Do Explain with Christofer Lövgren

Christofer, Marek Doyle and Dr. Purvi Parikh speak about the COVID-19 vaccines in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss their effectiveness/efficacy, CDC's change in reporting of breakthrough infections, methodological limitations of certain studies, vaccine safety, comparing COVID-19 with the flu, natural immunity, self-reporting, and other related topics.

Marek Doyle is a functional nutritional therapist based in London, England. He has spent the last 15 years reconciling the data from 2,000 patient outcomes and 9,000 test results to build a model of personalized nutrition, and has been featured by a range of media, such as Sky Sports, the Daily Mail, Mens Health and Marie Claire.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marekdoylenutrition
Website: https://www.marekdoyle.com/

Purvi Parikh, MD, is an immunologist and allergy specialist at NYU who has been involved in the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Trials. Dr. Parikh practices in New York City at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill and New York University School of Medicine. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the advocacy council of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and have appeared as a medical expert on CNN, CNBC and CBS News, among others.
 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/panipurvinyc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/purviparikhmd

[NOTE: References and additional comments for this discussion went over the allowed character limit and can instead be found in the following blog post on the Do Explain website: https://www.doexplain.org/episodes/33-in-a-sea-of-studies-covid-19-vaccines-with-marek-doyle-and-dr-purvi-parikh]

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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer joins Ben Chugg and Vaden Masrani on the Increments podcast (their episode description below):

"Christofer Lövgren, host of the marvelous Do Explain podcast and the world's most famous Swede (second perhaps only to that Alfred fellow with the peace prize), joins us on the pod to teach us how podcasting is really done. And how to pronounce his last name. When we're not all sobbing, we touch on:

• Does Deutschian epistemology give us with Free Will?
• Should one identify as a critical rationalist?
• Does membership in a community, or identification with a label, affect our ability to give and receive criticism?
• How has reading Deutsch and Popper changed our lives?
• Can trauma get stored in the body?
• How often do we cry?

Check out Chris on twitter (@ReachChristofer) and Do Subscribe to Do Explain.

References:

• The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch
• Behave by Robert Sapolsky
• Lecture on Depression by Sapolsky
• Do Explain episode with Chris and Matt Goldenberg on emotional processing
• Temple Grandin discussing the "black-hat" horse.
• Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• Sir Peter Brian Medawar whom Richard Dawkins referred to as 'the wittiest of all scientific writers'.

Blow your nose, dry your eyes, and send us a tear-stained email at [email protected]."

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[email protected]

Christofer and writer Jake Orthwein speak about the interaction between self and the world in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss Jake's Youtube-channel, the tension behind your face, nonduality, monism and Cartesian dualism, embodiment, the difference between conjectural knowledge and knowledge by acquaintance, representation, existential benefits of CR, and other related topics.

Jake Orthwein is a writer and filmmaker based in Santa Monica, CA. He studied film and cognitive science at the University of Southern California and currently works as Director of Media for the Psychology of Technology Institute, an academic non-profit focused on improving research on the human-technology relationship. He is also a long term meditator.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeOrthwein

Timestamps:

(2:20) - Jake’s new YouTube venture

(5:56) - Chris’ favorite meditation tweets by Jake

(16:01) - Chris’ experience of no-self when hiking

(20:44) - Nonduality vs monism

(27:54) - Embodiment and the boundary between self and other

(33:28) - Gay thought afternoon

(37:31) - The nature of life

(44:17) - Psychedelic experiences of unity

(49:50) - What is consciousness? 

(51:27) - Knowledge by description and by acquaintance

(59:03) - The dualism within CR 

(1:06:20) - Reifying the creative program

(1:10:50) - Existentialism and CR 

(1:16:52) - Embodiment and the brain in the vat

(1:22:14) - Ideas and propositions

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and podcaster Ben Chugg speak about probability and prediction in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss Pascal's mugging, bayesian decision theory, historicism and cliodynamics, AI-risk, immortality, moral cluelessness, and other related topics.

Ben Chugg is a research fellow at Stanford law school. He has a background in math and computer science and, along with Vaden Masrani, hosts the increments podcast. He also writes insightful philosophy articles at Medium.

Website: https://benchugg.com/
Medium: https://benchugg.medium.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BennyChugg
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/increments/id1514221797

Vaden Masrani's article series against Longtermism:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/82awH6SZDtuHxxzoG/a-sequence-against-strong-longtermism

Timestamps:

(1:54) - Pascal’s mugging

(9:32) [TQ] - What is the proper use of probability?

(20:22) [TQ] - Would you bet that humans will land on Mars by 2030?

