Back to the Stone Age

Francesco Cavina
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Back to the Stone Age is the idea that to achieve a fulfilling life one shall strive to become the best version of oneself through daily discipline and commitment to personal development and goals. A focal point is the disconnection from distractions/addictions to focus on the interior of oneself, the unique location where the ultimate truth of everyone resides. By undertaking this introspective journey one is then able to find purpose in life and have objectives to place full dedication to. What I'm speaking about is my journey, through consciousness and science. I hope you will find it inspiring.

Episodes

  1. 09/26/2024

    Scott Soames: Truth, Philosophy of Language and Saul Kripke #10

    Scott Soames is a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California. His website: https://dornsife.usc.edu/scottsoames/ Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:34 - What Is Meaning? 05:10 - How Do Words Refer To Things? 10:37 - Language And Logic 19:06 - Relativity Of Truth 22:26 - Truth Without Humans 24:00 - Possible Worlds Semantics 36:14 - Kripke's Contribution To Philosophy Of Language 42:02 - Soames' Cognitive Content 48:40 - Consequences Of Soames' View: Propositions 54:18 - Living Philosophically 59:19 - What Are The Limits Of Language? 01:14:32 - Are You Scared Of Not Finding Answers? 01:15:50 - Mental Changes To Embrace New Views 01:19:35 - Lack Of Experimental Validation In Philosophy 01:21:22 - Technology And Philosophy 01:24:20 - Most Pressing Philosophical Issue 01:26:11 - Which Philosopher Best Understood The Human Condition? 01:32:36 - Does Pursuing Philosophy Make You A Better Person? 01:34:00 - Final Questions and Conclusion Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    1h 41m

  2. 09/02/2024

    John L. Bell: Philosophy of Mathematics, Axiom of Choice, Continuum and Consciousness #9

    John is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. You can find his website here: https://publish.uwo.ca/~jbell/ Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:41 - John's introduction 08:35 - Is The Universe Mathematical in Nature? 25:50 - Limitations of Language in Philosophical Enquiries 31:20 - Mathematical Constructivism 41:07 - Implications of Constructivism and Intuitionist Logic 48:54 - Nature of Mathematical Truths 01:05:45 - The Axiom of Choice 01:37:20 - The Nature of The Continuum 01:50:43 - Relationship between Mathematics, Physics, Philosophy 02:03:14 - The Nature of Consciousness 02:23:03 - 1000-years After- Nap Question 02:29:00 - Conclusion Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    2h 29m

  3. 08/06/2024

    Thomas Van Riet: String Theory, Extra Dimensions, The Landscape and Swampland #8

    Thomas is a professor of Physics at KU Leuven (https://shorturl.at/IVa8S). He's on Twitter: https://x.com/ThomasVanRiet2 Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:24 - General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics 11:50 - String Theory 21:41 - Singularities in String Theory 37:47 - Extra Dimensions in String Theory 48:30 - The Landscape and The Swampland 58:36 - Fine Tuning of the Universe 01:16:20 - The Most Beautiful Concept in Physics 01:20:00 - Final Thoughts and Conclusion Hope you enjoy it, this is Back to the Stone Age!

    1h 24m

  4. 07/08/2024

    Andrea Caputo: The Standard Model of Particle Physics and Current Limitations #7

    Andrea is a theoretical physicist and he works on Dark Matter and Particle Physics. He was awarded the ERC (European Research Council) Starting Grant. Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-caputo-ph-d-2475999b/?locale=en_US Seeing my interviews from one year ago is a bit cringe, but I'm working on it 😜 Hope you like it anyway! Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 01:10 - The Standard Model 03:09 - Gravity and the Standard Model 06:30 - String theory and accelerators 13:47 - The Hierarchy problem 22:54 - Supersymmetry 26:12 - ΛCDM model and the Standard Model 34:08 - Dark Matter candidates 41:20 - Inflation and the Standard Model 49:00 - Extra dimensions 52:07 - The Baryon Asymmetry problem 57:58 - Neutrinos' mass problem 01:06:13 - The CP problem 01:16:24 - The parameters of the Standard Model 01:20:33 - Is mathematics invented or discovered? 01:23:07 - Final thoughts and conclusion Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    1h 30m

