The Next Iteration Podcast

Is it ever rational to believe something the evidence doesn't support?

Harvard philosopher Dr. Susanna Rinard is best known for arguing that the question "what should I believe?" should be answered the same way as "what should I do?": by weighing the consequences. It's a view that sounds like a licence for wishful thinking. We spent the first half of this conversation trying to break it, from Santa Claus and placebo surgery to motivated reasoning and Pascal's Wager, and came away surprised by how rarely it lets you off the hook.

The second half turns to her Harvard course on happiness: why it began alone in the woods on her 30th birthday, why sacrifice fulfills where pleasure doesn't, why so many high-achievers stay miserable, and whether the modern meaning crisis is actually a hopeful sign.

(00:00) Intro

(02:00) Santa Claus and the ethics of belief

(06:10) Do philosophers make worse parents?

(07:50) Equal treatment: believing like acting

(13:30) Motivated reasoning and conspiracy thinking

(22:10) Should doctors ever lie?

(30:30) Does manifestation work?

(32:00) Pascal's Wager

(37:00) The happiness course

(44:00) An origin story in the woods

(50:50) Stoicism, Daoism, and packaging wisdom

(59:00) Attention and the meaning crisis

(01:02:40) Overrated or underrated

(01:05:50) One message for the world

What does a 17th-century polymath have to say about ChatGPT? More than you'd expect. We're joined by Dr. Jeffrey McDonough — Harvard philosophy chair and one of the world's leading scholars on Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the man who co-invented calculus, designed the binary system, and is considered to be the last great polymath.

We tackle why there's something rather than nothing, Leibniz's claim that this is the "best of all possible worlds," and an unexpected parallel between his monads and the tokens powering today's AI. Then we turn to Jeff's sabbatical project on the philosophy of humor: what makes something funny, why thinkers from Plato onward distrusted laughter, and whether you can ever really separate the art from the artist.

Chapters

(02:00) — Why is there something rather than nothing?

(07:00) — Leibniz's theodicy and the best of all possible worlds

(12:00) — Epicurus and the problem of evil

(17:00) — Is there really a "best" world?

(31:30) — Monads and AI tokens

(38:00) — Determinism, free will, and compatibilism

(46:00) — Where did all the polymaths go?

(51:00) — The philosophy of humor

(56:00) — Can you separate the art from the artist?

Today's guest is Aman Khan, Head of Product at Arize AI

Hear him on Lenny's Podcast: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-an-ai-pm-aman-khan

https://arize.com/

Timestamps

(1:50) - Is it Turtles (AI) all the way down? 🐢

(12:00) - What exactly is an AI PM?

(16:20) - Aman’s career journey

(24:30) - How job roles will change with AI

(32:00) - Do we need mind gyms in the age of AI? 🏋🏽‍♀️

(44:00) - Journalling as a cornerstone habit

Find Sai here: https://www.saihuda.com/

Read his bestselling book: https://www.amazon.com/Next-Level-Cybersecurity-Detect-Signals/dp/1943386412

Timestamps:

(5:00) - Actual advice to make you more secure

(9:00) - The PR issue of Cybersecurity -> Risk and Compliance

(20:00) - What does CyberCatch do?

(24:00) - Russian CyberGangs, The Lazarus Group

(31:00) - A tale as old as time: Agent on Agent Violence // Security in the Age of AI

(42:00) - MFA is your Biggest Security Weapon

(48:00) - How do we Incentivize Hacking for “Good”?

Go listen to Michael's album, Briefly Alive. here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6CNUPGwU0xVC3azQrMo80r?si=qjYP_UZjTOKOgtDEPU028A

Nucleate Dojo: https://dojo.nucleate.xyz/

Michael on Twitter: https://x.com/michaeltrinh18?s=21

Timestamps:

(3:39) – Genetic engineering as a film genre

(5:59) – He Jiankui and gene editing

(19:19) – Michael’s origin story

(35:09) – The Canadian dream

(42:39) – 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics

(47:49) – If you could do a PhD on anything, what would it be

(50:49) – Your body stores memories

(52:11) – Gut microbiome

(56:56) – Reductionism in scientific research

(1:00:28) – Nobel laureates and creative hobbies

(1:04:24) – Michael and music

Timestamps

(8:45) - Being the black sheep and non-consensus opinions

(15:30) - Immigrating to the US from Italy at 17

(20:45) - Is America still the land of opportunity, or should we all move to Europe?

(28:30) - Thesis-driven investment and conviction areas

(38:50) - Emotional Intelligence: the difference between a good and a great VC

(43:45) - What do you do as a board member?

(49:00) - How to get more women into VC

Timestamps

(2:55) - What does War teach us about the human mind?

(12:45) - The journey to chief surgeon

(23:35) - DEI and DOGE

(29:13) - Research and the Government budget cuts

(37:56) - Going from Military to Industry

(49:50) - PTSD in the Digital Warfare Era

Tune in to hear how psychedelics are being operationalized to treat depression and many other medical conditions

Doug's had an amazing journey, through raising $4 billion of capital, being named Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year, and becoming the CEO of https://cybin.com/

Timestamps:

(6:40) - Food as Medicine

(10:00) - Opportunity and exposure

(16:00) - Connection as a superpower

(28:00) - Earning the ability to choose

(36:01) - Molecular changes to Shrooms

(46:20) - Ancient knowledge

(51:00) - Regulatory considerations


(58:00) - BUY CYBIN STOCK $$$

Oh boy you guys are not ready

Timestamps:

(2:00) To Be or Not To Be a Crypto Bro?

(8:40) Why are you interested in entrepreneurship?

(20:10) Why Crypto?

(29:00) Why does crypto mean the monetary system has to change?

(40:00) A RENEWAL - Things Need to Change

(48:00) The BITCOIN Act in Congress

(55:00) Real world examples of Blockchain

(1:09:00) Bitcoins energy consumption index

(1:24:00) The State of Canada

#88 - Science As Structured Play - Sebastian Cocioba

Timestamps

(8:30) - AI Tools for Researchers

(22:00) - Science is Structured Play

(31:00) - How to Grow Almost Anything


(35:00) - Flowers for Everyone


(41:00) - Designing Science Education


(49:00) - Explore for the Sake of It


(1:09:00) - Go for a Beer with Failure

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Links: 


- asknature.org 


- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiancocioba/ 


- https://x.com/atinygreencell