Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | October 2024

Welcome to the October 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

[Goettel]

My monthly ASMR, just drifting off in an ocean of not understanding that much of it.

[ItsPhrendly]

“Every job has its aspects that you do because they need to be done, not because they’re what you’re there to do”
Great quote. Helped me make peace with the parts of my career that are necessary evils. Thank you for that.

[brlopwn]

It's so silly of me feeling proud and/or vindicated for my thoughts on gin, just because Sean shares some of them. But I love it. The bonus is a very interesting-sounding drink that I may have to recreate.

[tommygrandefors]

Just amazing. Four and a half hours of pure pleasure and enlightenment. Thank you Sean. ❤

[livedierepeat]

Hi Sean! I am watching your “Many Worlds…” on Prime - just amazing. 👏👏👏

[opensocietyenjoyer]

sean's speaking style is so weirdly consistent that i wouldn't be surporised that he's letting an AI read the script for him, while he is hiding that he lost his voice in 2022.

[tomanderson]

I’m not a Hegel expert but his stuff about the whole changing the parts sounds like strong emergence to me.

[danmakuSuki]

Re: Philosophers being 'behind' scientists regarding complexity...

Deleuze & Such continental philosophy erasure smh.

[AndreluisMachadoloboesilva]

Hi Sean, there's something I never unsderstand, isn't space time a continuous? How come there be a minimal interval of space or time (plancks numbers), in my mind I guessed that at the planck lenght we start to look at the future, could you perhaps adress this question in some other ama ? thank you.

[musichombre]

All these podcast sometimes put me to sleep I did meet him in a dream one time

[tomfiedor]

First law of modern physics: It is what it is and we're only a planck length away.

[coetzeecoetzee]

Hi Sean. PNT 2024 is out. Why dont you ask me for a copy?

[charliesteiner]

Hot takes: Sweet vermouth martinis are good. Also, martinis should be served cold but not "as cold as you can make it, " you can just learn to sip slowly without needing the shock therapy of making the act of drinking painful.

[apistogramma]

I’m half-afraid that Sean is going to pull the plug on these AMA episodes, they’re going past 4 hours now.

[joshua]

the amendment to the Electoral College sounds like a great idea, I am not from the US or in it, but i see things like this that make the democratic process well more democratic a good idea and a show of leadership to the rest of the world that democracy can evolve, John Howard wanted to set up similar system in his proposal for an Australian republic and the referendum voted against his proposal which the few then claimed that the want to remain a colony to the UK really one but the proposal put forth was designed to fail or if won it wouldn't be a very democratic system

[bryandraughn]

With today's technology you could literally have the people make all kinds of decisions every week or whatever.
We have less influence instead of more as the years pass.

[GavinM]

The cheapskates!
The nerve of people trying that on is breathtaking!

[tomfiedor]

The present is a gift of the past and the future invites regifting by the uninspired

[mw-thov]

consciousness is not a concept or structure it is an experience which makes it a"hard"problem and as such is not the same as a program running on possibly many computers...making consciousness other than experience is defining away the problem....and circularly making conscious AI possible by definition....

[SaintDomingo]

The first guy that said he writes 'hit songs' but wants to be a physicist just wanted his ego stroking.