sid's pod craft

Siddharth Jain

Diverse long-form conversations around lived experiences of people exploring the nooks and corners of their unique crafts and their journey.

Episodes

  1. 04/02/2023

    Manoj Pavitran: Limitations of cognitive mind, AI crisis, psychological mapping, purpose, education

    Pod craft #4 with Manoj Pavitran. Manoj is one of those people who don’t fit the box, he joined Auroville ~30 years ago to pursue his calling to explore Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga. Over the years, Manoj has worn several hats inside and outside the community of Auroville including that of a filmmaker, designer, architect, technologist, coach, educator & institution builder. His knowledge of human psychology, transformative practices, and a subjective view of the evolutionary journey of mankind is deep and fascinating. In our conversation, we explore human psychological mapping, existential AI questions, limitations of the cognitive mind, purpose, transformation, perspectives on education, data-driven governance, and more. Manoj's Links: Films: https://www.youtube.com/@sopanamEFF Medium blog: https://medium.com/@manojpavitran Book: https://www.amazon.in/Pilgrims-Infinite-insights-Manoj-Pavithran/dp/9390463181 Self-discovery program: https://www.swadharma.auroville.org Purnam Institute (courses): https://purnam.auroville.org Auroville's dream: https://auroville.org/page/a-dream Outline: 00:00 Intro 02:55 AI crisis, psychological mapping 17:40 Will of the ego vs nature’s will & purpose 24:30 Transcending the ego will 27:45 Conversation during drinks with friends from the scientific community 34:21 Cognitive limitation - separation of the subjective and objective 42:50 Experience of knowledge by identity 45:55 Integration of the subjective & objective 49:10 What drew you into Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga 54:25 Surrender to what? 01:01:00 Subjective & objective as 2 sides of the same thing 01:03:55 Upcoming animated film on Sri Aurobindo - message to convey 01:13:15 Outcome of practicing integral yoga for ~30 years 01:17:08 Role of education in the development of an individual - traditional ideas to challenge 01:23:46 Spirit of the self-discovery program Swadharma & learnings from ~7 years 01:26:42 Where are most young people blocked? 01:35:30 What does it mean to meditate on an idea? 01:42:36 From meditation as an activity to a meditative state 01:46:17 What’s happening in the process of journaling? 01:49:23 Reimagining governance beyond capitalism & communism, unity in diversity vs uniformity 02:08:00 Problems that keep you up at night 02:10:55 Day in the life 02:13:24 Experience of love and how has it evolved for you 02:16:50 Role of pain in opening the heart

    Manoj Pavitran: Limitations of cognitive mind, AI crisis, psychological mapping, purpose, education

  2. 03/25/2023

    Dr Shalini Sharma: Therapist’s mental models, difficulty describing emotions, infer societal issues

    Pod craft #3 with Dr Shalini Sharma In this conversation we tried to steer clear from conventional advice, we explore the mental models of a therapist, degeneration of emotions, extrapolate observations from therapy to societal issues, deconstruct conversation, and browse the therapy landscape in India. Dr Sharma is a counselling psychologist and therapist with over 2 decades of experience specializing in emotional intelligence and behaviour therapy, she founded 'Pause Walk Run' where she and her team take counselling and therapy sessions for individuals and organizations. She is the author of 2 series of children's books, conducts workshops across the country, and is currently a visiting counsellor at Plaksha University. There is a video meditation narrated by Sir David Attenborough playing in the background, link below. Links: Shalini’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dr.shalinijsharma/ Link for the Yale emotions app - https://howwefeel.org/, https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/the-how-we-feel-app-helping-emotions-work-for-us-not-against-us/ David Attenborough’s mountain mediation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJ5KovxnV4 Sid’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharth-j/ Episode link (youtube) - https://youtu.be/WZAaNv1dXFY Outline: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Mental models employed as a therapist 06:50 Experience of anxiety in the body 11:40 Processing of emotional states - P.A.U.S.E 16:50 Why is it difficult to describe emotions 21:30 Extrapolate observations from therapy to societal issues 27:56 What are therapist red flags? 29:25 Types of therapy & regulations in the field 35:15 Navigating impostor moments 38:25 Disarming in a conversation 41:58 Impact of therapy on therapist’s wellbeing 45:50 Learnings about human nature from working with people in therapy for 20+ years 49:30 Mental health as a career and career prospects 54:38 How to keep a therapist away? ‘Apple a day’ equivalent 59:35 Landscape shift in emotional education, technological advancements 01:06:40 Shalini’s journey to becoming a therapist, challenges 01:09:16 Learnings from working with kids 01:10:40 What’s rewarding about being a therapist 01:12:35 What’s a day in the life 01:14:40 Advice for young people - start making friends with your feelings 01:18:20 What is the purpose of your life

  3. 03/21/2023

    Ribhu Lahiri: AI researcher on implications of AI boom, power-seeking GPT4, values in AI, learning

    Ribhu is an AI researcher, friend, UCSD grad in cog science and machine learning, co-founder and research lead at an education startup Kaksha.ai, he wants to go live on all continents to experience diverse cultures. He is humble, knowledgeable on a variety of topics, a deep thinker, and a great conversationalist. We explore the social implications of the popularisation of the large language AI models such as chatGPT and GPT4, the emergent power-seeking behaviour observed in GPT4, values & regulations landscape in the field given the rapid developments, cognition, learning, digital nomadism, diversity, culture, and more. We were hanging out a bunch and thought of recording a podcast. It was fun! There is a @khruanbin concert playing in the background on the tv, it’s a piece of music we both enjoy and the visuals in the concert are beautiful. Links: Ribhu’s blog: https://blog.ribhulahiri.com/blog Twitter: https://twitter.com/ribhu97 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ribhu97/ Kaksha.ai: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kaks... sid’s LinkedIn (I post updates here): https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharth-j Khruangbin concert in the backdrop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4xKvHANqjk

  4. 03/21/2023

    Dr Monika Sharma: Computational Biophysicist on disease, how drugs work, latest in drug discovery

    1st episode of pod craft with Dr Monika Sharma. As a computational biophysicist, Dr Sharma's research employs computational techniques such as modelling and deep learning to build and simulate biological processes. By using modelling techniques, she can identify top candidates for molecular interactions in situations that would otherwise rely on trial and error. Furthermore, this approach offers a more profound insight into certain biological processes, typically occurring too quickly to be recorded through experimental means. Ultimately, these methods enhance our understanding of complex biological phenomena. The intent has been to keep the conversation accessible even for people who don’t have much background. We explore how drugs work in the body, where we are able to intervene in the cellular processes which directly tie to modalities for tackling disease, the latest research in drug discovery, why is protein folding an important problem, and more. Her decision to pursue a PhD, her moonshot aspirations, and her journey as a researcher, educator, mother, and a human being. I was touched by her humbleness given her vast field of knowledge. Links: Faculty page: https://plaksha.edu.in/faculty-detail... ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9864-3298 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-sh...

  • 4 Episodes

About

Diverse long-form conversations around lived experiences of people exploring the nooks and corners of their unique crafts and their journey.

Information

  • Creator
    Siddharth Jain
  • Years Active
    2023
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Siddharth Jain
  • Show Website
    sid's pod craft