Donald Hoffman Meets Stephen Wolfram For the First Time on TOE

Donald Hoffman vs. Stephen Wolfram

Stephen Wolfram is a renowned computer scientist, physicist, and the creator of Mathematica and the Wolfram Alpha computational engine, known for his groundbreaking work on cellular automata and computational theory.

Donald Hoffman is a cognitive scientist and author, acclaimed for his revolutionary theories on consciousness and perception, suggesting that our senses provide a user interface rather than a direct window to reality.

Links Mentioned:

Timestamps:
00:00 - Kant & Leibniz (Worldviews)
04:00 - Humans & LLMs Internal Experiences
09:15 - Laws of Physics (Spacetime is Doomed)
26:02 - Ruliad vs. Consciousness
45:05 - Math is Describing Consciousness
48:34 - All We Have Are Conscious Experiences
01:05:15 - What Gives Rise to Conscious Experiences
01:36:19 - All Possible Consciousness Exists (Persistent Experiences)
01:42:05 - Is There Time in Don’s Theory?
01:49:37 - What Can You Derive From What
02:21:05 - Entropy
02:38:00 - The Ruliad & Observers
02:51:45 - Conclusion
02:57:47 - Support TOE

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#science #consciousness #donaldhoffman

[TheoriesofEverything]

Timestamps:
00:00 - Kant & Leibniz (Worldviews)
04:00 - Humans & LLMs Internal Experiences
09:15 - Laws of Physics (Spacetime is Doomed)
26:02 - Ruliad vs. Consciousness
45:05 - Math is Describing Consciousness
48:34 - All We Have Are Conscious Experiences
01:05:15 - What Gives Rise to Conscious Experiences
01:36:19 - All Possible Consciousness Exists (Persistent Experiences)
01:42:05 - Is There Time in Don’s Theory?
01:49:37 - What Can You Derive From What
02:21:05 - Entropy
02:38:00 - The Ruliad & Observers
02:51:45 - Conclusion
02:57:47 - Support TOE

[michaelkohn]

This is quite amazing. I like how Wolfram casually dismisses nearly all of Hoffmans clams and then proceeds to argue with himself -where upon he then comes into alignment with Hoffman. All the while Hoffman sits there grinning ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat…

[Anno]

With every public appearance Hoffman further establishes himself as not only a first-rate scholar, but also a patient and wise communicator. It would be great to see him and Nima Arkani-Hamed in conversation on this forum.

[Treez]

Two nerds arguing and disagreeing, yet they are still cordial and polite about it. I wish more people had this trait.

[Sam-wezj]

I appreciate how Curt lets them speak. This was a fascinating and deep conversation that could have been spoiled by a moderator trying to keep them on rails

[MattGray_Chelsoph]

Curt. I'd follow you through the gates of hell after putting this absolute gift together. Fantastically well done as ever. Thank you.

[franktothemax]

Don is a beautiful goddamn wizard and I wish I could have heard him speak more. The summary at the end took ~2 minutes and this conversation was 3 hours. It sucks that sometimes it goes like this (one side dominating) but the humility is honestly what made me stay for so long. Love this channel.

[justinrose]

Hoffman didn't get a lot of room to delve into the depths of what he really thinks. He's so polite, I admire that about him, but I think Wolfram here was trying to teach more than to learn, while Hoffman was doing the opposite as he usually does. Speaks volumes in the blue notes of this conversation. Otherwise, great conversation. Thanks Curt.

[stevebashir]

Wolfram talks at length and Hoffman listens patiently. But the moment Hoffman starts to talk Wolfram interrupts him and starts talking at length again.

[FigmentHF]

I find Steven to be quite rude and combative, but he also gave me the deepest and most thorough understanding of Hoffman’s position, so I guess it’s all well in the end

[jgarciajr]

Donald Hoffman should have said at ( 33:33 ) can you feel the tension between our conversation...that's an experience we are having together 😂.

[ericcricket]

Thank you so much Curt for running this channel. These conversations are very valuable to set up and show to the public! I wish you all the best.

[mtbAndre]

Both are brilliant minds, but it is sad to see how difficult it is for Wolfram to wrap his head around persons perspective. Watching him bumble his way through understanding Hoffman's ideas is accurate representation of society at large. Very few people have the capacity to set their beliefs aside in leu of trying to understand new ideas that challenges one's beliefs. I just want to Thank Curt for being open to all these ideas and giving a platform for the masses to hear.

[jakobmarszowski]

I'm 45 mins in and this is already one of the best discussions I've ever witnessed. Curt, I appreciate you brother

[vanessa]

This dynamic was perfect, the Wolf man couldn’t gel with Eric….their beautiful egos just wouldn’t let anything happen. But Hoffman, (who is far too modest) allowed some magic to happen and makes for an excellent consiglieri. I just love witnessing high caliber minds work stuff out in real time, such a privilege. Steven is always (at least) 3 steps ahead in any given train of thought, I understood why he sort of skipped all that mundane ‘education’ in his youth.
When they started on language at 1:45, that was just fantastic, I wonder if Steven will come around to Dons ‘logic’?

Just superb, thankyou Curt 👌

[DOCTORHEINOUS]

I love how you can tell Don has a perfect answer to his questions and is just waiting and waiting for him to get done talking to explain what he should already figure out for himself considering he’s obviously familiar with these concepts.

[hn]

How unbelievably generous of both speakers to share how they reason in public... And what a mind-blowing beautiful topic

[joeldream]

It is such an honor to be a fly on the wall listing to an pondering upon the diolog of these great minds. Thanks so much for making this happen and sharing it with the world. ❤

[DinosaurVacume]

I like this Wolfram's quote: "There's the Universe doing its thing, and there's us having some narrative about what's going in the Universe"

[RichardCookerly]

I can listen to Hoffman for hours. So intelligent, patient, and humble.