meeting our other needs. The attention during the remaining hours of most people in the world is taken up by having to earn an income and by consuming goods and services, leaving relatively little time for attention to be freely allocated. A hard limit on available attention also exists for humanity as a whole—as I argued earlier, we are headed for peak population, at which point we will no longer be increasing the total amount of...
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117: Winning and Losing Millions in Crypto Confidential
Made You Think
“I could hardly form the words. My mouth wasn’t working. My heart hammered in my ears and pins and needles burned my hands and feet. I squeezed my fists as hard as I could to get them to stop hurting as I stumbled into my office and fumbled through my laptop password, pulling up the message that had thrown me out of bed: “Nat, someone found a way to hack us. It sounds bad. All of our funds might be at risk.” This was the absolute worst-case scenario. The one I’d pushed to the back of my mind. The one I pretended was impossible so I could sleep at night. I’d always accepted...
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116: What Was It All For? WWI by Martin Gilbert
Made You Think
“If the war was to be over by Christmas, as many believed, or at the latest by Easter 1915, tens of thousands of soldiers might be killed or wounded before the guns fell silent. Every army believed that it could crush its opponents within a few months.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Join us as we dive into The First World War by Martin Gilbert. We'll explore the intricate details of WW1, from the seemingly pointless triggers to the significant aftermath that reshaped the world. We'll also touch on intriguing historical anecdotes, like Germany's return in WW2, and the...
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115: Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
Made You Think
"The tragedy of this world is that no one is happy, whether stuck in a time of pain or of joy. The tragedy of this world is that everyone is alone. For a life in the past cannot be shared with the present. Each person who gets stuck in time gets stuck alone.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we explore the concept of time through the lens of one of the most imaginative books of our time, Einstein's Dreams. The novel portrays Albert Einstein as a young scientist grappling with his dreams as he works on his theory of relativity. This episode promises to spark...
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114: Book vs. Big Screen: 3 Body Problem on Netflix
Made You Think
"But if science tells you that something’s impossible, and it happens anyway, it means one of two things. Either the science is wrong, or it’s a scam.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today, we're exploring the 3 Body Problem TV series on Netflix, inspired by Cixin Liu's acclaimed novel. Listen in as we discuss Season 1's adaptation from book to screen, analyzing character shifts, narrative changes, and the portrayal of scientific concepts. If you enjoyed The Three-Body Problem book series or consider yourself a sci-fi fanatic, this one is for you! We cover a wide...
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113: Too Much of a Good Thing: Bad Therapy
Made You Think
"We’ve never had a generation more focused on its feelings and, frankly, not one more tyrannized by their feelings.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today, we're delving into Abigail Shrier's , a thought-provoking book which highlights the impact of therapy on individuals, especially younger generations. Join us as we explore the nuances of therapy, its incentives, and its effects. We cover a wide range of topics including: Challenges of parenting in a therapy-centric culture Unintended consequences of therapeutic incentives The fine line between taking thoughts too...
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112: Thou Mayest: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Made You Think
“I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, Nat, Neil and Adil dive into John Steinbeck's masterpiece, East of Eden....
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111: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
Made You Think
"All the facts of science aren't enough to understand the world's meaning. For this, you must step outside the world." Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're adventuring into the world of Logicomix, a graphic novel that takes us on a journey through the intricate life of mathematician Bertrand Russell. From the quest for precision that borders on madness to the historical events Russell was embroiled in, we'll explore the complexities of logic, philosophy, and mathematics. We cover a wide range of topics including: Why seeking precision in understanding the...
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110: Fear of Oozification
Made You Think
"Oozification is the process of recursively replacing systems based on numerous larger building blocks, governed by many rules, with ones based on fewer, smaller building blocks, governed by fewer rules, thereby increasing the number of evolutionary possibilities and lowering the number of evolutionary certainties." Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're discussing Fear of Oozification, an article by Venkatesh Rao. Get ready to explore the concept of ooziness in technology, learn the signs of oozification, and uncover why the ooze should (or should not) be...
