Increments
78 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -Vaden Masrani, a PhD alum in machine learning at UBC, and Ben Chugg, a PhD student in statistics at CMU, get into trouble arguing about everything except machine learning and statistics. Coherence is somewhere on the horizon.
Bribes, suggestions, love-mail and hate-mail all welcome at [email protected].
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Episodes
#65 - Libertarianism II: Economic Issues (w/ Bruce Nielson)
March 28, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 85.2 MBBack at it again, as we coerce you into listening to Part 2 of our four part series on Libertarianism, with Mr. Bruce Nielson (@bnielson01). In this episode we cover the Economic Issues section of Scott Alexander's (non-aggressive and principled) non-libertarian FAQ (https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/22/repost-the-non-libertarian-faq/), and discuss his four major economic critiques of the libertarian view that free and voluntary trade between consenting, informed, rational individuals is the...
#64 - Libertarianism I: Intro and Moral Issues (w/ Bruce Nielson)
March 07, 2024 03:00 - 1 hour - 77.3 MBLiberty! Freedom! Coercion! Taxes are theft! The State is The Enemy! Bitcoin! Crypto! Down with the central banks! Let's all return to the Gold Standard! Have you encountered such phrases in the wild? Confused, perhaps, as to why an afternoon beer with a friend become an extended diatribe against John Maynard Kaynes? Us too, which is why we're diving into the ideological source of such views: Libertarianism. Welcome to Part 1 of a four part series where we, with Bruce Nielson (@bnielson01) a...
#63 - Recycling is the Dumps
February 14, 2024 18:45 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBClose your eyes, and think of a bright and pristine, clean and immaculately run recycling center, green'r than a giant's thumb. Now think of a dirty, ugly, rotting landfill, stinking in the mid-day sun. Of these two scenarios, which, do you reckon, is worse for the environment? In this episode, Ben and Vaden attempt to reduce and refute a few reused canards about recycling and refuse, by rereading Rob Wiblin's excellent piece which addresses the aformentioned question: What you think about...
#62 (Bonus) - The Principle of Optimism (Vaden on the Theory of Anything Podcast)
February 01, 2024 03:15 - 2 hours - 52.4 MBVaden has selfishly gone on vacation with his family, leaving beloved listeners to fend for themselves in the wide world of epistemological confusion. To repair some of the damage, we're releasing an episode of The Theory of Anything Podcast from last June in which Vaden contributed to a roundtable discussion on the principle of optimism. Featuring Bruce Nielson, Peter Johansen, Sam Kuypers, Hervé Eulacia, Micah Redding, Bill Rugolsky, and Daniel Buchfink. Enjoy! From The Theory of Anything ...
#61 - Debating Free Will: Frankenstein's Monster and a Filmstrip of the Universe (with Lucas Smalldon)
January 17, 2024 17:00 - 1 hour - 94.5 MBWhile you're reading this you're having a thought. Something like "wow, I love the Increments podcast", or "those hosts are some handsome" or "I really wish people would stop talking about free will." Do you have a choice in the matter? Are you free to choose what you're thinking in any given moment, or is it determined by your genetics, environment, and existing ideas? Is the universe determined, are we all Frankenstein's monster? How does one profitably think about that question? Today we h...
#60 - Creativity and Computational Universality (with Bruce Nielson)
January 04, 2024 06:00 - 1 hour - 81.5 MBToday we [finally] have on someone who actually knows what they're actually talking about: Mr. Bruce Nielson of the excellent Theory of Anything Podcast. We bring him on to straighten us out on the topics of creativity, machine intelligence, Turing machines, and computational universality - We build upon our previous conversation way back in Ask Us Anything I: Computation and Creativity (https://www.incrementspodcast.com/52), and suggest listening to that episode first. Go follow Bruce on tw...