(25:02) - Cliodynamics

(34:06) - Chris and Ben psychoanalyse each other

(36:37) [TQ] - What are your thoughts on racism against AI?

(42:16) - Should we want to be immortal?

(49:14) - The importance of solving mental health

(52:40) - Is there meaning to be found in suffering?

(59:30) - The value of loss

(1:05:25) - Moral cluelessness and ‘longtermism’

(1:15:11) - How Effective Altruism could be improved

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and podcaster Ben Chugg speak about evolutionary psychology in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss listening to podcasts at faster speed, information addiction, the role of neurobiology, impatience, the fun criterion, universal explainers, the salience of memory/speed in intelligence, and other related topics.

Ben Chugg is a research fellow at Stanford law school. He has a background in math and computer science and, along with Vaden Masrani, hosts the increments podcast. He also writes insightful philosophy articles at Medium.

Website: https://benchugg.com/
Medium: https://benchugg.medium.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BennyChugg
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/increments/id1514221797

Timestamps:

(6:43) - Ben’s Twitter bio

(9:28) - Listening to audio at above 1x speed

(14:58) - The urge for constant improvement

(21:28) - The pressure for productivity

(26:10) - The skill of enjoying non-productivity

(29:30) - The fun criterion and dopamine

(35:06) - Universal explainers vs. evolutionary psychology

(42:50) - The definition of evolutionary psychology

(49:58) - Cultures and institutions 

(56:12) - On not dismissing fields as scientism

(59:26) - Why is evolutionary psychology incompatible with Popperian epistemology?

(63:45) - Quantitative and qualitative differences in intelligence

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and CEO Mathias Sundin speak about how the world is getting better in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss bitcoin, anti-dancing laws, Starcraft, why Mathias got into politics, bad criticism, human potential, law of Jante, echo chambers, social media, AI, the importance of progress, extreme poverty, colonizing space, idea sex, moral relativism, liberal democracy, fact-based optimism, the Warp Institute, and other related topics.

Mathias Sundin is co-founder and executive chairman of the Warp Institute Foundation, whose mission is to connect optimistic, forward thinking people in communities to make the future come sooner. He is also a former Member of Parliament and former Deputy Mayor, a TEDx and international keynote speaker, and a fact-based optimist.  

Website: https://www.warpnews.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MathiasSundin 
TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIOJ5sOBEww

Timestamps:

(2:29) - The first political candidate to accept Bitcoin donations only

(9:32) - Protesting Swedish laws through illegal dancing

(14:19) - Starcraft

(18:34) - Getting into – and out of – politics

(26:05) - Non-constructive criticism

(30:41) - The influence of David Deutsch

(36:08) - The law of Jante and the principle of mediocrity

(46:46) - Almost anyone can be an expert in almost anything

(51:45) - Is the world getting better?

(55:09) - Western pessimism about progress

(1:02:56) - The benefits of social media

(1:08:33) - Echo chambers and filter bubbles

(1:13:14) - Does AI pose a risk?

(1:20:50) - Why use resources on space travel instead of on Earth?

(1:27:03) - The Warp Institute

(1:30:21) - The importance of freedom of speech for progress

(1:41:59) - Beyond Atlas and a new age of exploration

(1:46:57) - What we can achieve by working together

(1:51:33) - What project would you focus on more if you could?

(1:57:50) - What is something that encourages you about humankind's recent progress?

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and writer Sarah Fitz-Claridge speak about romantic relationships in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss problems with open relationships, why the standard take on monogamy is mistaken, the importance of commitment, relationship as a knowledge-creating institution, depth vs. breadth of knowledge, sexual connection, cheating, genetic impulses, love and acceptence, non-coercion, boundaries, and other related topics.

Sarah Fitz-Claridge is a Popperian writer, editor, coach and speaker with a background in Psychology and an irrepressibly optimistic, freedom-oriented world view. She started the journal that became Taking Children Seriously in the early 1990s and is currently working on her book on the subject.

Website: https://www.fitz-claridge.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FitzClaridge

Shout-out links: 
https://amarokoberle.com/ 
https://www.cgbessellieu.com/
https://twitter.com/optimysticism

Timestamps:

(2:27) - Sarah's historical view

(7:32) - Problems with open relationships

(12:28) - Monogamy as a knowledge-creation institution

(17:07) - Common misunderstandings of monogamy

(20:35) - Is a committed marriage for everybody?

(22:11) - Cheating and sex 

(30:55) - Is sex fundamental? 

(32:31) - Possessiveness

(37:14) - Selling out on your relationship

(43:30) - What makes monogamy better than singledom?

(48:19) - Epistemology of sex 

(52:04) - Attachment

(54:56) - [TQ] Is self-love essential for good relationships?