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109: The Pursuit of Intelligence: Flowers for Algernon
Made You Think
“I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today, we're delving into Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Join us as we take you through the journey of an intellectually disabled man who undergoes a procedure with the hopes of increasing his mental abilities. We'll unpack several themes that resonate deeply with the human experience, and seek to get our questions answered on what it truly means to be intelligent. We cover a wide range of topics...
info_outline“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're diving into Novacene by James Lovelock, a book which challenges the very essence of human intelligence. Get ready for a thought-provoking conversation that delves into the realms of evolution, deep oceans, and the enigmatic dance between humanity and artificial intelligence.
We cover a wide range of topics including:
- Gaia hypothesis and its connections to the book
- Intelligence beyond the human-centric view
- How the evolution of organisms has affected global temperatures
- The uncovered mysteries of the deep ocean
- Will AI be a friend or foe to humans?
And much more. Please enjoy, and make sure to follow Nat, Neil, and Adil on Twitter and share your thoughts on the episode.
Links from the Episode:
Mentioned in the Show:
- Gaia hypothesis (1:53)
- Tesla Bot (23:52)
- Stealth (25:05)
- Cruise (27:26)
- Waymo (27:26)
- Arrival (35:54)
- Bees playing soccer (39:32)
- Brilliant Earth (49:01)
- They Did The Math (49:42)
- Dark Forest theory (55:16)
- Rooted Local (1:02:16)
Books Mentioned:
- The Three-Body Problem (0:03) (Book Episode) (Nat’s Book Notes)
- Homo Deus (0:46) (Book Episode) (Nat’s Book Notes)
- Breath (13:35) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Deep (13:37)
- The Hidden Life of Trees (19:14)
- Permutation City (21:12) (Book Episode)
- Where Is My Flying Car? (22:35) (Book Episode)
- Antifragile (36:24) (Book Episode) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Fighter’s Mind (37:41) (Nat's Book Notes)
People Mentioned:
- James Lovelock (1:54)
- James Nestor (13:36)
- Nassim Taleb (36:24)
Show Topics:
(1:46) Buckle up for this episode as we discuss Novacene, authored by the originator of the Gaia Theory, James Lovelock. The book probes into humanity's role in the world and speculates on a future where machines might supersede us.
(4:34) Lovelock wrote this book with the help of his assistant when he was 99 years old. We talk about what exactly the Gaia Theory is and the end of the age of Anthropocene.
(9:50) We go deeper into sharing our thoughts on the Gaia Theory and how the evolution of organisms have affected the regulation of the global temperature.
(13:10) How much do we actually know about the deepest parts of the ocean? Plus, learn about the author’s involvement with designing instruments for NASA.
(16:40) Nat, Neil, and Adil make connections from Novacene to The Three-Body Problem. Historically, we've looked for life on other planets the way we would measure life on earth, but are extraterrestrial species carbon-based like we are?
(19:04) Our idea of time here on Earth is based on our life and our own orbit around the sun, but another civilization could view time in a completely different way.
(24:21) Addressing AI predictions, military applications, and the challenges of AI intervention, including experiences with self-driving cars.
(32:08) Is our technology watching us?
(35:28) The limitations of language as an information interface and the intuitive nature of processing multiple inputs. Speaking, for example, is completely linear. However, when you have multiple inputs, you're able to be more intuitive.
(39:18) We talk about exploring intelligence beyond the human-centric view, considering the collective intelligence of species like bees.
(42:05) It’s powerful the progress that has been made with ChatGPT, but there still remains the question of whether or not it will be a linear process to AGI (artificial general intelligence).
(46:02) The intersection of crypto mining, Bitcoin, and futuristic energy societies, along with the possibility of harnessing CO2 for creation.
(52:24) Earth is a rare, one-of-a-kind planet. How the universe had to align for habitability on earth, and the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.
(58:29) Would AI have the potential for parallel processing capabilities?
(1:00:35) Nat and Neil share their final thoughts on Novacene and Lovelock's charming writing style. If you were intrigued by our discussions in this episode, make sure you pick up a copy!
(1:01:59) That concludes this episode! Stay tuned for our next episode on the The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.
If you enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a review on iTunes and tell a friend. As always, let us know if you have any book recommendations! You can say hi to us on Twitter @TheRealNeilS, @adilmajid, @nateliason and share your thoughts on this episode.
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Thanks for listening. See you next time!