By Elizabeth Fernandez
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The podcast currently has 107 episodes available.
Time is really weird. You may be inclined to say only the present is real, while the future and past have a sort of “unreality” to them. Or perhaps you think only the past and present are real, while the future is unwritten. Philosophers have tried to understand how time, religion, and physics relate throughout time itself.
Our understanding of how time works underwent a radical shift when relativity came along. We can no longer say that you and I experience the present in the same way. Events that you see as simultaneous I may see in succession. Time may flow faster for you than it does for me. Even the moment we define as now may be different.
Why can’t we travel freely in time like we can in space? What happened before the Big Bang? How does the reality of the future relate to free will? How is the narrative of time important for religion, and can it be reconciled with what we see in physics? Today I’m joined by Dr. Timothy Maness to discuss time, religion, and physics. Tim is a philosophical theologian interested in the way physics and cosmology interact with religion, He has a Ph.D. in religion and science from Boston University, an MA from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago’s Zygon Center for Religion and Science, and a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Chicago. So let’s go on this weird and wonderful voyage through our understanding of time!
If you are a patron of the podcast, check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
Urbana-Metronica (wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/33345 Ft: Morusque, Jeris, CSoul, Alex Beroza
Black Ice by Mr_Yesterday (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Mr_Yesterday/58884 Ft: reusenoise
Ethereal Space by Snowflake (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/33318 Ft: Zep Hurme
Warm Vacuum Tube by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/59533 Ft: starfrosch
Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792 Ft: Airtone
The post Ep 100: Memories, The Here and Now, and Our Future – Time, Religion, and Physics – with Dr. Timothy Maness appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
What would it be like if New York City was partially underwater? What would it feel like, what would it taste like? How would the economy continue to tick, how would commuters reach their jobs? To answer this, our guest today uses art to tell the narrative of climate change.
We aren’t all numbers people. Therefore, using art to tell the story of climate change can make the effects of climate change real to a population that may not be fully engaged with the science or the trends. Further, it can make how our world is changing more real, more relatable, more understandable, and hopefully, give us the inspiration to change.
Today’s guest is Carolyn Hall. She uses art, narrative, and the imagination to take people on tours through time to see how our world is constantly changing, what seeds this change, and what we can do about it. Carolyn is a historical marine ecologist, a contemporary dancer, and a science communicator. She does each independently but most enjoys, and is most challenged by, finding ways to combine all three. And today, she talks about three artistic endeavors seeking to unite art and climate change – Sunk Shore, Walks on Water, and Walking the Edge.
You can follow Carolyn on Instagram @gatablanco. Also be sure to check out her “time traveling videos” to the years 2068 and 2092 where she presents an artistic view of the future of New York City.
If you are a patron of the podcast, check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626 Ft: J Lang, Morusque
Start To Grow (cdk Mix) by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/43815 Ft: Jeris
ITS FOR MY FLY GIRL by BOCrew (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/BOCrew/32102 Ft: THEDEEPR / BOCREW / ANGELA
Mountains (Hip hop instrumental) by Robbero (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Robbero/42877
The post Ep 99: New York Underwater: Art and Climate Change – with guest Carolyn Hall appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
AI in healthcare can do amazing things. It can help doctors diagnose their patients. It can streamline patient care, and can help people to receive the best care possible. But what happens when AI in healthcare goes awry?
Today, our guest is Dr. Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad. Muhammad discusses the promise of healthcare, but also reminds us that it has limitations. Sometimes, AI can be biased, especially against certain minority populations and women. Sometimes, we humans may not understand why AI makes the decisions it does. And other times, AI could be just plain wrong.
But by knowing the limitations of AI in healthcare, we can also improve how it works and come up with ways to combat problems, biases, and to help doctors and AI systems work together.
Muhammad is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Washington and a Research Scientist at KenSci, an AI in healthcare company based in Seattle. His research is on accountability of AI, AI in healthcare, and AI from a cross-cultural and ethical perspective. He has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota.