#59 (C&R, Chap 8) - On the Status of Science and Metaphysics (Plus reflections on the Brett Hall blog exchange)
December 22, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 79.1 MBBack to the C&R series baby! Feels goooooood. Need some bar-room explanations for why induction is impossible? We gotchu. Need some historical background on where your boy Isaac got his ideas? We gotchu. Need to know how to refute the irrefutable? Gotchu there too homie, because today we're diving into Conjectures and Refutations, Chapter 8: On the Status of Science and Metaphysics. Oh, and we also discuss, in admittedly frustrated tones, the failed blog exchange between Brett Hall and Vaden...
#58 - Ask Us Anything V: How to Read and What to Read
November 29, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 92.1 MBAlright people, we made it. Six months, a few breaks, some uncontrollable laughter, some philosophy, many unhinged takes, a little bit of diarrhea and we're here, the last Ask Us Anything. After this we're never answering another God D*** question. Ever. We discuss Do you wish you could change your own interests? Methods of information ingestion Taking books off their pedestal bit Intellectual influences Veganism (why Ben is, why Vaden isn't) Anti-rational memes Fricken Andrew Huberman...
#57 (Bonus) - A calm and soothing discussion of The Patriarchy
November 15, 2023 15:30 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBWe we're looking for a nice light topic for our patron only episode, so Vaden naturally chosen to chat about the patriarchy. I guess he didn't get into enough trouble in his personal life talking about it so he wanted to make his support and admiration for the patriarchy public. This is a sneak preview into the land of patreon bonus episodes, so be sure to fork over some cold hard cash if you'd like a bit more mansplaining in your life. We discuss Harassment of women in various spheres of l...
#56 - Ask Us Anything IV: Certainty, Emergence, and Popperian Imperatives
November 01, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBPerhaps you thought, in your infinite ignorance, that the release of the previous episode marked the end of the age of the AMA! But nay my friends, the age of the AMA has just begun! We'll answer your questions until the cows come home; until Godot arrives; until all the world's babies are potty-trained. Or, at least, until we stop laughing. We discuss Potty training, taking babies seriously, and adult diapers Why Vaden never daydreams, fantasizes, or minds spending 10 hours in a car Whethe...
#55 - Is all thought problem-solving?
October 09, 2023 16:00 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBOur argument at the end of last episode spilled over into discord, DMs, and world news, so we felt compelled to dedicate a full episode to addressing the question "Is all thought problem solving?" Some arguments make history, like whether atomic bombs were required in WWII, whether all philosophy is simply a language game, and whether the chicken did indeed come before the egg. Will this be one of them? We cover: - How Vaden listens to podcasts and why he thinks Andrew Huberman sucks (but s...
#54 - Ask Us Anything III: Emotional Epistemology
September 18, 2023 19:30 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBBack again with AUA #3 - we're getting there people! Only, uhh, seven questions to go? Incremental progress baby. Plus, we see a good old Vaden and Ben fight in this one! Thank God, because things were getting a little stale with Vaden hammering on longtermism and Ben on cliodynamics. We cover: Is hypnosis a real thing? Types of universality contained within the genetic code Pressures associated with turning political/philosophical ideas into personal identities How do emotions/feelings in...
#53 - Ask Us Anything II: Disagreements and Decisions
August 14, 2023 18:00 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBAsk us anything? Ask us everything! Back at it again with AUA Part 2/N. We wax poetic and wane dramatic on a number of subjects, including: - Ben's dark and despicable hidden historicist tendencies - Expounding upon (one of our many) critiques of Bayesian Epistemology - Ben's total abandonment of all of his principles - Similarities and differences between human and computer decision making - What can the critical rationalist community learn from Effective Altruism? - Ben's new best friend Pe...