(57:04) - Your perfect match

(1:01:35) - Being best friends with your partner

(1:03:24) - The role of love

(1:04:50) - Non-coercion and acceptance

(1:07:40) - The importance of boundaries

(1:12:00) - Are relationships necessary for a good life?

(1:16:32) - [TQ] Relationships and political systems

(1:18:25) - [TQ] When should a relationship end?

(1:19:56) - Deep disagreements and having children

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and writer Jake Orthwein speak about the mind and introspection in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss meditation, empiricism, suffering, the self, dzogchen vs. vipassana, non-duality, free will, perception, computation, logic, correspondence theory of truth, and other related topics.

Jake Orthwein is a writer and filmmaker based in Santa Monica, CA. He studied film and cognitive science at the University of Southern California and currently works as Director of Media for the Psychology of Technology Institute, an academic non-profit focused on improving research on the human-technology relationship. He is also a long term meditator.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeOrthwein

Timestamps: 

(1:12) - Jake's history with meditation

(3:26) - Dzogchen 

(5:24) - Why is nonduality desirable? 

(8:30) - Noticing subjectivity 

(11:30) - Epistemology of nonduality

(16:24) - 'The thinker' is another thought  

(19:36) - Self  

(22:46) - Shades of agency 

(27:15) - Creativity in involuntary feats of perception 

(35:56) - Perception as a computation 

(39:34) - The logical asymmetry of verification and falsification 

(41:26) - Jake's thoughts on CR 

(42:49) - David Deutsch's theory of truth 

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and communicator Brett Hall speak about epistemological misconceptions in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss the nature of knowledge, morality, bayesianism, objectivism, free will and the self, meditation and empiricism, the fun criterion, probability, people being equally creative, autism, evolutionary psychology, incrementalism, and other related topics.

Brett Hall is the host of 'ToKCast', a podcast largely devoted to the work of David Deutsch and the worldview as set out in both 'The Fabric of Reality' and 'The Beginning of Infinity'. Brett has spend most of his life at university gaining undergraduate degrees in the philosophy of science, the teaching of science and mathematics, English grammar, and also has a masters in Astronomy from Swinburne University where he completed projects in computational astrophysics. He has previously worked as a security guard/mall cop in Sydney Australia, a science communicator with the University of New South Wales, and more recently as an advisor to some global educational institutions where he has tried to incrementally undo the amount of coercion involved in teaching. He is currently working with entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant on a number of projects associated with promoting the worldview in 'The Beginning of Infinity'.

Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tokcast/id1447087694
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naval/id1454097755

Website: http://www.bretthall.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToKTeacher 

Timestamps:

(1:12) - The critical nature of knowledge

(6:50) - Free will and problem-situations

(13:27) - Interpretation of subjective experience

(21:26) - Agency and responsibility

(25:40) - The fun criterion

(31:38) - When is probability useful?

(34:47) - The inductive nature of Bayesianism

(37:42) - Cultural resistance to the conjectural nature of knowledge

(40:45) - A practical example of probability

(43:49) - Autism, biology and universality

(49:18) - Are some people more creative?

(55:30) - Incrementalism in politics

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]

Christofer and writer Jake Orthwein speak about David Chapman's critiques of rationality and potential problems with Deutschian critical rationalism in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss their common adoration for Sam Harris, meaning, nebulosity and pattern, representational view of mind, concrete activity vs. abstract reasoning, realism, ontology and the world, affordances, and other related topics.

Jake Orthwein is a writer and filmmaker based in Santa Monica, CA. He studied film and cognitive science at the University of Southern California and currently works as Director of Media for the Psychology of Technology Institute, an academic non-profit focused on improving research on the human-technology relationship. He is also a long term meditator. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeOrthwein

Timestamps:

(3:58) - Jake's intellectual backstory

(6:58) - Optics and bias against Deutschian CR

(11:02) - The Chapmanian worldview

(14:29) - Pattern and nebulosity

(19:49) - What is the problem Chapman tries to solve?

(24:23) - The pseudo-problem of the meaning of life

(27:08) - Subjectivity and objectivity

(30:00) - Where Jake's views diverge from CR

(33:30) - Conscious and unconscious ideas

(37:17) - Abstract reasoning from concrete activity

(41:57) - Top-down and bottom-up processes

(46:07) - Ontology as a tool for how to relate to the world

(48:19) - Is there a world separate from our perception?

(52:25) - Ontological nebulosity vs. epistemological fallibilism

(59:21) - Problem-ladenness

(1:03:42) - What objectively makes a cup a cup?

Support the podcast at:
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Email Christofer:
[email protected]