If you are a patron of the podcast, be sure to check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
eighteen pieces (soda) by Soda (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/soda/16738
SkyDub by Psykick (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Psykick/52937
Start To Grow (cdk Mix) by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/43815 Ft: Jeris
Reusenoise (DNB Mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/56531
The post Ep 98: The Problems and Promise of AI in Healthcare – with guest Dr. Muhammad Ahmad appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
There are places where people can choose to ignore climate change. Then, there are places that it could never be considered a myth. Here, the effects of climate change can never be ignored – with floods, heat waves, extreme storms, or literal rising waters. Such a place is India – particularly, North Bihar. The floods in India are so extreme that hundreds of villages and thousands of farms can find themselves underwater. Rivers can dramatically shift course overnight. And it is not only a problem of water. In the floodplain of the Himalayas, climate change collides with poverty, culture, caste, and life.
Today, we are joined by Dr. Luisa Cortesi. Luisa has lived around the world, in places where climate change where was particularly felt. She saw how people lived through and dealt with these disasters.
In 2007, while working as an applied anthropologist, Luisa happened to be living in North Bihar when the worst floods in India in decades hit. Again, she experienced major flooding in 2008 when she saw the entire course of the Kosi River shift. Today, she shares her experiences.
Luisa is an environmental and engaged anthropologist of water, disasters, and inequalities. She received a joint PhD from Yale University in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. She has been the Taylor Postdoctoral Fellow and Atkinson Fellow, and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at Cornell University. She is now Assistant Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies at the Erasmus University in The Netherlands, as well as Marie S. Curie Fellow at the Freiburg Institute of Advanced Studies in Germany. Luisa has worked extensively in India and continues to support NGOs there in an advisory capacity. She has recently started the Water Justice and Adaptation Lab.
If you are a patron of the podcast, be sure to check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode, including some of Luisa’s pictures from her time in India and a discount code for her book.
Luisa’s recent work includes:
2021 “The Ontology of Water and Land and Flood Control Infrastructure in North Bihar, India” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 27:4
2021 Split waters: The Idea of Water Conflicts. London and New Delhi: Routledge (edited with Joy, K.J.) ISBN 978-0-367-37175-3
Forthcoming, The Shape of Water: the Geometry and Epistemology of Infrastructures of Fluvial Management and Flood Control in India,” in Amphibious Anthropologies: Life between the Wet and the Dry (edited with Krause, F. & A. Camargo)
Forthcoming, Disastrous Water: The Environmental Knowledge and Technologies of Floods, Toxic Drinking water, and Other Muddy Disasters
Background music you heard are clips from:
Adagio teru by rocavaco (c) copyright 2009 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/rocavaco/24456 Ft: teru
Plains by gurdonark (c) copyright 2009 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gurdonark/19734
Ouverture by reusenoise (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/reusenoise/58687
LA TRIPLETA by virtualdjmax (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/virtualdjmax/16150
Paper Planes – Durden ft. Airtone by DURDEN (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/DURDEN/55041 Ft: Airtone
The post Ep 97: Floods in India – A View of Climate Change from Under the River – with guest Dr. Luisa Cortesi appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Artificial Intelligence is not just the stuff of science fiction. It’s found all around us – from deciding what movie shows up next on your Netflix screen to determining if you are approved for a loan for your new house. And with AI integrated with more and more of our everyday lives, it also has control over more and more of our lives. It has a hand in our finances, what kinds of news we see, and even our interactions with other people. So it comes as no surprise that AI is of particular interest to the Vatican, in particular, the ethics of AI. In fact, several times the Pope was responsible for bringing together ethicists, thinkers, and tech giants to discuss how AI can best be used to serve people, rather than the other way around.
Today I’m talking to Dr. Brian Patrick Green. Brian is a one of these thinkers. He is the Director of Technology Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Attending these conferences on AI at the Vatican, Brian saw how companies use AI, how it can be ethical (or not), and how AI can be made better, more ethical, and even used to solve some of the biggest problems that we encounter as humans. We then discuss the biggest problems in ethics and AI, how AI can be made ethical, even when it is not transparent, and if Artificial General Intelligence is possible.
