Robinson's Podcast

Tony Padilla is Professor of Physics in the School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, where he is the Associate Director of the new Nottingham Centre of Gravity. Tony works in cosmology, quantum gravity, and related areas. He is also a host of the YouTube channel Numberphile, and the author of Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: A Cosmic Quest from Zero to Infinity (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2022). In this episode, Robinson and Tony discuss some of these fantastic numbers. They begin with the question of how numbers relate to physics and the world more generally before turning to Graham’s Number, Tree(3), and the question of whether or not we have doppelgängers elsewhere in the universe.

Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: https://a.co/d/jiLCOJe

Numberphile: https://www.youtube.com/@numberphile

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:13 Introduction

02:57 Tony’s Interest in Numbers

07:51 Are Numbers Parts of the Physical World?

20:12 Do We Have Doppelgängers Elsewhere in the Universe?

54:16 What is Graham’s Number?

01:03:22 Tree(3)

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. This is Richard’s second appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In episode #127, he and Robinson discussed some of the most profound criticisms of capitalism. In this installment, they focus on Marx himself, including Karl Marx’s background, his most important views, what he wrote and didn’t write, and some of the common—and potentially devastating—criticisms of Marxism.

Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com

Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate

The Sickness is the System: https://a.co/d/jf5w5wy

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:22 Introduction

03:55 Who Was Karl Marx?

32:15 Karl Marx, Armchair Intellectual?

37:40 Answering Karl Marx’s Critics

50:38 Is Karl Marx Responsible for the Communist Genocides?

01:14:09 Marxism and The World Economy of Today

01:17:53 Is Socialism a Monolith? Does Marxism Evolve?

01:25:13 On Marxism and Mass Death

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. He leads NASA’s 880 million dollar New Horizons mission, which explored Pluto and its moons before heading deeper into the Kuiper Belt that surrounds the solar system. In 2007 and 2008, Alan was also NASA’s chief of space and Earth science programs. In this episode, Robinson and Alan talk all about Pluto and how Earth got there through New Horizons. They begin by discussing whether or not Pluto should be classified as a planet, before turning to the logistics of flying to Pluto and then what the New Horizons probe discovered there. Alan’s book, Chasing New Horizons (Picador, 2018) details the story of the groundbreaking mission.

Alan’s Website: https://alanstern.space

Chasing New Horizons: https://a.co/d/gwvun3e

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:56 Introduction

02:46 Why Planets?

08:23 Is Pluto a Planet?

22:19 New Horizons’ Journey to Pluto

30:14 NASA’s Flyby-Then-Probe Model

37:20 What Did NASA’s New Horizons Mission Learn About Pluto?

50:11 New Horizons After Pluto and Beyond

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Geraint F. Lewis is Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy in the University of Sydney’s School of Physics. While the focus of his research is on dark matter and energy, Geraint has written about and worked on many topics in cosmology and astrophysics more generally. In this episode, Robinson and Geraint discuss the question of fine-tuning: Our universe seems extremely well-suited for life, and with just the slightest variations in physics life as we know it would not exist. In what ways does the universe appear finely tuned, and how should we account for this?

Geraint’s Website: https://www.geraintflewis.com

A Fortunate Universe: https://a.co/d/aLKIcG5

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:34 Introduction

2:59 The Bigger Questions

05:40 Was the Earth Designed for Humans?

10:33 Fine-Tuning and the Standard Model of Particle Physics

18:40 What Is the Anthropic Principle?

28:46 Is the Weak Nuclear Force Necessary For Life?

36:36 Are The Strong and Electromagnetic Forces Necessary for Life?

52:52 The Higgs Boson and Fine-Tuning

59:23 Is Gravity Necessary for Life?

01:03:10 Fine-Tuning and the Multiverse

01:14:03 Entropy and Fine-Tuning

01:37:54 Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Fine-Tuning

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Michael Levin is a Distinguished Professor in the Biology Department at Tufts University, where he holds the Vannevar Bush endowed Chair, and he is also associate faculty at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. Michael and the Levin Lab work at the intersection of biology, artificial life, bioengineering, synthetic morphology, and cognitive science. In this episode, Michael and Robinson discuss what it means—if anything determinate—to be intelligent and to be alive before turning to the various fascinating ways collective intelligence arises at all levels of the spectrum, from microbes to synthetic chimaeras, which all adaptively solve complex problems using sophisticated cognition.

The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org/

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:55 Introduction

03:38 Michael’s Research Program

05:48 What Is Intelligence?

23:26 Does It Mean Anything to be Alive?

34:50 What Is Morphogenesis?

53:20 Slime Molds, Exploding Planaria Brains, and Intercellular Communication

01:11:48 Why Is Synthetic Life Useful in the Lab?

01:27:48 Final Thoughts

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

John Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He was the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his role as Principle Investigator for the Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer on COBE, which observed the cosmic microwave background and helped support the big bang theory of the origin of the universe. John has also worked on many other projects for NASA, including the James Webb Space Telescope. In this episode, Robinson and John discuss the big bang and the cosmic microwave background before detailing the COBE satellite, its extraordinary findings, and the work that led to winning the Nobel Prize.

