The Judgment Call Podcast

In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast Peter Sølling and I talk about:

• 00:01:43 the genesis of Peter's Optimal Altruism project
• 00:15:13 What set of technologies does Peter expect going into the Singularity? And in what order?
• 00:25:01 Have we just lived through a lost decade in technology adoption?
• 00:34:01 How could 'free energy' change life on earth?
• 00:48:49 Does Free Will exist? Will it be affected by the Singularity?
• 01:04:57 The amazing story of the 12th Planet by Zechariah Sitchin and Intelligent Design.
• 01:12:41 Do we live in a simulation?
• 01:32:41 What is creativity and why we need more of it? How do we enable learning based on motivation?
• And much more!

You can watch this episode on - #63 Peter Sølling (Optimal Altruism, Sentience, Our onramp to the Singularity).

Peter Sølling is the Founder of the Optimal Altruism initiative. You can follow Peter on Instagram.

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• 00:01:47 How the world has changed since Jim Rogers first published Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist?
• 00:06:23 Are looking at another stock market crash? When will it happen? Will technology (and productivity growth) be around to save us?
• 00:12:53 Are we headed for a drop of 50-80% in stock prices?
• 00:15:24 Is the Fed responsible for the bubble?
• 00:18:07 Are we headed for inflation or deflation according to Jim? Is the dollar gonna suffer?
• 00:26:26 Is Asia the future? What indicators show us that many countries in Asia are ahead of the US?
• 00:32:53 Is America with one billion citizens a good idea?
• 00:40:55 Jim Rogers' surprising list of favorite countries to invest in.
• and much more!

You may watch this episode on Youtube - #62 Jim Rogers (When is the next crash coming/ Inflation or deflation / Jim's favorite list of countries to invest in right now).

Jim Rogers is an investor and financial commentator based in Singapore. Jim is the author of eight books including the bestselling Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip.

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In this episode of he Judgment Call Podcast Jonny Price and I talk about:

• 00:03:38 Why Crowdfunding is so hot right now? Why was the ban on 'consumer financing' in place for almost 100 years?
• 00:11:02 What is the rate of return (IRR) for WeFunder investments? How can you hedge your bets with Crowdfunding?
• 00:24:11 Have we missed out on innovations during the last 20 years because Crowdfunding wasn't available? Will it raise the amount of entrepreneurial activity?
• 00:29:30 Are we in a 'seed stage' accelerator bubble? How does WeFunder compete with startup accelerators? Does Crowdfunding only work if you spend heavily on marketing?
• 00:44:08 Why was kiva.org so successful and why did it stop growing eventually?
• 00:56:08 Why kiva.org re-invented a Business Credit Score and why it withdrew from general interest marketing?
• 01:07:36 How does WeFunder get rid of 'bad actors'?

You can also watch this episode on Youtube - #61 Jonny Price (Wefunder, Crowdfunding, Kiva, Online Marketing).

Jonny Price is the Director of Fundraising at Wefunder, which helps startups and small businesses raise capital through investment crowdfunding. Before that Jonny worked at kiva.org.

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In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast Steven B. Smith and I talk about:

• 00:02:01 How Steven's latest book about the Virtue of Patriotism has been received? What does patriotism actually mean? Is patriotism just an emotion? Does patriotism imply a sense of superiority?
• 00:16:34 Should we start our own customized virtual countries? Is the nation state outdated and too many assumptions are 'baked into the cake' of the existing nation state?
• 00:33:29 Do we live in the best possible 'political regime'?
• 00:37:23 Is Jean-Jacques Rousseau the original 'father of socialism'? What are the advantages of his thought process and the direct democracy?
• 00:43:23 An origin story of the 'two sides' of the US political system? Are we wasting too many resources in a 'repetitive debate'?
• 00:50:43 Why are we drawn to so many false dichotomies and narratives - especially on a federal level? Are we in a crisis of representative democracy?
• 00:59:10 Is the uptick in the rate of change the reason for the return to authoritarianism? Is an authoritarian regime the 'Venture Capital' of political regimes? Does democracy need more competition?
• 01:11:43 Why has there not been a revolution in the US since 1776?
• 01:18:41 Is the 'falling out with god' the root cause of what happened in the 20th century in Europe? What was the role of Germany during the time?
• 01:25:43 How the approach to (political) philosophy in Germany and East Asia so different.
• 01:31:11 Why WWI changed European politics forever?