#52 - Ask Us Anything I: Computation and Creativity
July 10, 2023 14:30 - 1 hour - 67.3 MBWe debated calling this episode "An ode to Michael," because we set out to do an AMA but only get through his first two questions. But never fear, there are only 20 questions, so at this rate we should be done the AMA by the end of 2024. Who said we weren't fans of longtermism? Questions: Hey do you guys have a Patreon page or anyway to support you? (Michael) Not clear that humans are universal explainers. Standard argument for this is "to assume o.w. is to appeal to the supernatural," but t...
#51 - Truth, Moose, and Refrigerated Eggplant: Critiquing Chapman's Meta-Rationality
May 29, 2023 11:30 - 1 hour - 66 MBVaden comes out swinging against David Chapman's work on meta-rationality. Is Chapman pointing out a fatal flaw, or has Popper solved these problems long ago? Do moose see cups? Does Ben see cups? What the f*** is a cup? We discuss - Chapman's concept of nebulosity - Whether this concept is covered by Popper - The relationship of nebulosity and the vagueness of language - The correspondence theory of truth - If the concept of "problem situation" saves us from Chapman's critique - Why "...
#50 - On the Evolutionary Origins of Storytelling, Art, and Science
April 24, 2023 19:00 - 2 hours - 70.6 MBFifty godd*** episodes! 'Tis been a ride full of debate, drinks, questionable arguments, Ben becoming both a dualist and a social media addict, and Vaden stalwartly not changing his mind about a single thing. To celebrate, we dive into a thesis which connects many strands of what we've discussed over the years: Brian Boyd's work on art and fiction. Boyd provides an evolutionary account of why we're heavily invested in both creating and consuming fictional narratives. If this was simply a fun...
#49 - AGI: Could The End Be Nigh? (With Rosie Campbell)
March 22, 2023 17:15 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBWhen big bearded men wearing fedoras begin yelling at you that the end is nigh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA1sNLL6yg4&ab_channel=BanklessShows) and superintelligence is about to kill us all, what should you do? Vaden says don't panic, and Ben is simply awestruck by the ability to grow a beard in the first place. To help us think through the potential risks and rewards of ever more impressive machine learning models, we invited Rosie Campbell on the podcast. Rosie is on the safety team ...
#48 (C&R Chap. 18) - Utopia and Violence
February 24, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 55.6 MBYou may, perchance, have noticed that the sweeping utopian movements of the past did not end well. And most of them involved an horrific amount of violence. Is this connection just chance, or is there something inherent to utopian thinking which leads to violent ends? We turn to Chapter 18 of Conjectures and Refutations where Popper gives us his spicy take. We discuss - How do you "see" your early memories? - Vaden corrects the record on a few points - Rationality grounded in humility ver...
#47 (Bonus) - Dualism, Reductionism, and Explanation Pancakes
January 16, 2023 17:00 - 1 hour - 84.7 MBSecond holiday season bonus episode! Vaden joins Chesto on The Declaration (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-declaration-podcast/id1433998370) podcast to talk about monism, dualism, the reality of abstractions, emergence, and reductionism. This convo was recorded in 2019, but much of the content is evergreen and we think it still makes for interestin' listenin'. Except the sound quality, which leaves much to be desired. Thanks Blue Yeti. We discuss: - The mind-body problem - Why V...
#46 (Bonus) - Arguing about probability (with Nick Anyos)
December 19, 2022 20:30 - 1 hour - 81.9 MBWe make a guest appearance on Nick Anyos' podcast to talk about effective altruism, longtermism, and probability. Nick (very politely) pushes back on our anti-Bayesian credo, and we get deep into the weeds of probability and epistemology. You can find Nick's podcast on institutional design here (https://institutionaldesign.podbean.com/), and his substack here (https://institutionaldesign.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile). We discuss: - The lack...
#45 - Four Central Fallacies of AI Research (with Melanie Mitchell)
October 31, 2022 17:45 - 53 minutes - 49 MBWe were delighted to be joined by Davis Professor at the Sante Fe Insitute, Melanie Mitchell! We chat about our understanding of artificial intelligence, human intelligence, and whether it's reasonable to expect us to be able to build sophisticated human-like automated systems anytime soon. Follow Melanie on twitter @MelMitchell1 and check out her website: https://melaniemitchell.me/ We discuss: - AI hype through the ages - How do we know if machines understand? - Winograd schemas and the...
