Conjecture Institute

Conjecture Institute

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Conjecture Institute episodes

  • People, Reason, & Reality Part I: Reason, Module 3: Explanations: Good, Bad, & Constrained
    A good explanation is not only hard to vary, but it must also cohere with the rest of our explanations and actually explain what we are trying to explain.
     
    These three constraints imply that the search for good explanations will always be nontrivial. In fact, the deeper our explanations of the world, the more constrained the space of good explanations becomes
     
    Read: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/courses/people-reason-reality/Logan%20-%20Reason%20Module%203%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf
     
    Visit Conjecture Institute: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/
     
    Donate to Conjecture Institute: https://www.every.org/conjecture-institute-inc#/donate/card
     
    Follow Conjecture Institute on X: https://x.com/ConjectureInst

     

    8 min
  • People, Reason, & Reality Part I: Reason, Module 2: The Real Role of Evidence
    Evidence-based anything is an illusion. There is no evidence-based science, evidence-based policy, evidence-based argument (see this very paragraph).
     
    In reality, a mind first guesses—conjectures—an idea. This could be a scientific idea, a moral idea, an economic idea, a political idea, an idea about beauty—anything.
     
    One then criticizes it: is it internally consistent? Does it cohere with our other ideas about how the world works? Is it arbitrary? Is it consistent with our observations?
     
    Read: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/courses/people-reason-reality/Logan%20%E2%80%93%20Reason%20Module%202%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf
     
    Visit Conjecture Institute: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/
     
    Donate to Conjecture Institute: https://www.every.org/conjecture-institute-inc#/donate/card
     
    Follow Conjecture Institute on X: https://x.com/ConjectureInst
    7 min
  • Taking Schrödinger Seriously, Module 1: What Is the Schrödinger Equation?

    Taking Schrödinger Seriously, Module 1: What Is the Schrödinger Equation?, by Conjecture Institute Fellow Maxime Desalle

     

    By the end of this module, you will be able to:

    -Identify each symbol in the Schrödinger equation and explain what it represents,

    -Describe what the wave function is and why it must be complex (here, complex

    means ‘having both real and imaginary components’),

    -Explain why the equation uses only the first derivative of Ψ, and what this implies

    about determinism,

    -Read the Hamiltonian as a specification of what physical situation the system is

    in, and

    -Articulate what the equation says, and what it does not say.

     

    Read: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/courses/schrodinger/Maxime%20Module%201.pdf

     

    Visit Conjecture Institute: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/

    26 min
  • People, Reason, & Reality Part I: Reason: Module 1: The Paths to Adopting an Idea

    People, Reason, & Reality Part I: Reason: Module 1: The Paths to Adopting an Idea, by Conjecture Institute President Logan Chipkin

     

    The relationships between errors, problem solving, thinking, and rationality are not as straightforward as common sense might suggest.

     

    Read: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/courses/people-reason-reality/Logan%20%E2%80%93%20Reason%20Module%201%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf

     

    Visit Conjecture Institute: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/

    11 min
  • Ep 13: Chiara Marletto

    Conjecture Institute President & Cofounder Logan Chipkin speaks with Oxford physicist and Conjecture Institute Senior Scientist Chiara Marletto about constructor theory, a theory in fundamental physics that seeks to express all of the laws of physics in terms of transformations that are possible, transformations that are impossible, and why.

    Logan and Chiara discuss constructor theory’s motivations, its basic structure, and its applications to the physics of information, time, probability, quantum gravity, and other areas.

    Visit Chiara’s website: https://www.chiaramarletto.com

    Learn more about constructor theory: https://www.constructortheory.org

    Visit Conjecture Institute: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org

    Donate to Conjecture Institute: https://www.every.org/conjecture-institute-inc#/donate/card

    2 hr 4 min
  • Ep 12: Lord Daniel Hannan

    Conjecture Institute Advisor, Lord Daniel Hannan is in conversation today about democracy, free trade and freedom broadly. Lord Hannan has a comprehensive website containing his work which is found at https://danielhannan.info/ while his Youtube channel is a catalogue of speeches, talks, interviews, lectures and more defending the ideas and ideals of the Enlightenment and Western Civilization.

