Claim OwnershipInner Cosmos with David Eagleman
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Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman discusses how our brain interprets the world and what that means for us. Through storytelling, research, interviews, and experiments, David Eagleman tackles wild questions that illuminate new facets of our lives and our realities.
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Two certainties are death and taxes; a third is that people will work hard to avoid them both. But why is it so difficult to extend our lifespan? We know how to do it in worms and mice; why is it tricky in humans? Why do so few companies study longevity? What does the near future hold? What would it be like if everyone lived a much longer life? Join Eagleman this week with longevity expert Martin Borch Jensen to discuss the hopes and challenges of longevity science.
1Why do we have so much circuitry in the brain devoted to faces? Why does your electrical plug seem to look like a little face? Did aliens plant a signal for us on Mars, or are we looking at a quirk of our own brains? What is face blindness and what is a super recognizer? What does any of this have to do with looking at a magazine upside down, or why computer algorithms sometimes think a jack-o'-lantern is a person? Join Eagleman for a deep dive into something so fundamental as to be typically invisible.
Would a utopia be possible? Or does our innate tribalism and jealousy make perfect societies difficult to achieve? Do we secretly love hierarchies? Why are primate brains such excellent detectors of unfairness? Why do things become more desirable when we’re told we can’t have them? Did the church’s disavowal of first-cousin marriage lead to better politics? This week Eagleman talks with psychologist Paul Bloom about the (im)possibility of achieving societal utopias.
Imagine we eventually meet some alien scientists. If they can see electrons or smell photons, would their science look like ours? Is physics a universal language, or just a local dialect of the human brain? Would aliens use math, or might their truths be organized unrecognizably? Are the “laws of nature” really laws, or simply our interpretations? Join Eagleman with particle physicist Daniel Whiteson, author of the new book “Do Aliens Speak Physics?”
What is a brain-computer interface? How can a paralyzed person use her brain to control a robotic arm? How can someone who's lost the gift of speech use brain signals to broadcast his voice again? Can we eventually restore autonomy and dignity so seamlessly that the technology disappears and the person reappears? Where are the ethical boundaries between restoring function and spying on private thought? Who owns the stream of neural data that represents you? Join this week with guest neuroscientist Sergey Stavisky as we dive into the world of interfacing brains and machines.
How is sci-fi like a cultural research and development lab? Will we someday have AI agents that live in robot bodies, and will we be liable if they commit murder? What happens when reality is no longer verifiable? How can we create AI advocates that guide us toward self-actualization over distraction? What is a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer? This week we talk with researcher Bethany Maples about science fiction and how it might prepare us to wrestle with the deepest questions about AI, identity, and the future of humanity.
Why do human brains need social interaction? Why might AI chatbots be insufficient to scratch the itch? What do we love so much about real human touch and in-person interaction? Why do so many of us live with dogs? From empathy to introversion to social media to isolation (and what to do about it), we’ve got it all this week with guest Ben Rein, author of the new book Why Brains Need Friends.
How is your consciousness like a flame that continually goes out and gets re-lit? Why can you see other people's eyes move, but you can't see your own eyes move in the mirror? And what does any of this have to do with deep sleep, anesthesia, comas, amnesia, and empires of soft-bodied creatures that came before us? Tune in this week for some science that will shift your view of reality.
On the one hand, AI companions are (increasingly) amazing at rectifying isolation. But on the other hand, loneliness is a biological signal that pushes us toward improving ourselves socially. So what's the right balance here? And does everyone have the same need to cure loneliness? In other words, might AI relationships mess up our young even while providing a critical lifeline to our seniors? Join this week as we dive deep with psychologist Paul Bloom.
Why do people on a date speak in innuendo? Why do dictators squelch protests? Why do humans stand apart from the rest of the animal kingdom by blushing, laughing, and crying? And what does any of this have to do with bullies, George Costanza, or cancel culture? Join this week with cognitive scientist Steven Pinker as we discuss his new book on common knowledge: “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows”.
Is AI going to go the same way as computing: from colossal LLMs owned by a few companies to billions of networked AI agents? How does that parallel one of the great underappreciated secrets of the human brain? Join this week with guest MIT Media Lab professor (and AI-decentralizer) Ramesh Raskar.
Will AI end up building us into stronger, more talented humans? What might this have to do with linguistics, the movie Arrival, self-driving cars, debate, video games, elections, chess, and the ancient game of Go? Are we going to be taken over, or instead exposed to ideas and concepts that stretch the boundaries of our thinking? Join this week to see how AI might just up the human game.