#44 - Longtermism Revisited: What We Owe the Future
October 03, 2022 17:45 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBLike moths to a flame, we come back to longtermism once again. But it's not our fault. Will MacAskill published a new book, What We Owe the Future, and billions (trillions!) of lives are at stake if we don't review it. Sisyphus had his task and we have ours. We're doing it for the (great great great ... great) grandchildren. We discuss: - Whether longtermism is actionable - Whether the book is a faithful representation of longtermism as practiced - Why humans are actually cool, despite wh...
#43 - Artificial General Intelligence and the AI Safety debate
August 28, 2022 22:00 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBSome people think (https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uMQ3cqWDPHhjtiesc/agi-ruin-a-list-of-lethalities) that advanced AI is going to kill everyone. Some people don't (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/opinion/superintelligent-artificial-intelligence.html). Who to believe? Fortunately, Ben and Vaden are here to sort out the question once and for all. No need to think for yourselves after listening to this one, we've got you covered. We discuss: - How well does math fit reality? Is that surpri...
#42 (C&R, Chap 12+13) - Language and the Body-Mind Problem
July 21, 2022 01:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBBen and Vaden sit down to discuss what is possibly Popper's most confusing essay ever: Language and the Body-Mind Problem: A restatement of Interactionism. Determinism, causality, language, bodies, minds, and Ferris Buhler. What's not to like! Except for the terrible writing, spanning the entire essay. And before we get to that, we revolutionize the peer-review system in less than 10 minutes. We discuss - Problems with the current peer-review system and how to improve it - The Mind-Body Pro...
#41 - Parenting, Epistemology, and EA (w/ Lulie Tanett)
June 20, 2022 23:15 - 1 hour - 73.9 MBWe're joined by the wonderful Lulie Tanett to talk about effective altruism, pulling spouses out of burning buildings, and why you should prefer critical rationalism to Bayesianism for your mom's sake. Buckle up! We discuss: - Lulie's recent experience at EA Global - Bayesianism and how it differs from critical rationalism - Common arguments in favor of Bayesianism - Taking Children Seriously - What it was like for Lulie growing up without going to school - The Alexander Technique, Inte...
#40 - The Myth of The Framework: On the possibility of fruitful discussion
May 30, 2022 19:45 - 45 minutes - 43.9 MBIs there any possibility of fruitful dialogue with your mildly crazy, significantly intoxicated uncle at Thanksgiving dinner? We turn to Karl Popper's essay, The Myth of the Framework, to find out. Popper argues that it's wrong to assume that fruitful conversation is only possible among those who share an underlying framework of beliefs and assumptions. In fact, there's more to learn in difficult conversations which lack such a framework. We discuss - What is The Myth of the Framework? - Th...
#39 - The Enigma of Reason
April 28, 2022 01:00 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBThe most reasonable and well-reasoned discussion of reason you can be reasonably expected to hear. Today we talk about the book The Enigma of Reason by Dan Sperber and Hugo Mercier. But first, get ready for dogs, modern art, and babies! *We discuss * - Reason as a social phenomenon - The two roles of reason: To justify our actions, and to evaluate the reasons of others - Reason as module of inference, and how that contrasts with dual-process theories - The "intellectualist" vs the "intera...
#38 (C&R Series, Ch. 2) - Wittgenstein vs Popper
March 08, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBWe cover the spicy showdown between the two of the world's most headstrong philosophers: Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper. In a dingy Cambridge classroom Wittgenstein once threatened Popper with a fireplace poker. What led to the disagreement? In this episode, we continue with the Conjectures and Refutations series by analyzing Chapter 2: The Nature of Philosophical Problems And Their Roots In Science, where Popper outlines his agreements and disagreements with Mr. Ludwig Wittgenstein. W...