  5. 07/01/2024

    K. Brad Wray: Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Thomas Kuhn, and Scientific Realism #6

    Do you like philosophising? Then this conversation is for YOU! 🫵🏻 Brad Wray (https://shorturl.at/gY9Oh) is Associate Professor at Aarhus University, and together we tackle deep philosophical questions. Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://shorturl.at/c5a37Spotify: https://shorturl.at/11x47Apple Podcast: https://shorturl.at/pFRCC Outline 00:35 - Philosophy of Science 01:17 - Definition of knowledge 01:52 - How do scientific discoveries shape our understanding of reality? 02:26 - Metaphysics 09:56 - God in Philosophy 11:41 - Limitation of human knowledge 13:52 - Theory of everything 19:45 - How is knowledge acquired? 29:24 - Role of epistemic communities for knowledge acquisition 34:40 - Disruptive science and increase of scientific papers 46:03 - Academic vs technological development 51:38 - Artificial intelligence and technology 01:00:44 - Collaborating with other researchers 01:04:15 - Thomas Kuhn 01:06:02 - Paradigm in science 01:13:30 - Kuhn cycle 01:20:19 - Revolutionising paradigm shifts: Copernican revolution and Plate tectonics 01:32:15 - Incommensurability in scientific revolutions 01:40:18 - Planck's principle 01:45:55 - Role of theories in understanding reality 01:52:11 - Is scientific progress linear? 01:52:55 - Scientific realism 01:58:25 - Antirealist perspective 02:05:40 - Death 02:09:25 - Nuclear weapons 02:16:27 - Conclusion Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    2h 18m

  6. 06/25/2024

    Daniel Ruberman: Mathematics, Topology and Manifolds #5

    Here is a conversation I've had with Daniel Ruberman, Professor of Mathematics. Daniel's website: https://people.brandeis.edu/~ruberman/ Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:16 - Is math invented or discovered? 05:30 - Mathematics and the physical world 28:02 - Topology 38:00 - Manifolds and smooth manifolds 52:31 - Higher dimensions and low-dimensional topology 01:04:39 - Intuition about 4th dimension 01:24:01 - Gauge theories 01:38:02 - Knots and manifolds 01:44:33 - Applications of knot theory and topology 01:50:28 - Infinity 01:56:38 - Final thoughts Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    2h 4m

  7. 06/20/2024

    Gimmy Tomaselli: Physics, Mathematics, The Universe and Fundamental Thoughts #4

    Some fundamental questions today with Gimmy, PhD student at GRAPPA doing research in black holes, gravitational-wave astronomy, and dark matter. Gimmy is soon going to the Institute of Advanced Study of Princeton for a postdoc! Gimmy's website: https://gimmytomas.github.io/index.html Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:32 - Is math invented or discovered? 06:40 - Are paradoxes intrinsic to our reality? 11:20 - String theory and mathematics 16:53 - Theories of everything 24:00 - Reconciling gravity and quantum mechanics 30:00 - Understanding the origin of the Big Bang 37:05 - Time 46:52 - Is time fundamental or emergent? 52:18 - Time and space swap inside a black hole 57:44 - Mental picture for spacetime curvature 01:04:19 - Weirdness of quantum mechanics: entanglement 01:07:00 - Schrödinger equation, probabilities, uncertainty principle 01:15:16 - Is the wave function real? 01:18:39 - “God” and death 01:24:25 - Biological engineering of human life 01:29:00 - Making sense of numbers in cosmology 01:34:20 - Fine-tuning of nature 01:40:26 - Inflationary multiverse and infinity 01:51:45 - Artificial intelligence 01:56:32 - Consciousness 02:03:22 - Free will 02:07:46 - James Webb Space Telescope 02:13:08 - Final thoughts and conclusion Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    2h 16m

  8. 06/07/2024

    Joel David Hamkins: Philosophy of Set Theory, Mathematics and Infinity #3

    Journey to the edge of reason with Professor Hamkins! Joel is a Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame. His research work spans Mathematical Logic and Set Theory. You can find him here: Personal website: https://jdh.hamkins.orgTwitter: https://twitter.com/JDHamkinsGoogle Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MHLQDYQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao Back to the Stone Age is on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=EHUZow_K4nlcWw8MSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGK?si=7f6f32052e9a4587Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:00 - Introduction 00:55 - Mathematician or philosopher? 05:05 - Set Theory 09:52 - Is mathematics invented or discovered? 15:42 - Godel Incompleteness Theorem 24:14 - Infinity: potential and actual infinity 46:51 - Paradoxes on infinity 55:56 - Penrose three world model: mathematical, physical, and platonic world 01:00:21 - Mathematical reality 01:08:34 - Transfinite numbers, cardinals and ordinals 01:18:44 - The Absolute Infinity 01:25:08 - Infinity and time 01:30:57 - Irrational numbers, Alan Turing and computability 01:40:00 - Cantor’s definition of Set 01:43:40 - Cantor’s theorem 01:54:00 - Continuum Hypothesis 02:05:46 - Hostility of mathematician towards infinity 02:11:39 - Law of excluded middle and infinity 02:17:38 - Not finding answers to questions 02:19:58 - Is there more than maths permeating reality? 02:25:20 - AI and maths/physics 02:31:51 - AI and consciousness 02:36:36 - Most beautiful idea in mathematics and conclusion