If you are a patron of the podcast, be sure to check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
Restless Sleep by gurdonark (c) copyright 2007 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gurdonark/10922 Ft: Nakjaarna and Sleepless
blackSnow by airtone (c) copyright 2021 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/63513
The Sun Smiles on LightSail 2 by gurdonark (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gurdonark/60157 Ft: 7OOP3D
Another Way by Psykick (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Psykick/52938
The post Ep 96: AI, Ethics, and the Vatican – with guest Dr. Brian Patrick Green appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Grief in the time of COVID is a very real thing. COVID has changed the way we interact with each other and the world. But perhaps most poignantly, it has introduced new types of grief in our lives. The grief of the dying, not allowed to touch or even see family members one last time. The grief of losing friendships, old traditions, or normal life. Or even the grief of waiting for a COVID vaccine, seeing others return to some sort of normalcy around you.
Today, our guest is Dr. Kristel Clayville. Kristal has a PhD in religious ethics and works at the intersection of religion and medical ethics. She currently works as a hospital chaplain and ethicist at the University of Chicago. Today she discusses her unique perspective of COVID through the lens of a hospital chaplain – from how hospitals decide who gets a ventilator to what it’s like to stand in for family when someone is dying of COVID. We also discuss how COVID revealed how fractured our healthcare system is.
You can follow Kristal on Twitter @RevDrClayville.
If you are a patron of the podcast, be sure to check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
nightRain by airtone (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/55887
Silence Await by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/17432 Ft: oldDog
Dark Woods II by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/25168
Two Pianos by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/57454 Ft: Admiral Bob (admiralbob77)
The post Ep 95: Grief in the Time of COVID- with guest Dr. Kristel Clayville appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Today, we’re talking about two deep subjects – quantum entanglement and consciousness.
If physics has taught us anything, it is that the world in which we live in is really weird.
Just look at quantum physics. Schrödinger said – put in a cat in a box, and he could be alive and dead at the same time until you observe it. Somehow, the act of observation is fundamental in determining what happens in the Universe.
But what happens if you put your friend in the box? Could a conscious person be in two states at once? If not, what makes consciousness so special? Can macroscopic objects become entangled? And what can quantum entanglement and consciousness tell us about the nature of reality?
It’s questions like this that our guest loves to ponder. Dr. Eric Cavalcanti is a theoretical physicist, an ARC Future Fellow, and Associate Professor at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics at Griffith University, in sunny Queensland, Australia. He explores the fundamental nature of the quantum world through philosophical, mathematical and experimental enquiry by using experimental metaphysics. Experimental metaphysics may sound like an oxymoron, but according to Eric, it is simply chipping away models of the world that don’t work – and seeing what we are left with.
So does our model of physics really work? How important are observations, really, to determine what our Universe looks like? How do quantum entangled particles on opposite sides of the Universe communicate instantaneously? Or do they? Can people be put in quantum entanglement?
You can follow Eric on Twitter @ericcavalcanti.
If you are a patron of the podcast, be sure to check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
I Dunno (Grapes of Wrath Mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/56346 Ft: Jlang, 4nsic, grapes
Seven(New Music Remix) by bwatts (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/bwatts/39793 Ft: alex beroza
Unusual Travels I (second part) by Marco Nicola (c) copyright 2007 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/MarcoNicola/11581
Online Musical Journal Journey by septahelix (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/septahelix/59223
B34 by zikweb (c) copyright 2006 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/zikweb/8168 Ft: NoSushi
The post Ep 94: Quantum Entanglement, Consciousness, and the Nature of Reality- with guest Dr. Eric Cavalcanti appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
We are a COVID-weary people. It’s been about a year since lockdown really began. Happy quarantine-versary? But in all seriousness, we often have been talking about COVID, but we rarely talk about gratefulness and COVID in the same sentence.
