ToKCast

Brett Hall
  • 5.0 (4)
  • PHILOSOPHY

This is a podcast largely about the work of David Deutsch and his books ”The Beginning of Infinity” and ”The Fabric of Reality”.

  1. 16 FEB

    Ep 258: Reaction to Michael Levin, Part 2: Bioelectricity, Consciousness and Knowing

    This is the second in a multipart series where I react to some interviews with ‪@drmichaellevin‬ a biologist who, among other things, specialises in bioelectricity. His research can be found here: https://www.drmichaellevin.org and his "explainer articles" for his own professional papers here: https://thoughtforms.life . In this episode I mention the discussion he had with ‪@timferriss‬ which is found here:    • Dr. Michael Levin — Reprogramming Bioelect...   Part 1 is here:    • Reaction to Michael Levin, Part 1: Categor...   Part 3 will be out soon.

    1h 39m

  2. 9 FEB

    Ep 257: Reaction to Michael Levin, Part 1: Categories and Continuums.

    This is the first in a multipart series where I react to some interviews with  @drmichaellevin  - a biologist who, among other things, specialises in bioelectricity. His research can be found here: https://www.drmichaellevin.org/publications/ and his "explainer articles" for his own professional papers here: https://thoughtforms.life . Although in this first episode I mention the discussion he had with  @timferriss  which is found here: https://youtu.be/kz1jnoKfRrI?si=O-TTxrVleMbDsEH8 I never actually get to it in this first part. I do comment on Michael's interview with  @lexfridman  found here: https://youtu.be/Qp0rCU49lMs?si=jYN_SbXCd6ziO_pe and even then only in brief because I'm verbose. Part 2 will be out soon.

    1h 8m

  3. 30 JAN

    Ep 256: David Deutsch’s ”The Fabric of Reality” Chapter 13 ”The Four Strands” Part 2

    Comparing Kuhn and Popper on Quantum Theory: Here we go deeper into the differences between Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn's account of how science moves from one theory to another. David applies the theory set out in part 1 of this chapter to the specific case of quantum theory. Did social forces have a major impact on whether quantum theory was adopted as Kuhn would have it, or were rational factors like argument and experiment crucial in dictating how science broadly, physics and the community of physicists took on a new "counter-cultural" idea?

    1h 10m

  4. 14 JAN

    Ep 255: Does this research explain how LLMs work?

    I take a look at these three papers: 1. https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2512.22471 2. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.23752 3. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.22473 Collectively titled "The Bayesian Attention Trilogy" along with some other material - in particular an interview with one of the authors "Vishal Misra" - https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/faculty-staff/directory/vishal-misra For those familiar with my output on this you can probably skip to about halfway through at 42:40. Prior to this is a lot of background on Induction, Bayesianism, Critical Rationalism and so on that people may have heard from me before in different contexts - although for what it's worth these are new ways of expressing those ideas. At the end I am reacting to a video found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRuY0ozEm3Q

    1h 23m

  5. 25/12/2025

    Ep 254: Australia: The Land of Bans. (Social Media prohibited for under-16s. Analysis of the arguments "for".)

    This is effectively part 3 in a series of responses to the Prime Minister of Australia about censorship, legislation, policy, philosophy, Bondi and Social Media. The Prime Minister attempted to explain, as best he could, the reasons for banning under-16 year olds from certain social media platforms. I remark on an interview he conducted and make some broader remarks in conclusion to a short series on his response to the Bondi tragedy and other issues. These are largely off-the-cuff rather than prepared remarks - so expect the tone, tenor, tempo and expression to be a little different than usual.

    1h 33m

  6. 22/12/2025

    Ep 253: Further Comments on the Bondi Massacre.

    Here I remark on comments made by Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Education Minister Jason Clare and then make some broader points about the recent tragedy on Bondi Beach. This is part 2 of a response to the Prime Minister of Australia and others.

    35 min

  7. 19/12/2025

    Ep 252: Response to the Prime Minister of Australia

    A reaction "episode" where I make some remarks about a speech by Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, in the wake of the Bondi Beach Massacre by Islamists terrorists who attacked Jews at a Hanukkah celebration on 14 December, 2025

    1h 5m

  8. 11/12/2025

    Ep 251: OK Doomer!

    This is a reproduction of a talk I gave to some trainee surgeons in Sydney who, among other things, were learning about AI as it was affecting their own field. It is, in a sense, a summary of many of the points I have been making recently on this channel with respect to AI and pessimism around it.

    31 min
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5
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About

This is a podcast largely about the work of David Deutsch and his books ”The Beginning of Infinity” and ”The Fabric of Reality”.

Information

  • Creator
    Brett Hall
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    258
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    ToKCast

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