The Very First Light: https://a.co/d/6iaWMOK

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:35 Introduction

02:56 John’s Scientific Background

12:50 Where Did the Big Bang Theory Come From

22:28 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

27:48 John’s Thesis and the Road to COBE

42:57 Designing the Nobel-Winning COBE Satellite

01:05:38 Some Further Background

01:08:08 The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Nobel Prize

01:35:52 John’s More Recent Projects

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Jonathan Lear is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Philosophy and at the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He is also a practicing psychoanalyst. Jonathan’s work focuses on understanding the human psyche both through philosophy—with an emphasis on Aristotle and the ancients—and psychoanalysis. In this episode, Jonathan and Robinson discuss three pinnacles of psychoanalysis: free association, the unconscious, and transference. Jonathan’s most recent book is Wisdom Won From Illness: Essays in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis (Harvard, 2017).

Jonathan’s Website: https://home.uchicago.edu/~jlear/

Wisdom Won From Illness: https://a.co/d/hxkokCz

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:50 Introduction

03:28 Philosophy and Psychoanalysis

12:29 What Is The Fundamental Rule of Psychoanalysis?

20:02 On Slavoj Žižek and Free Association

25:26 Following Freud

37:55 Transference and Changing One’s Mind

49:22 How the Analyst Listens

01:09:40 Analysis and Contradiction

01:25:44 Dreams and Free-Association

01:34:42 Transference

01:55:12 Who Is Psychoanalysis For?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Lee Smolin is a founding and senior faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He is best known for contributions to quantum gravity as a co-inventor of loop quantum gravity and deformed special relativity. Beyond his work in other areas of physics, Lee has written a number of best-selling books, the most recent of which is Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum (Penguin, 2019). In this episode, Robinson and Lee discuss one of the main tenets that has characterized his work over the past decades: Realism. They first talk about realism in quantum mechanics before moving on to Lee’s version of radical presentism, in which only what is occurring in the immediate present can be said to exist, before finishing the main body of their conversation with mathematics and its relation to both physics and cosmology. The episode ends with brief digressions on biology and living with Parkinson’s disease. Lee is also an Honorary Fellow of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics—which you absolutely should be—then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.

Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution: https://a.co/d/7GHcebp

The Singular Universe and the Unreality of Time: https://a.co/d/hZqLT59

Lee’s Website: https://leesmolin.com

The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org/home

00:00 In This Episode…

00:47 Introduction

05:03 From Dropping Out of High School to Physics

10:42 Many-Worlds, Bohmian Mechanics, and Realism in Quantum Theory

29:18 Realism and the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

33:00 Uniting Quantum Mechanics and Cosmology

45:43 Working with Roberto Mangabeira Unger

55:10 The Singular Existence of the Universe

01:05:29 Lee’s Interest in Biology

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Yascha has written five books, the most recent of which is The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time (Penguin, 2023). In this episode, Robinson and Yascha talk about this latest work. They begin by discussing the interrelationship between political theory, political science, and political philosophy before moving on to the role of equality in the politics on the left over the past hundred years. Then they turn to the rise of identity politics, its dangers, and how we can avoid what Yascha refers to as “the identity trap.”

The Identity Trap: https://a.co/d/jh6IZIR

Yascha’s Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

01:32 Introduction

04:48 Distinguishing Political Theory, Science, and Philosophy

12:02 Why Focus on the Left Rather than the Right?

27:33 The History of Equality on the Left

32:38The Origin of Identity Politics

44:19 Universalism and Cultural Marxism

50:48 How Did Identity Politics Spread So Fast?

58:16 Do Identity Politics Conflict with Psychology?

01:12:00 How Do We Escape Identity Politics?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Christopher E. Mason is Professor of Computational Genomics in Computational Biomedicine in the Institute for Computational Biomedicine and Professor of Neuroscience in the Brain and Mind Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. Igor Tulchinsky is the founder, chairman, and CEO of WorldQuant, a global quantitative asset management firm. Together, they lead a joint project between Cornell Medicine and WorldQuant, the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, which seeks to marry the expertise of financial prediction and analysis with genetic and medical research to improve and deploy new methods of preventive medicine. In this episode, Robinson, Chris, and Igor discuss their recent book, The Age of Prediction (MIT, 2023), and how our rapidly improving technology, data collection, and predictive algorithms are changing the world in innumerable ways, ranging from smart weapons in the military to solving crime and measuring job performance.

Errata: In the introduction, Robinson says that this is episode 140, but due to a scheduling error the episode was released as episode 146.

The Age of Prediction: https://a.co/d/3VAg0KD

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

01:10 Introduction

03:33 WorldQuant and Cornell Medicine

10:39 The Age of Prediction

15:51 Financial Prediction

19:44 Autonomous Drones and AI

28:38 Insurance and Prediction

33:35 Job Performance and Hiring

40:30 Using Genetics to Predict and Solve Crime

52:38 Final Thoughts

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.