EdgeCast

Daniel Kahneman - Adversarial Collaboration

DANIEL KAHNEMAN (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/daniel_kahneman) is Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Princeton University, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, and co-author (with Cass R. Sunstein and Olivier Sibony) of Noise. He is the winner of the 2013 Presidential Medal of Honor, and the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/daniel_kahneman-adversarial-collaboration

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow: Positive Human Behavior

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi) (1934-2021) (pronounced "chick-SENT-me high") was a Hungarian-born polymath who recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow," a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity. He was Distinguished Professor of Management at Claremont Graduate University and the former head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago and of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Lake Fo...

Larry Brilliant - A Very Bumpy Ride

Epidemiologist and pandemic expert LARRY BRILLIANT, MD, (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/larry_brilliant_md) is on the Advisory Board for Ending Pandemics. He is also on the board of the Skoll Foundation and was the founding executive director of Google's non-profit organization. Dr. Brilliant lived in India for more than a decade while working as a United Nations medical officer, where, in 1971, he helped run the successful World Health Organization (WHO) smallpox eradication program in South...

David Kaiser - The Shifting Terrain of Scientific Inquiry

DAVID KAISER (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/david_kaiser) is the Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and professor of physics at MIT. He is the author, most recently, of Quantum Legacies. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/david_kaiser-the-shifting-terrain-of-scientific-inquiry

Ainissa Ramirez - Interrogating and Shaping the World Through Science

AINISSA RAMIREZ (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/ainissa_ramirez) is a materials scientist and science communicator. She is the author, most recently, of The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/ainissa_ramirez-interrogating-and-shaping-the-world-through-science

Stephen Wolfram - Computation All the Way Down

STEPHEN WOLFRAM (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/stephen_wolfram) is a scientist, inventor, and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. He is the creator of the symbolic computation program Mathematica and its programming language, Wolfram Language, as well as the knowledge engine Wolfram|Alpha. His most recent endeavor is The Wolfram Physics Project. He is also the author, most recently, of A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversati...

Laurence C. Smith - How Humans Make the Earth Their Home

LAURENCE C. SMITH (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/laurence_c_smith) is the John Atwater and Diana Nelson University Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. He is the author, most recently, of Rivers of Power. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/laurencecsmith-how-humans-make-the-earth-their-home

Toby Ord - We Have the Power to Destroy Ourselves Without the Wisdom to Ensure That We Don't

TOBY ORD (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/toby_ord) is a senior research fellow in philosophy at Oxford University and author of The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity. _The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/tobyord-we-have-the-power-to-destroy-ourselves-without-the-wisdom-to-ensure-that-we

Donald Hoffman - Realism Is False

DONALD D. HOFFMAN (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/donald_d_hoffman) is a full professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author, most recently, of The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/donalddhoffman-realism-is-false

Lee Smolin - The Causal Theory of Views

LEE SMOLIN (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/lee_smolin), a theoretical physicist, is a founding and senior faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. His main contributions have been so far to the quantum theory of gravity, to which he has been a co-inventor and major contributor to two major directions, loop quantum gravity and deformed special relativity. He is the author, most recently, of Einstein's Unfinished Revolution. The Conversation: https://www.edge...

Markus Gabriel - The Paradox of Self-Consciousness [11.11.19]

MARKUS GABRIEL (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/markus_gabriel), one of the founders of New Realism, holds the Chair for Epistemology, Modern and Contemporary Philosophy at the University of Bonn, where he is also Director of the International Center for Philosophy and the multidisciplinary Center for Science and Thought. He is the author of Why The World Does Not Exist. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/markus_gabriel-the-paradox-of-self-consciousness

Seth Lloyd - Communal Intelligence [10.28.19]

SETH LLOYD (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/seth_lloyd) is a theoretical physicist at MIT; Nam P. Suh Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; external professor at the Santa Fe Institute; and author of Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/seth_lloyd-communal-intelligence

Patricia Churchland - The Nature of Moral Motivation

PATRICIA S. CHURCHLAND (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/patricia_s_churchland) is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, and adjunct professor at the Salk Institute. Her research has centered on the interface between neuroscience and philosophy, with a current focus on the association of morality and the social brain. She is the author of Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/patriciaschurchland-the...

Robert Pollack - Rethinking Our Vision of Success [10.10.19]

ROBERT POLLACK (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/robert_pollack) is a professor of biological sciences, and also serves as director of the University Seminars at Columbia University. He is the author of The Course of Nature, a book of drawings by the artist Amy Pollack, accompanied by his short explanatory essays. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/robert_pollack-rethinking-our-vision-of-success

Philip Goff - A Post-Galilean Paradigm [9.24.19]

PHILIP GOFF (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/philip_goff) is a philosopher and consciousness researcher at Durham University, UK, and author of Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness (forthcoming, 2019). The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/philip_goff-a-post-galilean-paradigm

Julian Barbour - The Universe Is Not in a Box [9.11.19]

JULIAN BARBOUR (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/julian_barbour) is a theoretical physicist specializing in the study of time and motion; emeritus visiting professor in physics at the University of Oxford; and author of The Janus Point (forthcoming, 2020) and The End of Time. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/julian_barbour-the-universe-is-not-in-a-box