You may also watch this episode on Youtube - Steven B. Smith (Patriotism, What makes great political regime, socialism, European powers).

Steven B. Smith has been teaching at Yale since 1984. Steven's lecture series 'Introduction to Political Philosophy' has been viewed 700,000 times on Youtube. Steven also has been a prolific author including  Hegel’s Critique of Liberalism , Political Philosophy (2012) and the Modernity and its Discontents .

His newest book "Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes" is now available on Amazon.

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In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast Patricia Fara and I talk about:

• 00:02:05 What was the most important discovery when Patricia wrote her first book about 4,000 years of scientific development.
• 00:07:34 The surprising story how modern capitalism emerged from religion.
• 00:09:35 Is the scientific revolution real? Was is just part of a much bigger ongoing process? Was there a specific event that spawned the 'cult of technology'?
• 00:16:42 Why science is less influenced by certain geniuses but byt a group of individuals making similar discoveries.
• 00:20:06 What is the right confluences between science and religion? Should science innovate in moral terms?
• 00:25:31 Does technology and science follow morals or is it the other way around? Is it 'expensive' to apply 'higher morals' or is it actually making society more productive?
• 00:34:07 Are we really living in the best time ever?
• 00:39:12 Will the age of the Polymath return?
• 00:45:09 How should we structure Basic Research?
• 00:50:53 What did Patrica find when researching Isaac Newton's last 30 years of his life?
• 00:53:45 Is a 'tough childhood' a necessary ingredient for success? What motivates us to take actual risks?
• 01:02:00 Why Isaac Newton diverged from the majority opinion on the 'Holy Trinity'?
• 01:07:01 What will most likely be fields of scientific breakthroughs? Where will they likely happen?
• 01:13:41 Is there an Intelligent Design for life on earth? Is suffering necessary to improve human behavior?
• 01:16:33 How Patricia became the President of the Antiquarian Horological Society. What role does time play and how that changed over time?

You may watch this episode on Youtube - Patricia Fara (What 4,000 years of scientific progress have taught us + Isaac Newton).

Patricia Fara is a historian of science at the University of Cambridge. She has written 12 books so far including her most recent book Life After Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career. In 2016 she became President of the Antiquarian Horological Society.

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In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast - Aubrey de Grey and I talk about:

• 00:02:16 How Aubrey de Grey got into the 'longevity research' in the first place?
• 00:07:01 How Aubrey got the confidence to put a precise year to the 'end of aging'.
• 00:12:01 What were the biggest obstacles to overcome in persuading the public that 'aging can be ended'
• 00:13:30 Was setting up a money price for the extension of the lifespan of mice a good idea?
• 00:21:10 Why the longevity industry is burgeoning at the seams suddenly?
• 00:25:09 Will the benefit of an extended lifespan be equally available to a large part of the population?
• 00:31:01 Once aging is solved will we see a population of 100 billion on earth?
• 00:34:50 How Aubrey envisions life 'past the Singularity'?
• 00:38:30 How will our brains react to aging? Are there any drugs that we can use right now that may delay aging?
• 00:42:01 Is the the FDA to blame for the slow innovation in the healthcare industry? Has COVID changed the regulatory environment?

You may watch this episode on Youtube - The Judgment Call Podcast Episode #58 – Aubrey de Grey (Can we finally reverse aging 'forever'?!).

Aubrey de Grey is the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Research Foundation. He has been an evangelist of longevity research for decades. He is also the author of 'Ending Aging'.

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In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast Jeff Brickle and I talk about:

• 00:07:32 Jeff's experience joining the Pentecostal church including the experience of 'speaking in tongues'
• 00:13:25 The role of the 'Holy Ghost'/ 'Holy Spirit' in Christian religion and the Pentecostal church in particular
• 00:24:34 What does it actually mean 'Jesus Christ died for our sins'?
• 00:34:53 How the interpretation of the bible still adjusts to today's understanding
• 00:40:42 The role of John in the New Testament. And how it must have felt to listen to an oral recitation of the biblical verse 2,000 years ago?
• 00:55:30 Jeff's experience teaching in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia as well as Turkey.
• 01:06:07 Is there a crisis of 'organized religion'?
• 01:10:01 Why is religion (and Christianity) so underrepresented on social media?
• 01:13:43 Why did Abrahamic religions spread so quickly? How much of an innovation were they? Are we looking at a new set of religions currently?
• 01:24:24 Are Christinatity (and the viral growth) a unicorn start-up?
• 01:38:15 Why reading the bible is such an inspiring experience that should not be missed out on (irrespective of your religion).