    2h 38m

  9. 06/03/2024

    Consciousness, Feelings and Human Life | Conversations with Friends: Greta #2

    Conversations with Friends: Greta Galluzzo. Greta is a Psychology master's student and she's on Erasmus here in Amsterdam. Find Back to the Stone Age on: YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-AnySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGKApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline: 00:32 - Consciousness 06:32 - Animal consciousness and death 11:22 - Intelligence and language 17:18 - Empathy 20:01 - Awareness 22:35 - Mathematics 32:40 - Predisposition to mathematics, nature or nurture 35:20 - Acceptation of "limits" vs biological engineering to enhance human condition 44:15 - Is consciousness good or bad 47:06 - What is good and bad? Is there a universal ethics? 49:55 - Are humans good or bad? 52:12 - Happiness, suffering and altruism 01:10:47 - Being and feeling alive and dreaming state 01:23:19 - Greta's meaning of life 01:27:00 - Conclusion Enjoy Back to the Stone Age!

    1h 28m

  10. 05/22/2024

    Geetanjali Sethi: Dark Energy Models and Cosmology #2

    Geetanjali is Associate Professor at St. Stephen’s College. She has a PhD in Cosmology from Delhi University. She's working on the Variable Chaplygin Gas model of dark energy. Reach out to her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geetanjali-sethi-a7b201aa/?originalSubdomain=in Find her research work on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EK8KFB0AAAAJ Back to the Stone Age is on: - YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhMJ5eusE_ACw6Ec3TqCbvDVZ6HP809&si=WhVnrLLAUuYW-Any - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pT8MUeR8bskcsuu8gmUGK - Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-to-the-stone-age/id1741219288 Outline 00:00 - Introduction 00:15 - Energy 02:53 - Dark matter and dark energy 10:15 - Dark energy as expansion of the universe 12:11 - Energy of empty space 17:08 - Heisenberg uncertainty principle 21:54 - Why dark energy has constant energy density 26:35 - Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmological model 33:58 - Quintessence, modified gravity models 39:08 - Variable Chaplygin Gas model 39:40 - Cosmic fluid 43:34 - Differences with other models 48:19 - Fine-tuning in nature 53:31 - Combination of dark matter and dark energy 56:09 - Dependency of observations for the future of the universe 58:40 - Most interesting fact about the cosmos 59:24 - Making sense of enormous distances 01:05:42 - Will the universe expand forever? 01:11:38 - AI and science 01:13:01 - Limitations of human brain 01:17:45 - Conclusion

    1h 19m

  11. 05/07/2024

    Nick Van Remortel: CMBR, Standard Model, Gravitational Waves #1

    Nick Van Remortel is a professor of physics at the University of Antwerp, find him on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-van-remortel-83a16373/ Outline: 00:00 - Introduction 00:36 - Cosmic microwave background radiation 25:10 - Size of the universe and infinity 30:20 - Expansion of the universe 40:45 - The standard model 01:02:30 - Greater purpose of fine-tuning and randomness 01:11:39 - Gravitational waves 01:18:10 - Principle of detection of gravitational waves 01:29:47 - Experimental effort of detection 01:32:29 - Information from gravitational waves 01:39:27 - Einstein Telescope 01:44:06 - Deep thoughts and conclusion

    2h 2m
  • 11 Episodes

About

Back to the Stone Age is the idea that to achieve a fulfilling life one shall strive to become the best version of oneself through daily discipline and commitment to personal development and goals. A focal point is the disconnection from distractions/addictions to focus on the interior of oneself, the unique location where the ultimate truth of everyone resides. By undertaking this introspective journey one is then able to find purpose in life and have objectives to place full dedication to. What I'm speaking about is my journey, through consciousness and science. I hope you will find it inspiring.

Information