Robinson's Podcast Robinson Erhardt
-
- Science
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.
https://linktr.ee/robinsonerhardt Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support
-
212 - Deborah Gordon: Ants, Myrmecology, and Collective Behavior
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Deborah Gordon is Professor of Biology at Stanford University. She is a myrmecologist—an entomologist who studies ants—focusing on how complex behavior emerges from ant colonies, which have no central control. In this episode, Deborah and Robinson discuss some of the distinctive features of ants, how pheromones help to determine their behavior, examples of fascinating ant species, collective ant behavior, and the life cycle of an ant colony. For more of Deborah’s work on collective behavior, check out her book The Ecology of Collective Behavior (Princeton, 2023).
The Gordon Lab: https://web.stanford.edu/~dmgordon/
Ants at Work: https://a.co/d/7bpokYU
The Ecology of Collective Behavior: https://a.co/d/1bBT1h7
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:33 Ants and Embryology
05:29 General Features of Ants
13:14 Some Fascinating Ant Species
28:20 Pheromones and Ant Behavior
38:17 Ant Slavery
41:30 Collective Ant Behavior
47:04 A Colony’s Life Cycle
59:01 Revisiting Embryology
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
211 - Jay Chandrasekhar: Comedy, Creative Integrity, Super Troopers, & Jackass
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Jay Chandrasekhar is a director, writer, stand-up comic, and actor. Some of his works include directing Super Troopers, Beerfest, and Dukes of Hazzard. He has also directed episodes of Arrested Development, Community, and New Girl. Jay also wrote Mustache Shenanigans (2017) and co-hosts the podcast Mustache Tales. In this episode, Robinson and Jay discuss his growth as a writer, the importance of purpose in comedy and film, creative integrity in Hollywood, working on Supertroopers, and his time with Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass crew.
Mustache Tales: https://www.mustachetales.com
Mustache Shenanigans: https://a.co/d/8DZscAT
Opening Scene of Super Troopers: https://youtu.be/-wdVF_zJS4s?si=goQsJLqLqvBbMyF0
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:58 Jay’s Name Means…What?
5:22 Mustache Shenanigans
7:54 The Importance of Strong Beginnings in Comedy
20:41 The Importance of Purpose in Comedy and Film
24:39 Keeping Creative Integrity in Hollywood
32:20 On Writing a Novel
36:32 How to Have a Good Podcast
41:34 On Working with the Jackass Crew
59:20 Developing the Talent of a Storyteller
1:12:20 Breaking Down the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
210 - David Albert & Tim Maudlin: A Discussion of Niels Bohr, Measurement, & Quantum Mechanics
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
David Albert is the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, director of the Philosophical Foundations of Physics program at Columbia, and a faculty member of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the JBI. This is David’s seventh appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. He last appeared on episode 189 with Barry Loewer to talk about the Mentaculus, their joint project on the foundations of statistical mechanics. This is Tim’s sixth appearance on the show. He last appeared on episode 188 with Sheldon Goldstein to discuss Bohmian mechanics. Tim and David last joined Robinson together for episode 67, which gave an overview of the foundations of quantum mechanics. In this episode, Robinson, David, and Tim talk about the measurement problem, the role of philosophy in physics, various thought experiments, like Schrödinger’s cat and Wigner’s friend, and Niels Bohr’s effects both on quantum mechanics and the philosophy of science. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.
A Guess at the Riddle: https://a.co/d/6qcsidl
Tim’s Website: www.tim-maudlin.site
The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
04:04 Einstein, Bell, and Pearl on the Measurement Problem
13:00 On “Measurement” in Quantum Mechanics
25:34 What IS the Measurement Problem?
34:42 John Bell on the Measurement Problem
40:32 An Example of the Measurement Problem
43:08 Von Neumann on the Measurement Problem
45:38 Niels Bohr and the Measurement Problem
57:54 Niels Bohr’s Drastic Revision of Physics
1:08:36 Quantum Measurement and the Philosophy of Physics
1:22:52 On Schrodinger’s Cat and Wigner’s Friend
1:38:34 On Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics
1:45:40 The Measurement Problem, Solved?
1:51:04 On the Role of Philosophy in Physics
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
209 - Peter Singer: Controversial Ideas, Utilitarianism, and Animal Liberation
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Peter Singer is Ira W. DeCamp Professor Emeritus of Bioethics in the Department of Philosophy at Princeton University. He is among the most influential living philosophers, and among the most influential moral philosophers of the last century. Peter is best known for his work in applied ethics on animal welfare and global poverty. In this episode, Robinson and Peter discuss these topics after first introducing his more general views on moral philosophy, including those on utilitarianism and meta-ethics. Throughout their conversation they also touch on Peter’s new podcast, Lives Well Lived, co-hosted with Kasia de Lazari Radek, the Journal of Controversial Ideas, Peter’s Substack, Bold Reasoning with Peter Singer, and his latest and next books, which are respectively The Buddhist and the Ethicist (Shambhala, 2023) and Consider the Turkey (Princeton, 2024).