#37 - Montessori Education w/ Matt Bateman
February 16, 2022 19:45 - 1 hour - 74.9 MBWe're joined today by Matt Bateman, one of the founders of Higher Ground Education, to discuss the Montessori method of education and how it compares to other teaching methodologies. Get ready for tiny furniture, putting on your jacket upside down, and teaching your toddler to make eggs benedict. We discuss: Maria Montessori What is a Montessori education (besides tiny furniture)? How Montessori classrooms differ from regular ones Why long periods of interrupted problem solving is importa...
#36 - Analyzing Effective Altruism as a Social Movement
January 27, 2022 04:30 - 56 minutes - 53.1 MBIn what is hopefully the last installment of Vaden and Ben debate Effective Altruism, we ask if EA lies on the cultishness (yes, that's a word) spectrum. We discuss: The potential pitfall of having goodness as a core value Aspects of Effective Altruism (EA) that put it on the cultishness spectrum Does EA focus on good over truth? Ben's experience with EA Making criticism a core value How does one resist the allure of groupthink? How to (mis)behave at parties How would one create a moveme...
#35 - Climate Change III: Fossil Fuels
November 29, 2021 18:00 - 47 minutes - 45.4 MBCome experience the thrill of the shill as we discuss the somewhat-controversial natural resource called "fossil fuels". In this episode, we drill deep into opto-pessimist Vaclav Smil's excellent book Oil: A Beginner's Guide, in what is possibly our only episode to feature heterodox Russian-Ukrainian science, subterranean sound waves, and that goop lady - what's her name? It's unbelievable, right? We discuss: The science behind fossil fuels: How they're made, found, processed, and used Ene...
#34 - Climate Change II: Growth, Degrowth, Reactions, Responses
November 10, 2021 05:30 - 55 minutes - 37.8 MBIn this episode Ben convinces Vaden to become a degrowther. We plan how to live out the rest of our lives on an organic tomato farm in Canada in December, sewing our own clothes and waxing our own candles. Step away from the thermostat Jimmy. We discuss: - The degrowth movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrowth) - The basics of economic growth, and why it's good for developing economies in particular - How growth enables resilience in the face of environmental disasters - Why the env...
#33 (C&R Series, Ch. 3) - Instrumentalism and Essentialism
October 25, 2021 09:00 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBGalileo vs the church - whose side are you on? Today we discuss Chapter 3 of Conjectures and Refutations, Three Views Concerning Human Knowledge. This is a juicy one, as Popper manages to simultaneously attack both philosophers and physicists, as he takes on instrumentalism and essentialism, two alternatives to his 'conjecture and refutation' approach to knowledge. We discuss: The conflict between Galileo and the church What is instrumentalism, and how did it become popular? How instrument...
#32 - Climate Change I: Initial Thought-Crimes
October 06, 2021 05:00 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBAfter the immensely positive response to our previous episode on the Weinstein brothers - thanks @robertwiblin! - we thought we would keep giving the people what they want, and what they want is a long discussion on climate change. Specifically, the subject for today is: "The State of the Climate Debate". We touch on: The near perfect partisan split on climate change Will there be a climate apocalypse? The promise of nuclear energy as a solution The limitations of renewables Energy portfoli...
#31 - The Fall of the Weinstein Republic
September 14, 2021 17:00 - 54 minutes - 52 MBToday we take your twitter questions before doing a deep dive into the Weinstein fiasco (Bret and Eric, not Harvey.) If you haven't heard of the Weinstein's before, then we suggest you run away before we drag you down into a rabbit hole filled with acronyms, anti-vaxxers, and theories of ... everything? anything? literally anything at all? Topics we touch: - We take your twitter questions! - Filos with a weird one: (https://twitter.com/iamFilos/status/1424025239370047488) I have a weird on...
