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One day we might fall into a black hole. Here’s what we can expect, according to physicist Janna Levin. This interview is an episode from @The-Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the @JohnTempletonFoundation. Black holes should be thought of as "empty places" rather than "dense objects." While they are indeed formed from incredibly dense objects (collapsed stars), the black hole itself is nothing. Black holes could have played a crucial role in the emergence of life. Ironically, the Solar System is in orbit around a supermassive black hole located in the center of our Milky Way galaxy. And one day, we might fall into a black hole. If you were out in space exploring and you didn't realize you were coming upon a black hole, you would not notice that anything terrible was about to happen. Eventually, however, you would succumb to a terrifying fate...

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The strange science experiment that blew a worm’s head off… and blew our minds. This interview is an episode from @The-Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the @JohnTempletonFoundation. Michael Levin, a developmental biologist at Tufts University, challenges conventional notions of intelligence, arguing that it is inherently collective rather than individual. Levin explains that we are collections of cells, with each cell possessing competencies developed from their evolution from unicellular organisms. This forms a multi-scale competency architecture, where each level, from cells to tissues to organs, is solving problems within their unique spaces. Levin emphasizes that properly recognizing intelligence, which spans different scales of existence, is vital for understanding life's complexities. And this perspective suggests a radical shift in understanding ourselves and the world around us, acknowledging the cognitive abilities present at every level of our existence...

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The Big Bang explained in under 4 minutes with Michelle Thaller

One of the biggest misconceptions in science is that the Big Bang came out of nothing - according to astrophysicist Michelle Thaller, this is not correct.

13.8 billion years ago right before the Big Bang, our universe existed within one tiny, compressed atom. But what we know now is that this one atom was not our entire universe.

According to Thaller, there were trillions of atoms, all with their own universe inside. Today, we can only know of our observable universe, but there is far more out there than what meets the eye.

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About Michelle Thaller:

Dr. Michelle Thaller is an astronomer who studies binary stars and the life cycles of stars. She is Assistant Director of Science Communication at NASA. She went to college at Harvard University, completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. then started working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Spitzer Space Telescope. After a hugely successful mission, she moved on to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in the Washington D.C. area. In her off-hours often puts on about 30lbs of Elizabethan garb and performs intricate Renaissance dances.

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Happiness is temporary, antifragility lasts forever, explains Jonathan Haidt and 5 other experts. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That old adage roughly sums up the idea of antifragility, a term coined by the statistician and writer Nassim Taleb. The term refers to how systems tend to become stronger after being exposed to stressors, shocks, and mistakes. The same applies to humans. Although suffering for its own sake isn’t necessarily good, experiencing — and overcoming — stress and difficulty tends to make us stronger people in the long run. We shouldn’t always shy away from that which makes us uncomfortable

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Chapers for easier navigation:

0:00 Introduction

0:38 Jonathan Haidt defines antifragility

1:35 Susan David on life's fragility

2:12 Derren Brown on acceptance over positive thinking

3:02 Susan David on the risk of overvaluing happiness

4:39 Pete Holmes says "resist nothing"

6:42 Shaka Senghor on the ingredients for resiliency

9:45 Nancy Koehn on taking the first step

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The idea of gene editing was once a thing of the future – but today it’s saving the lives of people all over the world. CRISPR is a gene editing system that bacteria have been using for a billion years. When a virus attacks the bacteria, this system takes a ‘mug shot,’ and wraps the virus into our code. If the same virus ever attacks again, your body now knows to ‘cut off’ the virus before it can cause harm.

But accompanied with 21st century tech, that’s no longer all CRISPR can do. Scientists have since learned how to repurpose this system so we’re not only killing off dangerous bacteria, but also cutting our own DNA, wherever we tell it to, to edit our genes.

Is gene editing something we need to worry about? Some scientists think so. If we move too fast and over indulge in this technology, it’s possible that we could be making permanent changes to the human species. But as of today, CRISPR is being used for good – editing genes in the people living with chronic diseases, helping patients around the world live healthy, normal lives.

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About Walter Isaacson:

Walter Isaacson is a renowned biographer, CEO of the Aspen Institute, and previously the chairman of CNN and managing editor of TIME magazine. He is the author of Einstein: His Life and Universe, Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Steve Jobs, and most recently Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution.

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Productivity expert Tiago Forte explains how to master two modes of creative thinking. Author Tiago Forte believes that in today's digital age, people need a second brain to manage their knowledge. In other words, we need a personal system for collecting, organizing, and retrieving information from both physical and digital environments. Although many people spend hours of their day on digital knowledge work, most are not getting better at managing their information. Instead, they’re becoming increasingly overwhelmed. Forte suggests approaching knowledge work with a process that can be improved upon, through the concept of divergence and convergence. In practice, this means considering many options and then eliminating them, followed by creative and productive work. To maintain peace of mind, it's important to have multiple projects going on at once, which a second brain can help with by storing all projects in a concrete medium, freeing your memory.

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chapters;-

0:00 What is a second brain?