    Chapters/Timestamps are below

    00:00 Introduction

    00:04 Preview

    00:56 Introduction to Lord Hannan

    01:29 Upper Houses and the functions of a Parliament.

    09:21 Democracy and the EU Parliament

    17:19 “The Will of the People” and referenda.

    23:47 The English vs Spanish “Western” civilisations” and political stability. 29:00 The Invention of Freedom and Resource Extraction

    37:31 Climate Change, Net Zero and Politics

    39:53 Doomerism, Regulation and Social Control.

    43:39: Lord Hannan on Nick Bostrom, Techno-Pessimism and AI

    45:47 Existential Risk, Property Rights, Wealth

    49:56 Common Law, Property Rights and Conservationism

    52:12 Free speech and The First Amendment

    59 min
  • Ep 11: Maria Violaris

    Maria is fellow of Conjecture Institute https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/ and physicist with her own Youtube Channel where she takes deep dives into many aspects of quantum theory - especially quantum computation. Subscribe to her channel here:    / @maria_violaris  

    1 hr 34 min
  • Ep 10: Vlatko Vedral
    Oxford physicist Vlatko Vedral speaks with Conjecture Institute President Logan Chipkin about quantum information theory, testing whether or not gravity is classical, whether spacetime is fundamental or emergent, and more.
     
    Get Vlatko's new book, Portals to a New Reality: Five Pathways to the Future of Physics: https://a.co/d/cqCIK8x
     
    Learn more about Vlatko's work: https://www.vlatkovedral.com
     
    Learn more about Conjecture Institute: https://www.conjectureinstitute.org
    1 hr 4 min
  • Ep 9: Eric Denton

    Eric is a freelance writer and host of The Falsifiable Podcast, a show in which Eric explores both current events and evergreen topics in science, culture, and politics through a Popperian lens. He is currently working on a book that serves as a one-stop shop for anyone interested in epistemology in general—and Popperian epistemology in particular. Eric's podcast can be found here: https://youtube.com/@thefalsifiablepodcast?si=uG3KUkUsUU6jif-Y And his writing here: https://thefalsifiablenewsletter.substack.com

    1 hr 41 min
  • Ep 8: David Deutsch. How to reverse academia's stagnation.

    In this episode Conjecture Institute Advisor David Deutsch takes a deep dive into the problems that plague existing academic institutions and, crucially, the ways research (in particular fundamental research in science) tends to be funded. David explains his own experiences in finding a career in physics early in his life, how things have changed and therefore what problems now beset young researchers. David then presents a positive vision for a new way forward and how Conjecture Institute is playing a key role in the formation of a unique model for fostering creativity and making progress by providing an alternative place for research to be conducted and philanthropic support for people and projects to be directed. 

    Chapters

    0:00 Introduction

    2:34 How Bureaucracy Stifles Scientific Discovery

    9:50 Restoring Freedom to Research

    20:34 The Purpose of a University

    30:30 Would Quantum Computing Get Funded Today?

    37:40 The Manhattan Project’s Unintended Breakthrough

    46:56 What’s Missing from Every Quantum Mechanics Textbook

    53:25 The One and Only AGI Researcher

    55:57 The Case for Constructor Theory

    1:04:35 A $7 Million Bet on the Biggest Question in Physics

    1:09:04 Countering Pessimism

    1:14:21 Confronting Irrationality

    1:24:37 Does the UK Need a First Amendment? Does the U.S.?

    1:33:17 Final Words

    X (Twitter): @ConjectureInst Website: http://conjectureinstitute.org

    1 hr 35 min

About Conjecture Institute

From the publisher's feed

A podcast all about https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/ with approximately bi-monthly interviews with the Fellows