#30 - Let's all just have a good cry (w/ Christofer Lövgren)
August 30, 2021 16:00 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBChristofer Lövgren, host of the marvelous Do Explain (https://www.doexplain.org/) podcast and world's most famous Swede (second perhaps only to that Alfred fellow with the peace prize), joins us on the pod to teach us how podcasting is really done. And how to pronounce his last name. When we're not all sobbing, we touch on: Does Deutschian epistemology give us with Free Will? Should one identify as a critical rationalist? Does membership in a community, or identification with a label, affe...
#29 - Some Scattered Thoughts on Superforecasting
August 16, 2021 21:00 - 45 minutes - 31.7 MBWe're back! Apologies for the delay, but Vaden got married and Ben was summoned to be an astronaut on the next billionaire's vacation to Venus. This week we're talking about how to forecast the future (with this one simple and easy trick! Astrologers hate them!). Specifically, we're diving into Philip Tetlock's work on Superforecasting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superforecasting:_The_Art_and_Science_of_Prediction). So what's the deal? Is it possible to "harness the wisdom of the crowd to...
#28 (C&R Series, Ch. 9) - Why is Logic Applicable to Reality?
July 19, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBWhy do logic and mathematics work so well in the world? Why do they seem to describe reality? Why do they they enable us to design circuit boards, build airplanes, and listen remotely to handsome and charming podcast hosts who rarely go off topic? To answer these questions, we dive into Chapter 9 of Conjectures and Refutations: Why are the Calculi of Logic and Arithmetic Applicable to Reality?. But before we get to that, we touch on some of the good stuff: evolutionary psychology, cunniling...
#27 - A Conversation with Marianne
June 28, 2021 16:00 - 2 hours - 83.4 MBThere are many overused internet keywords that could be associated with this conversation, but none of them quite seem right. So here's a poem instead: The Ogre does what ogres can, Deeds quite impossible for Man, But one prize is beyond his reach: The Ogre cannot master speech. About a subjugated plain, Among its desperate and slain, The Ogre stalks with hands on hips, While drivel gushes from his lips - August 1968, W H Auden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBG68YkOQOg) Send us an email at...
#26 - Moral Philosophy Cage Match (with Dan Hageman)
June 08, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBIn a rare turn of events, it just so happened that one or perhaps both of your charming co-hosts spewed a bit of nonsense about Derek Parfit in a previous episode, and we had to bring in a heavy hitter to sort us out. Today we're joined by friend of the podcast Mr. Dan Hageman, immuno-oncologist by day and aspiring ethicist by night, who gently takes us to task for misunderstanding Parfit and the role of ethical theorizing, and for ignoring the suffering of pigeons. The critiques land, and co...
#25 - Mathematical Explanation with Mark Colyvan
May 24, 2021 21:00 - 2 hours - 58.4 MBWe often talk of explanation in the context of empirical sciences, but what about explanation in logic and mathematics? Is there such a thing? If so, what does it look like and what are the consequences? In this episode we sit down with professor of philosophy Mark Colyvan and explore How mathematical explanation differs from explanation in the natural sciences Counterfactual reasoning in mathematics Intra versus extra mathematical explanation Alternate logics Mathematical thought experim...
#24 - Popper's Three Worlds
May 11, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 51.1 MBThis episode begins with a big announcement! Ben has officially become a cat person, and is now Taking Cats Seriously. Vaden follows up with some news of his own, before diving into the main subject for today's episode - Popper's Three Worlds. In this episode we discuss: The TCS parenting movement Chesto's tweet to Deutsch How Popper's Three Worlds differs from Deutsch's Things/Qualia/Abstractions classification Would prime numbers exist if humans didn't exist? What constitutes realit...