You may also watch this episode on Youtube - The Judgment Call Podcast Episode #57 – Jeff Brickle (Christianity, Pentecostal Church, Theology).

Jeff Brickle is Professor of Biblical Studies at Urshan Graduate School of Theology. Jeff focuses primarily on the confluence of Johannine Literature with Ancient Media Culture (orality/aurality, sound mapping, memory arts, literary and book culture, performance, spatiality, intertextuality).

In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast Arnaud Collery and I talk about:

• 00:01:47 How Arnaud already had (full) careers as a leadership coach, inspirational speaker, actor, comedian, investment banker and philosopher at his young age.
• 00:10:26 Why 'walking between worlds' is such a cumbersome endeavor.
• 00:17:01 Why Europeans treat risk taking so much different than the US?
• 00:21:14 How Arnauld defines happiness?
• 00:28:32 Do we need traumatic experiences in our life to find our purpose?
• 00:36:01 Why some of most the most dangerous and violent regions of the world also bring out the most joy in people?
• 00:42:45 Is there a 'happiness gene'?
• 00:49:01 Why we all want to be in 'harmony with nature'? How society deals with a much newly customized ways of life and role models.
• 01:00:01 How Arnauld has hacked Hollywood.
• 01:25:01 How to spark motivation in people? How should we motivate our children?
• 01:36:29 What Arnauld thinks about extreme sports.

You can watch this episode on Youtube - Arnaud Collery (Happiness, Motivation, the life of a modern polymath).

Arnaud Collery has spent 'many lives' as an investment banker, army lieutenant, actor, motivational speaker and stand-up comedian all around the world. He currently builds Humanava.

In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast George Dyson and I talk about:

• 00:01:45 The Genesis story of George's writing about the history of technology and science.
• 00:07:10 The amazing story of the Orion spacecraft.
• 00:14:50 Is the Big Stagnation real? Are we just measuring our success incorrectly?
• 00:21:30 How much did von Neumann and his contemporaries know about 'giving birth' to intelligent machines at their time?
• 00:26:40 Why is humanity so interested in technology? Are we already doomed?
• 00:36:10 The case for ethical machines. Will machines adopt ethics and religion?
• 00:43:45 How religions deal with limits to technology.
• 00:47:33 Can we all just get along without being innovative? Will we run the risk of an innovative power to sweep us away? Are we in a post-conflict society?
• 00:52:30 Is the hypothesis that we live in a simulation correct?
• 01:11:10 How we are motivated by our fathers and how we emulate them.
• 01:14:52 The history of the allied attacks on German cities of Hamburg and Dresden in WWII.

You may watch this episode on Youtube - The Judgment Call Podcast Episode #55 – George Dyson (The amazing history of technology).

George Dyson is an author and historian of technology. He is the author of five bestselling books. His newest book is called Analogia : The Emergence of Technology Beyond Programmable Control - it is now available on Amazon.

In this episode of the Judgment Call Podcast Charles Veley and I talk about:

• 00:06:43 Is our desire to travel a product of 'Hollywood manipulation' like Indiana Jones and James Bond?
• 00:13:36 Is he desire to travel rooted in escapism?
• 00:18:43 How slow should you travel? How rewarding is country collecting compared to slow travel?
• 00:27:10 How mosttraveledpeople.com counts the places to go to in the world?
• 00:36:33 Why Charles left for a long sea voyage despite a newborn child at home.
• 00:42:21 Charles' philosophy to show children the world.
• 00:47:31 Charles' list of countries that positively surprised him.
• 00:55:29 How expectations change your perception of travel? And why it is so subtle to notice.
• 01:05:29 Is travel burn-out unavoidable? How can we keep the joy alive? Does the motivation to travel have an impact? Do fellow travelers influence us?
• 01:22:10 Has Costa Rica solved the 'dark side' of tourism? How can we solve overcrowding globally?
• and much more!

You may also watch this episode on Youtube - #54 – Charles Veley (The most traveled person in the world).

Charles Veley is a software executive and is currently the most traveled person in the world.

Charles also started and runs the mosttraveledpeople.com online community which is dedicated to help travelers to go to 949 unique places worldwide.