W. Daniel Hillis - Emergences [9.4.19]

W. DANIEL HILLIS (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/w_daniel_hillis) is an inventor, entrepreneur, and computer scientist, Judge Widney Professor of Engineering and Medicine at USC, and author of The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/wdanielhillis-emergences

Peter Galison - Epistemic Virtues [8.21.19]

PETER GALISON (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/peter_galison) is a science historian; Joseph Pellegrino University Professor and co-founder of the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University; and author of_ Einstein's Clocks and Poincaré’s Maps: Empires of Time. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/petergalison-epistemic-virtues

George Dyson - AI That Evolves in the Wild [8.14.19]

GEORGE DYSON (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/george_dyson) is a historian of science and technology and author of Darwin Among the Machines and Turing’s Cathedral. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/george_dyson-ai-that-evolves-in-the-wild

David Chalmers - The Language of Mind [8.8.19]

DAVID CHALMERS (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/david_chalmers) is University Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science and co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University. He is best known for his work on consciousness, including his formulation of the "hard problem" of consciousness. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/david_chalmers-the-language-of-mind

Neil Gershenfeld - Morphogenesis for the Design of Design [7.31.19]

NEIL GERSHENFELD (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/neil_gershenfeld) is the director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms; founder of the global fab lab network; the author of FAB; and co-author (with Alan Gershenfeld & Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld) of Designing Reality. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/neil_gershenfeld-morphogenesis-for-the-design-of-design

Frank Wilczek - Ecology of Intelligence [7.23.19]

FRANK WILCZEK (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/frank_wilczek) is the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT, recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics, and author of A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/frank_wilczek-ecology-of-intelligence

Timothy Taylor - Polythetics and the Boeing 737 MAX [7.16.19]

TIMOTHY TAYLOR (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/timothy_taylor) is a professor of the prehistory of humanity at the University of Vienna, and author of The Artificial Ape. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/timothy_taylor-polythetics-and-the-boeing-737-max

Tom Griffiths - Humans: Doing More With Less [7.16.19]

TOM GRIFFITHS (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/tom_griffiths) is Henry R. Luce Professor of Information, Technology, Consciousness, and Culture at Princeton University. He is co-author (with Brian Christian) of Algorithms to Live By. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/tom_griffiths-humans-doing-more-with-less

Alison Gopnik - A Separate Kind of Intelligence [7.10.19]

ALISON GOPNIK (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/alison_gopnik) is a developmental psychologist at UC Berkeley. Her books include The Philosophical Baby and, most recently, The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/alison_gopnik-a-separate-kind-of-intelligence

Robert Axelrod - Collaboration and the Evolution of Disciplines [7.1.19]

ROBERT AXELROD (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/robert_axelrod), Walgreen Professor for the Study of Human Understanding at the University of Michigan, is best known for his interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation. He is author of The Evolution of Cooperation. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/robert_axelrod-collaboration-and-the-evolution-of-disciplines

Barbara Tversky - The Geometry of Thought [6.25.19]

BARBARA TVERSKY (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/barbara_tversky) is Professor Emerita of Psychology, Stanford University, and Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia Teachers College. She is the author of Mind in Motion: How Action Shapes Thought. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/barbara_tversky-the-geometry-of-thought

Caroline A. Jones - Questioning the Cranial Paradigm [6.19.19]

CAROLINE A. JONES (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/caroline_a_jones) is a professor of art history in the Department of Architecture at MIT and author, most recently, of The Global Work of Art. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/carolineajones-questioning-the-cranial-paradigm

Freeman Dyson - The Brain Is Full of Maps [6.11.19]

FREEMAN DYSON (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/freeman_dyson), emeritus professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, has worked on nuclear reactors, solid-state physics, ferromagnetism, astrophysics, and biology, looking for problems where elegant mathematics could be usefully applied. His books include Disturbing the Universe, Weapons and Hope, Infinite in All Directions, and Maker of Patterns. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/freeman_dyson-the-bra...

Andy Clark - Perception As Controlled Hallucination [6.6.19]

ANDY CLARK (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/andy_clark) is professor of Cognitive Philosophy at the University of Sussex and author of Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/andy_clark-perception-as-controlled-hallucination

Stephen Wolfram - Mining the Computational Universe [5.30.19]

STEPHEN WOLFRAM (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/stephen_wolfram) is a scientist, inventor, and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. He is the creator of the symbolic computation program Mathematica and its programming language, Wolfram Language, as well as the knowledge engine Wolfram|Alpha. He is also the author of A New Kind of Science. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/stephen_wolfram-mining-the-computational-universe

Rodney Brooks - The Cul-de-Sac of the Computational Metaphor [5.13.19]

RODNEY BROOKS (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/rodney_a_brooks) is Panasonic Professor of Robotics, emeritus, MIT; former director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL); founder, chairman, and CTO of Rethink Robotics; and author of Flesh and Machines. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/rodneyabrooks-the-cul-de-sac-of-the-computational-metaphor