#23 - Physics, Philosophy, and Free Will with Sam Kuypers
May 03, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBWe are joined by the great Sam Kuypers for a conversation on physics, philosophy, and free will. Vaden spends most of the episode preparing for a huge debate on free-will, and Ben spends it worried about what alternate versions of himself are up to in parallel universes. Still, we manage to touch on a few topics: Realism and antirealist interpretations of quantum theory The advisory styles of Dennis Sciama and John Wheeler and the standardization of education Reconciling the Harris / ...
#22 - Thinking Through Thought Experiments
April 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 52.4 MBIn this episode, we discuss Peter Singer's famous drowning child thought experiment, the role of moral theories, and the role of thought experiments in moral reasoning. From our perspectives, the conversation went something like this: Ben's POV: Bravely and boldly trying to think through problems, Ben puts forward a stunningly insightful theory about the role of moral argumentation. Vaden, jealous of the profundity of Ben's message, tries to disagree but can't. Vaden's POV: What the eff...
# 21 (C&R Series, Ch.1) - The Problem of Induction
March 23, 2021 16:00 - 53 minutes - 37.1 MBAfter a long digression, we finally return to the Conjectures and Refutations series. In this episode we cover Chapter 1: Science: Conjectures and Refutations. In particular, we focus on one of the trickiest Popperian concepts to wrap one's head around - the problem of induction. References: Wiki on scientific laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_law - Hume's dialogues concerning natural religion Proof of the impossibility of probability induction One of the YouTube vide...
# 21 (C&R Series) - The Problem of Induction
March 23, 2021 16:00 - 53 minutes - 37.1 MBAfter a long digression, we finally return to the Conjectures and Refutations series. In this episode we cover Chapter 1: Science: Conjectures and Refutations. In particular, we focus on one of the trickiest Popperian concepts to wrap one's head around - the problem of induction. References: Wiki on scientific laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_law - Hume's dialogues concerning natural religion Proof of the impossibility of probability induction One of the YouTube vide...
#21 (C&R Series, Ch.1) - The Problem of Induction
March 23, 2021 16:00 - 53 minutes - 43.5 MBAfter a long digression, we finally return to the Conjectures and Refutations series. In this episode we cover Chapter 1: Science: Conjectures and Refutations. In particular, we focus on one of the trickiest Popperian concepts to wrap one's head around - the problem of induction. References: Wiki on scientific laws Hume's dialogues concerning natural religion Proof of the impossibility of probability induction One of the YouTube videos on induction. And in case you were wonderi...
#20 (HTI crossover episode) - Roundtable Longtermism Discussion
March 08, 2021 18:00 - 3 hours - 89.1 MBHello and sorry for the delay! We finally got together with Fin and Luca from the excellent HearThisIdea podcast for a nice roundtable discussion on longtermism. We laughed, we cried, we tried our best to communicate across the divide. Material referenced in the discussion: - 80k Hours Problem Profiles - Jon Hamm imprisons us in an Alexa - The Case for Strong Longtermism - A Case Against Strong Longtermism - Nick Bostrom's seminal paper on existential risks Quote: "[Events like Cherno...
#19 - Against Longtermism FAQ
February 02, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBBack in the ring for round two on longtermism! We (Ben somewhat drunkenly) respond to some of the criticism of episode #17 and our two essays (Ben's, Vaden's) We touch on: Ben's hate mail from his piece on cliodynamics Longtermism as implying altruistic portfolio shuffling What on earth is Bayesian epistemology The Pasadena game Authoritarianism and the danger of seeking perfection Arrow's theorem Alternative decision theories focusing on error correction What's the probability o...
#18 - Work Addiction
January 14, 2021 20:00 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBBit of a personal episode this one is! Ben learns how to be a twitter warrior while Vaden has a full-on breakdown during quarantine. Who knew work addiction was actually a real thing? And that there are 12 step programs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workaholics_Anonymous) for people who identify as being "powerless over compulsive work, worry, or activity"? And that mathematics can create compulsive behavior indistinguishable from drug addiction? Vaden does, now. People mentioned in this e...