1:14 Master divergence & convergence

3:18 Be productive and calm

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About Tiago Forte: Tiago Forte is one of the world’s foremost experts on productivity. He has taught more than 20,000 people worldwide through his programs and writes and speaks on how technology can help knowledge workers revolutionize their personal effectiveness. Tiago’s online course, Building a Second Brain, has produced more than 5,000 graduates from over 70 countries. The course draws on his experience in academic disciplines such as information science, practical fields such as user experience design, and his work with top organizations and leaders in Silicon Valley. Tiago believes knowledge management is one of the most impactful skills in the world today, and his work is dedicated to making it accessible to individuals for the first time. In a previous life, he worked in microfinance in Latin America, served in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, and consulted for large companies on product development in San Francisco. He lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife Lauren, son Caio, and dog Ximena

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The limits to computing are the limits to your imagination. Yet when computers first made their debut, the general public was taken back by its capabilities when it came to mathematics and computing. People started to ask ‘Are machines really intelligent?”

Fed up with this question and disbelief in computing, one of the first serious thinkers of AI, Alan Turing, decided to create a machine to get the public to stop asking if computers are intelligent or not. This was called the Turing test.

While using this machine during a Turing test, a person would type out a question on a computer, and either a human or machine would answer back. If a machine could fool the user into thinking there was a human on the other side of the screen, Turing wanted those users to accept that the machine was doing something intelligent. Although now there are Turing test competitions worldwide, Alan Turing never expected anyone to actually take this test or use this technology.

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About Michael Wooldridge:

Michael Wooldridge is a professor of Computer Science and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. Since earning his Ph.D. in AI, he has published more than 350 scientific articles on the subject. Mike has been at the heart of the AI community for a quarter of a century and knows most of the key figures in the international AI community. He has been president of the International Association for AI since 2015 and is a fellow of the American Association for AI. He has a long track record of public speaking and science communication on AI matters and related topics.

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Your mind is a software program. Here’s how to update it, explained by global political expert Ian Bremmer. Political scientist Ian Bremmer highlights the importance of strategic thinking, which he defines as "thinking about thinking." It's a process that involves analyzing macro themes, recognizing patterns, and understanding how different factors (at the country, company, and individual level) create trade-offs for leaders. Strategic thinking isn't so much about responding to headlines or current events as it is taking a long-term view, one in which you're continually revisiting your worldview and updating it when necessary. Being open-minded and curious about different perspectives, as well as comfortable with the possibility of being wrong, are important parts of the process. As an example of a great strategic thinker, one may cite Nelson Mandela for his ability to set aside personal feelings for the good of a country's long-term future. Bremmer is the founder of Eurasia Group, an organization that for 25 years has been using political science to help investors and corporate decision-makers better understand how politics impact risks and opportunities in foreign markets.

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Chapters:

0:00 Strategic thinking

2:35 Key qualities of a strategic thinker

5:02 A strategic role model

6:17 Summary

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About Ian Bremmer: Ian Bremmer is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading global research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Ian is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the BBC, Bloomberg, and many other television stations around the world. Ian has published ten books, including the New York Times bestseller Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism which examines the rise of populism across the world. He also serves as the foreign affairs columnist and editor at large for Time magazine. He currently teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.

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Navy SEALs: Master self-talk and mental toughness, with David Goggins, Eric Greitens, Jesse Itzler Whether we realize it or not, we "speak to ourselves" every day through our thoughts. We cannot turn these thoughts off, but we can turn them in our favor. Short statements like, "Stay tough," and, "Good job," can help you get through the tougher times in life. The key to a good life is learning to better control our own minds.

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 David Goggins on why you need proper mental tools for Navy Seal training

0:38 Eric Greitens on what good self talk looks like

1:24 David Goggins on Navy Seal’s ‘hell week’ and the importance of a ‘cookie jar’

3:02 Eric Greitens on making self talk work for you

3:35 David Goggins on getting uncomfortable is the only way to practice self talk and grow

3:59 Jesse Itzl on getting his life off auto pilot

4:57 David Goggins on how our brains keep us comfortable

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This is how rejection made executive producer and director Julie Plec an undeniable leader.

Creator of the popular series “The Vampire Diaries,” Julie Plec is proof imposter syndrome never goes away, no matter how big you make it. The writer and producer answered our questions about self-doubt, getting “blacklisted,” and how we can alter our perceptions to better appreciate our successes.

We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators.

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About Julie Plec:

Julie Plec is a creator, showrunner, executive producer and director, most notably responsible for the complete Vampire Diaries Universe (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies), which spanned thirteen years and more than 300 episodes of television.

Plec is co-creator and co-showrunner of the upcoming series Vampire Academy, based on the popular book series, which recently wrapped production in Spain and is debuting September 15, 2022, on Peacock. She is also co-creator of the new series Dead Day, along with her Vampire Diaries partner Kevin Williamson, which was recently picked up to series at Peacock as well, and executive producer of Girls on the Bus, which was picked up straight to series at HBO Max.

Plec is creator and executive producer of Legacies, which recently aired its fourth and final season on the CW, along with serving as an executive producer of Roswell, New Mexico, which recently aired its fourth and final season on the CW as well. In addition, Plec served as executive producer of The Endgame, starring Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathé, which recently aired on NBC.

She is currently under an overall deal at Universal Television, where she and Emily Cummins, president of her production company, My So-Called Company, are developing projects across all platforms for the studio. Plec and Cummins recently announced a new project at Peacock, Clifton, along with a slate of several other projects in development.

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