Alexander Rose - How to Create an Institution that lasts 10,000 Years [4.24.19]

ALEXANDER ROSE (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/alexander_rose) is the executive director of The Long Now Foundation, manager of the 10,000 Year Clock Project, and curator of the speaking series' at The Interval and The Battery SF. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/alexander_rose-how-to-create-an-institution-that-lasts

Ian McEwan - Machines Like Me [4.16.19]

IAN MCEWAN is a novelist whose works have earned him worldwide critical acclaim. He is the recipient of the Man Booker Prize for Amsterdam (1998), the National Book Critics' Circle Fiction Award, and the Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction for Atonement (2003). His most recent novel is Machines Like Me (http://www.amazon.com/Machines-Like-Me-Ian-McEwan/dp/0385545118?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ6DR67ZTZ3XJCIHQ&tag=edgeorg-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0385545118). Ian McEwan's...

David Chalmers, Daniel C. Dennett - Is Superintelligence Impossible? [4.10.19]

*David Chalmers * (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/david_chalmers)is University Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science and co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University. He is best known for his work on consciousness, including his formulation of the “hard problem” of consciousness; Daniel C. Dennett (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/daniel_c_dennett) is University Professor and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy and director of the Center for C...

Michelle Gelfand - Cultural Intelligence [3.12.19]

MICHELE GELFAND is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/michele_gelfand-cultural-intelligence

Michele Gelfand - Cultural Intelligence [3.12.19]

MICHELE GELFAND is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/michele_gelfand-cultural-intelligence

Possible Minds - Live at the Brattle Theater in Boston [2.21.2019]

Freeman Dyson - Biological and Cultural Evolution [2.19.2019]

FREEMAN DYSON, emeritus professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, in addition to fundamental contributions ranging from number theory to quantum electrodynamics, has worked on nuclear reactors, solid-state physics, ferromagnetism, astrophysics, and biology, looking for problems where elegant mathematics could be usefully applied. His books include Disturbing the Universe, Weapons and Hope, Infinite in All Directions, Maker of Patterns, and Origins of Life. Freeman...

Lisa Mosconi - Alzheimer's Prevention [2.11.19]

LISA MOSCONI is the director of the Women's Brain Initiative and the associate director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is the author of Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/lisa_mosconi-alzheimers-prevention

Susan Schneider - The Future of the Mind [1.28.19]

SUSAN SCHNEIDER holds the Distinguished Scholar chair at the Library of Congress and is the director of the AI, Mind and Society (“AIMS”) Group at the University of Connecticut. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/susan_schneider-the-future-of-the-mind

Jonathan Rodden - The Urban-Rural Divide: Why Geography Matters [1.16.19]

JONATHAN RODDEN is a professor in the Political Science Department at Stanford and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/jonathan_rodden-the-urban-rural-divide

Elaine Pagels - The Social History of Religion [12.12.18]

ELAINE PAGELS is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author, most recently, of Why Religion?: A Personal Story. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/elaine_pagels-the-social-history-of-religion

Peter Galison - How Technology Changes Our Concept of the Self [11.20.18]

PETER GALISON is the Joseph Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University and Director of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/peter_galison-how-technology-changes-our-concept-of-the-self

Karl Sigmund - When the Rule of Law Is Not Working [10.11.18]

KARL SIGMUND is professor of mathematics at the University of Vienna and one of the pioneers of evolutionary game theory. He is the author of Exact Thinking in Demented Times: The Vienna Circle and the Epic Quest for the Foundations of Science. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/karl_sigmund-when-the-rule-of-law-is-not-working

Doyne Farmer - Collective Awareness [10.3.18]

J. DOYNE FARMER is director of the Complexity Economics Programme at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, professor in the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford, and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He was a co-founder of Prediction Company, a quantitative automated trading firm that was sold to the United Bank of Switzerland in 2006. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/jdoynefarmer-don_ross-collective-awareness

Brian Hare - Absolute Brain Size Matters [6.28.18]

BRIAN HARE is an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University in North Carolina and founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center. He is the co-author (with Vanessa Woods) of The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/brian_hare-absolute-brain-size-matters

Andrew Barron - The Connectomic Revolution [6.12.18]

ANDREW BARRON is the Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Deputy Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University. He is a neuroethologist with a particular focus on studying the neural mechanisms of honey bees. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/andrew_barron-the-connectomic-revolution

Nicolas Berggruen - Bonding with Your Algorithm [6.5.18]

Investor and philanthropist NICOLAS BERGGRUEN is the chairman of the Berggruen Institute, and founder of the 21st Century Council, the Council for the Future of Europe, and the Think Long Committee for California. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/nicolas_berggruen-bonding-with-your-algorithm

Martie Haselton - Sexual Double Standards [5.24.18]

​MARTIE HASELTON is a professor of psychology and communication studies at UCLA and the Institute for Society and Genetics. She is the author of Hormonal: The Hidden Intelligence of Hormones—How They Drive Desire, Shape Relationships, Influence Our Choices, and Make Us Wiser. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/martie_haselton-sexual-double-standards