Peter’s Website: https://www.petersinger.info
Lives Well Lived Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/6628460c6b51e80012b834c2
The Life You Can Save Organization: https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org.au
The Journal of Controversial Ideas: https://journalofcontroversialideas.org
Peter’s Substack: https://boldreasoningwithpetersinger.substack.com
The Buddhist and the Ethicist: https://a.co/d/38DOmbK
Consider the Turkey: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691231686/consider-the-turkey
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
04:14 Peter Singer’s Entry into Philosophy
08:54 What Is Utilitarianism?
10:58 On Consequentialism vs Deontology
13:12 On Trolley Problems and Moral Facts
16:40 On Moral Realism and Anti-Realism
20:51 On Hedonistic Utilitarianism
26:17 The Lives Well Lived Podcast
33:43 A Puzzle About Trolley Problems
38:48 On the Origin of Peter Singer’s Concern for Animals
49:38 Is It Ever Morally Permissible to Eat Meat?
55:32 Consider the Turkey
1:03:07 Famine, Affluence, and Morality
1:09:08 The Life You Can Save
1:10:50 The Buddhist and the Ethicist
1:18:08 The Journal of Controversial Ideas
1:25:50 Peter’s Substack
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
208 - Victor Davis Hanson: Annihilation, Genocide, and World War III
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Victor Davis Hanson is a renowned classicist, military historian, and political commentator. He is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Among numerous other awards, Victor was presented the National Humanities Medal in 2007. In this episode, Robinson and Victor discuss his latest book, The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation (Basic Book, 2024), which was released on May 7th. More particularly, they cover the historical connection between annihilation and genocide, how we should interpret the past through today’s moral standards, genocides in the present, and the likelihood of World War III. Victor appeared as a guest on episode #112, in which he and Robinson talked about what was at the time Victor’s latest book, The Dying Citizen. He was also a guest on episode #191, which covered Victor’s views on the current crisis in Israel and Palestine. Keep up with Victor on Twitter, through his website, and on his podcast, The Victor Davis Hanson Show.
Victor’s Website: https://victorhanson.com
Victor’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/VDHanson
The Victor Davis Hanson Show: https://art19.com/shows/the-victor-davis-hanson-show
The Dying Citizen: https://a.co/d/dPocUJg
The End of Everything: https://a.co/d/46O0mMB
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
03:41 On Annihilation, Extinction, and Genocide
09:31 What Causes Genocide?
16:38 The Applicability of Military Strategy to Everyday Life
24:00 On Alexander the Great
36:26 Should We Judge the People of the Past by the Moral Standards of the Present?
44:29 Uyghurs, Jews, and Genocides of the Present
50:45 What Are the Biggest Existential Threats to America?
59:28 Is World War III on the Horizon?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
207 - Sean Carroll: Quanta, Fields, and the Philosophy of Quantum Physics
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University and fractal faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is also the host of Sean Carroll’s Mindscape, a podcast about science, society, philosophy, culture, arts, and ideas. This is Sean’s fourth appearance on the show. He appeared with David Albert of Columbia University on episode 106, which covers the Many-Worlds theory of quantum mechanics, Boltzmann Brains, and the fine-tuned universe. He was also on episode 118 with Slavoj Žižek on quantum physics, the multiverse, time travel, and a whole lot more, and then episode 200 with Daniel Dennett and Steven Pinker on AI, parapsychology, and consciousness. This episode is coming out in advance of Sean’s next book, Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe (Penguin, 2024), which will be released on May 14, 2024. Sean and Robinson discuss many of the topics and themes of Quanta and Fields, including the books’ namesake subjects, as well as more decides, like scientific realism, free will, the simulation hypothesis, and the end of physics. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics—which you absolutely should be—then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.
Sean’s Website: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com
Sean’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanmcarroll
Quanta and Fields (The Biggest Ideas in the Universe): https://a.co/d/gfMDLQo
The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
5:00 The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
9:38 Do Physicists Understand Physics?
15:51 What Is the Role of Philosophers in Physics?
18:24 The Measurement Problem and Quantum Field Theory
20:24 Scientific Realism and the Standard Model of Particle Physics
25:11 What Is the Wave Function?
34:46 What Is Quantum Field Theory?
37:45 What Is the Fundamental Layer of Reality?
41:01 What Is the Standard Model of Particle Physics?
45:42 What Are the Fundamental Objects in the Standard Model of Particle Physics?
47:39 How Do We Test the Standard Model of Particle Physics?
49:38 What Are the Weaknesses of the Standard Model of Particle Physics?
54:41 Will We Ever Find a Theory of Everything?
56:19 Is String Theory the Final Theory of Physics?
58:14 String theory and the Fine-Tuning Problem
01:00:18 Is Quantum Gravity the End of Progress in Physics?
01:06:12 What is Philosophical Naturalism?
01:08:05 On Naturalized Epistemology
01:10:24 On the Philosophy of Mathematics
01:19:08 On Naturalizing Morality
01:22:33 The Myths of Quantum Entanglement
01:29:53 Is There Only One Electron?
01:34:09 Are Atoms Mostly Empty Space?
01:36:51 Are We Living in a Simulation?
01:39:58 Is Infinity a Problem for Quantum Mechanics?
01:41:59 The Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support