Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | December 2024

Welcome to the December 2024 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good -- and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic. Enjoy!

#podcast #ideas #science #philosophy #culture

[anklexpress]

2:39:41 I would agree. I was a high school dropout who went on to to take classes off and on at a local community college for years before I finally narrowed in on physics and managed to go to a good university to study physics at 29. I went to grad school for a year but dropped out to help out my family and myself as I was struggling with burnout from the extreme workload I put on myself due to a bit of imposter syndrome in undergrad, and now at 39 I am about to restart that PhD program, having gotten accepted back to the same school to start this January 2025. On the one hand I'm older than many professors and it seems as though I've wasted a lifetime that could have spent doing physics, on the other hand, I've lived a lifetime outside of physics doing things that no one doing a traditional physics track would ever have time to do, and I did them when I was of an age to truly experience them as opposed to doing them when I am retired and in my 70s and perhaps physically or mentally unable to experience them in the same way. I've lived a wonderful and full life and being able to go back now, to finish what I started a decade ago, is absolutely fantastic. No one really cares about your age as long as you are excited and motivated about what you do. Enthusiasm is universally infectious and is immune to the ravages of time and age

[MickeyDaMuse]

A very good skill for the viewer is to be able to know the difference between those who make content solely for money and those who make content to enlighten others as it is their passion. Here, we know we have the latter.

[joskeguereza]

Mindscape is definitely the podcast where i've learned most on the most diverse subjects.
Don't change a thing about it, it's great :)

[whoprofits]

We live in a postmodern society, where truths seem to matter less than perceptions.
But objectives truths is what makes Mindscape more important than ever. Sean, please don't change the format!

[whoprofits]

Sean, as always, great content. Thank you and keep them coming.

[mimidhof]

Hey Sean, you are wonderfull. Thank you for sharing your thought. Please keep on make us better people and thinker.

[humbertosantanajr]

One of my favorite podcasts - and yes I learned of you from Rogan years ago - just fascinated by your work and pls keep these episodes coming

[yazanalhajari]

2:51:46 thank you Dr Sean . And I was planning to start reading the biggest ideas “ I’ll remember your words . Happy holidays.

[DudokX]

I wish all alternative media sources had at least half as much integrity as you.

[rickkearn]

In the past several minutes, I watched on another YT channel, a Sean Carroll dissertation on time. It was on Big Think (I think). I was so impressed that I subscribed to Sean's YT channel. The aforementioned YT episode was eye-opening with respect to my perception of time. Sean put it into a very tidy capsule of information which was easy to comprehend. As a layman, I find that desirable. I also have always been under the impression that Sean is a responsible scientist of high integrity, and that is becoming rarer and rarer in today's world.

[TheMemesofDestruction]

3:16:30 Probably the best piece of advice.

[elizondorj]

Thank you for the podcast Sean. I believe you are doing the best you can with the set of abilities and resources you have to educate many people. I would not change anything.
I’m going to miss the AMA for January ; have a happy holyday season.

[GoatOfTheWoods]

46:50 Angels Envy - Triple Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

[jayvincent]

15:55 It would also stop the Representatives or elected officials from being able to falsely claim that the "people" support them...

[mirakodus]

"If you're not a spinning black hole, then you're perfectly spherically symmetric." This cannot be true :D

[nickknowles]

Love u man, will continue to support an honest, and a scientist with real humility

[stevenpope]

I definitely don’t understand everything you talk about but I’m so thankful for minds like yours. Thank you for taking the time to do these and for explaining complex concepts in a way that even I can follow sometimes.

[targetAGI]

... what is proton decay dependent to ?

[corgi]

Hello Prof. Carroll. I wasn’t sure where to post this question but I was wondering with the advancements in quantum computing and the focus on keeping quantum decoherence at bay to improve computational results, what is your take on this. In watching your videos, I understand your focus is more on the multiple universe view on things, but does the decoherence focus help us explain what’s going on with quantum computers or should we be looking at the situation from a multiple universe viewpoint?

[JokingAtheist]

@Sean Carroll, I have a question. To ask the question I have to give you a thought experiment.
My name is Chad so let's use that name in this example.
Chad walks down a street the street has 10 houses 9 houses have red roofs and the ninth house has a green one. Chad then decides to go back in time to repaint the 10th house roof red. Meaning all the roofs are now red. We shall call this Chad, "Chad 1". Now Chad walks down the same reality, but this time reality is changed, and all 10 roofs are now red. Meaning Chad 2 is kind of born. This Chad 2 no longer goes back in time and paints any roofs as they are all red. The problem is Chad 1 certainly existed and now we have a new Chad 2 who also existed in the same reality. Both realities actually exist. So, in a weird way a new universe is born. Or is the first Chad 1 simply erased, and Chad 2 is now the new predominant reality. The question or problem I am having is understanding this paradox and a solution to this problem. Moreover, how can the new reality be born without violating the laws where energy cannot be created or destroyed. Did the Green Roof house ever actually exist in this scenario?

Do you have any Thoughts on this issue?