Why are brains superstitious? Would you wear a nice sweater that belonged to a murderer? What does this have to do with lucky socks, ghosts, our interpretation of coincidences, why kids often need their special blankets, and what any of this has to do with the brain? Join this week with guest Bruce Hood to learn why it's so natural for brains to take incomplete data and infer causes.
How have humans through the ages tried to crack the mysteries of the brain, and why are our theories always yoked to the most recent technologies? What does the history of brain science have to do with bumps on the skull, electricity, Frankenstein, animatronics, telegraphs, telephone exchanges, computers, and LLMs? What's the next metaphor we'll use to try to capture the brain’s magic? Join this week with guest Matthew Cobb.
Most people claim to be in favor of free speech, but they often mean speech from their own side (and not whatever those crazy people on the other side want to say). But from the point of view of the brain, why does free speech need to be rigorously defended? What does this have to do with internal models, printing presses, college campuses, John Stuart Mill, online indecency, cultures of honor, Robinson Crusoe, cancel culture, the importance of literature, and why free speech makes everyone safer?
Are there new colors you could see? And why are they impossible to imagine before you've seen them? Can you lose your color vision? And what does any of this have to do with linguistic color terms, why the military likes colorblind people for a particular task, and why Eagleman suggests that the cultural history of Thailand was influenced by one single, unknown neurodivergent?
Why do birds and bees choose different flowers? Why do mammals' eyes seem to be optimized for moving around at night, and what does that have to do with hairless humans getting angry? What does any of this have to do with road signs, camouflage, mantis shrimp, the sun, the dress that broke the internet, and women who can see more colors than you can?
Would you eat a burger grown from a human muscle cell? Would you rather use your own cell or someone else's? What does the future of lab-grown meat illuminate about neuroscience, our calculations of morality, and whether your grandchildren will have a different answer? What does any of this have to do with endangered species, the sacred versus the profane, brain plasticity, moral positioning, social belonging, stepping on the boundary between mental categories, flesh copyrights, and the future of personhood?
Why do some people jump into entirely new categories of possibility? And what does this have to do with self-driving ships, solar panels in space, shooting mosquitoes with lasers, skateboarding tricks, silent drones, and our future as a species? Join Eagleman with guest Pablos Holman, a venture capitalist, author, and connoisseur of invention.
What is code, and can it be thought of like a magic spell? Are we building a world so complex that we will lose the ability to understand its operations -- and has that already happened? What does any of this have to do with SimCity, or knowledge that already exists but no one has put together, or how coding will evolve in the near future? Join Eagleman with scientist Sam Arbesman, who has just written a book asking the question: what is code, really?
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intersting🥰😍😍
ty all
baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more
Amazing topic amd episode
This episode was just Awesome! really intersting Thanks for sharing ur knowledge with us wish u the best🙏🏻
This was so good!
when i used to do drugs i was up for like 6 days i think. forsure 5 days. but i met a guy who was up 28 days more or less he said. i believe him.
1:11:38 This is your brain doing what it was meant to do: simulating the future
1:09:19 Memories beautify life, but the capacity to forget makes it bearable.
1:02:02 the birth of artificial neural networks
59:54 Cells that fire together wire together
51:53 memory palace
43:20 grid cells
how can he talk about Palestinians and Israelis like there's an equal balance of power?
I think you may be missing the point on Wikipedia. That isn't just a bunch of viewpoints on "both sides" of issues. Key is that there is only one page and one reality for any topic. That is achieved by constantly weeding out misinformation and falsehoods by administrators. In contrast, social media amplifies emotionality and feeds the known biases of the human brain. I think your mental model of how much people hear opposing views is way too optimistic. But I hope you're right.
my favorite part of this episode is when david eagleman starts talking shit about how others animals dont know anything. Haha great burn eagleman!
09:02 You're absolutely right. I think when he is 7, he has an imaginary friend. but when 13, he has an imaginary monster *nothing changed in outside world The main topic is inside world.. the "line" means line. But friend and monster have different opinion
I really wanna to be a participant of that experiment and say lie.. after it, scream Ohhhhh! electrical shock really hurted me, it was funny buddy... I'll continue to lie and you can't put me under pressure and convince me to tell the truth. just enjoy this awesome pain😂
In addition to the existing content, you choose the title of each episode in the best way. It makes your podcast unique (If we don't consider the ads in the middle of each episode!)
07:40 I have to note this quote