Yet, while teaching us how to properly wash our hands and all sorts of ways to estimate the distance of six feet, perhaps this pandemic has taught us something else – how to be grateful. Today our guest is John Van Sloten. John is a pastor, writer and (occasional) seminary teacher from Calgary. He’s been part of 5 Templeton Foundation-funded projects over the past 10 years—each exploring the intersection of faith and science in the context of preaching. John talks to us about a different side of COVID – how mask-wearing can be a spiritual exercise, why people, in this case doctors and nurses, risk their lives for strangers, and how we can all learn a little something about what gratefulness and COVID have to do with one another, and perhaps change for the better when this is done.
You can follow John at @johnvs7.
If you are a patron of the podcast, be sure to check the Patreon page all this month for bonus content from this episode.
Background music you heard are clips from:
Transmutation by Kara Square (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mindmapthat/56527 Ft: Spinningmerkaba
Ethereal Space by Snowflake (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/33318 Ft: Zep Hurme
C95-RoutineMaintenanceMission by Javolenus (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Javolenus/37693 Ft: nickleus
Rescue Me (Instrumental) by Aussens@iter (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/tobias_weber/57990 Ft: Copperhead
The post Ep 93: Gratefulness, Hope, and COVID – with guest John Van Sloten appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
If you lost a limb, would you use technology to help you regain some of your ability? What if you were deaf? Chances are, if technology could help you, you probably would jump at the opportunity. But how about taking it one step farther. What if technology could make you smarter than you already are? Stronger? Maybe even live longer, perhaps forever? Welcome to the world of transhumanism. Goals like these are what proponents of the transhumanist movement have in mind – the merging of man and machine for the “betterment” of themselves.
Sometimes this involves “upgrading” their bodies. Some go farther and hope for radical life extension, or even hope to achieve immortality by uploading their brains to the internet.
But at what cost? Would these measures actually help us avoid death? Today, my guest is Seth Villegas. Seth is a PhD student at Boston University’s School of Theology. He focuses on the intersection between technology and ethics, and how even a seemingly secular movement like transhumanism can have similarities with religion.
If you are a patron of the podcast, check out the bonus material associated with this episode. If you are not a patron and want to become one, you can join at Patreon.com/sparkdialog. As you know, podcasts are free to listen to, but they are not free to produce. Your support goes to the operational costs of this podcast. Thank you all for your support!
Some of the background music you heard are clips from:
Sudden Goodbye by Alex (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/43002 Ft: TheDice
The Sun Smiles on LightSail 2 by gurdonark (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gurdonark/60157 Ft: 7OOP3D
Triptych of Snippets by septahelix (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/septahelix/60171
Depart (cdk mix) by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/50347
The post Ep 92: Merging Man and Machine: Transhumanism and Religion – with guest Seth Villegas appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
Why do some people believe, and others do not? Does it come down to experiences, the way you were raised, your DNA? In short, what is the neuroscience behind belief? While there is no one reason why some people believe, advances in neuroscience are beginning to shed light on the similarities of the brains of believers.
Today, I am joined by Dr. Adam Weinberger. Adam is a post-doctoral scientist at Georgetown University (at the Georgetown Laboratory for Relational Cognition) and the University of Pennsylvania. He has a PhD in Psychology, with a special focus on neuroscience. Much of his research examines how implicit processes shape our more explicit knowledge and beliefs, including belief in God.
Adam researched the brains of believers in both the metropolitan area of Washington DC and in a rural village in Afghanistan. Through differences in religion, culture, politics, and economy, he saw some similarities in the neuroscience of belief. It turns out religious people were better at seeing patterns than non-religious. We delve into what this means, and what is going on in the brain.
You can follow Adam’s lab at @GUGreenLab.
For patrons of the podcast, you’ll be given a chance to delve more deeply into Adam’s research. If you are not a patron and want to become one, you can join at Patreon.com/sparkdialog. Thank you all for your support!
Some of the background music you heard are clips from:
Hidden Blues by Pitx (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Pitx/27007 Ft: rocavaco
Plains by gurdonark (c) copyright 2009 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/gurdonark/19734
Chords For David by Pitx (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Pitx/30638 Ft: jlbrock
The post Ep 91: Seeing Patterns, Seeing God: The Neuroscience of Belief – with guest Dr. Adam Weinberger appeared first on Elizabeth Fernandez.
The podcast currently has 107 episodes available.