Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Theories of Everything
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Exploring theoretical physics, consciousness, Ai, and God in a technically rigorous manner. If you'd like to support this endeavor, then please visit the Patreon ( https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal ). Thank you for your charitable and kindhearted support. My name's Curt Jaimungal, a Torontonian with a degree in mathematical physics from the University of Toronto and I analyze various Theories of Everything from this analytic perspective, though more and more opening up to alternative approaches. The separating factor of TOE from other podcasts is its focus on depth even at the risk of limiting the audience due to how much detail we delve into subjects. Paralleling the intensity found in academic discourse, we're increasingly embracing a spectrum of unconventional ideas to conduct research during this podcast, rather than merely conveying existing information. Contact toe [at] indiefilmTO [dot] com for business inquiries / sponsorship.

  1. 4D AGO

    Curt Jaimungal: Can Physics Explain Its Own Laws?

    Why do physical laws have their specific form? Host Curt Jaimungal shows this question is a philosophical knot, because any "explanation" must itself stand on a law. Sponsors: - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - Why Physical Laws? - 05:04 - The Justification Problem - 12:14 - The Limits of Explanation Links mentioned: - Wigner’s Classification: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Wigner+classification - Noether’s Theorem: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Noether%27s+theorem - This Is What Energy Actually Is [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hQk9GLZ0Fms - Do Symmetries “Explain” Conservation Laws? [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2010.10909 - Max Tegmark [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-gekVfUAS7c - Lee Smolin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/uOKOodQXjhc - Amanda Gefter [TOE]: https://youtu.be/yABPvDJ6Zgs - John Norton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M - Laws of Physics [Eddy Keming Chen]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03484 - What’s Actually Possible: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-unexamined-in-principle - Eddy Chen & Barry Loewer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/xZnafO__IZ0 - The Package Deal Accounts of Laws and Properties [Paper]: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-020-02765-2 - David Deutsch [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vKeWv-cdWkM - Elan Barenholtz & Will Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ca_RbPXraDE - Münchhausen Trilemma [Wikipedia]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchhausen_trilemma - Jennifer Nagel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/CWZVMZ9Tm7Q - Law Without Law [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.01826 - Schrodinger Equation: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Schr%C3%B6dinger+equation - Born Rule: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Born+rule - Enaction of Qbists [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.04230 - Constructor Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.7439 - The Package Deal Account of Laws and Properties [Paper]: https://sites.rutgers.edu/barry-loewer/wp-content/uploads/sites/195/2020/05/Loewer-2020-The-Package-Deal-Account.pdf - Jonathan Pageau [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X3co_AA6yec - The Most Abused Theorem in Math (Godel’s Incompleteness) [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    18 min

  2. 6D AGO

    Roger Penrose: Why The Big Bang Was Not The Beginning

    Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose dismantles standard cosmology, arguing the Big Bang wasn't the beginning and quantum mechanics is fundamentally wrong. He then connects a real, gravitational wave function collapse to the non-computational nature of consciousness and why today's AI can't truly understand. Sponsors: - Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code, at https://claude.ai/theoriesofeverything - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - The Big Bang Wasn't The Beginning - 02:14 - Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC) - 09:12 - The Collapse Problem - 14:31 - A Feeling of Elation - 24:32 - Gödel and Understanding - 37:32 - Gravitational Collapse - 50:05 - Critique of Modern AI - 57:12 - Black Hole Information "Paradox" - 1:04:15 - Wheeler, Wigner, & Witten - 1:15:04 - Richard Feynman in Poland - 1:20:25 - Libet's Timing of Consciousness - 1:32:49 - Three Worlds, Three Mysteries - 1:44:14 - Why Quantum Mechanics Is Wrong Links mentioned: - Stuart Hameroff [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0_bQwdJir1o - Classical Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/9409195 - Rebecca Goldstein [TOE]: https://youtu.be/VkL3BcKEB6Y - The Emperor’s New Mind [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/Emperors-New-Mind-Concerning-Computers/dp/0192861980 - Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/Fashion-Faith-Fantasy-Physics-Universe/dp/0691178534 - Perturbative Gauge Theory as a String Theory in Twistor Space [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0312171 - What Is Life? [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/What-Life-Matter-Autobiographical-Sketches/dp/1107604664 - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Exdz2HKP7u0 - Why I Don’t Buy the Simulation Hypothesis (Nor Materialism) [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3_lBPMc6JRY - Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/Consciousness-Quantum-Mechanics-Shan-Gao/dp/0197501664 - Ivette Fuentes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cUj2TcZSlZc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 59m

  3. OCT 30

    Aaron Schurger: "No. Neuroscience Does NOT Threaten Free Will."

    The Libet experiment didn't kill free will, says professor of neuroscience Aaron Schurger; the brain's "readiness potential" is simply stochastic neural noise. We then tackle consciousness's role in initiating action, the hard problem, and what it'd take for neuroscience to truly disprove our choices. If you’re interested in the topics above, I think you’ll love this podcast. Sponsors: - Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code, at https://claude.ai/theoriesofeverything - Get your copy of Richard Fain’s Delivering the Wow—available today on Amazon, or wherever you buy your books. - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - The Readiness Potential - 07:14 - Reinterpreting Libet's Results - 24:18 - Autocorrelated Neural Noise - 36:06 - Noise vs. Conscious Imperative - 43:46 - Resolving Libet's Paradox - 50:55 - The Point of No Return - 56:11 - Attention Schema Theory - 01:03:47 - Explaining "What It's Like" - 01:17:00 - Consciousness & Action Initiation - 01:24:54 - Testing Consciousness Thresholds Links mentioned: - Aaron Schurger’s Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lBSjfagAAAAJ&hl=en - Daniel Dennett [TOE]: https://youtu.be/bH553zzjQlI - Determined: A Science Of Life Without Free Will [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Science-Life-without-Free/dp/B0BVNSX4CQ/ref=sr_1_1 - Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8 - An Accumulator Model For Spontaneous Neuralactivity Prior To Self-Initiated Movement [Paper]: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1210467109 - Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk - Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 - Awareness As A Perceptual Model Of Attention [Paper]: https://grazianolab.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf3411/files/graziano/files/cog_neurosci_2011b.pdf - Cortical Activity Is More Stable When Sensory Stimuliare Consciously Perceived [Paper]: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1418730112 - Propofol Anesthesia Destabilizes Neural Dynamics Across Cortex [Paper]: https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0896-6273%2824%2900446-X - Jenann Ismael [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7kvXihDAOi0 SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 32m

  4. OCT 21

    Curt Jaimungal: Why I Don't Buy the Simulation Hypothesis (Nor Materialism)

    As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe One week ago, I (Curt Jaimungal) was invited to Niagara University to give the Peggy and John Day University Honors Endowed Lecture, which was quite the privilege and honor. The lecture focuses on metaphysics. I explain extremely simply the arguments for you being a “simulation,” the arguments against it, and where I personally land. Then I do the same for “materialism.” Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - Simulation vs. Materialism - 05:04 - Mistakes Intellectuals Make - 10:12 - The Simulation Mythology - 16:46 - Bayesian Errors & Glitches - 23:22 - Principle of Indifference Flaws - 29:07 - The Case Against Materialism / Physicalism - 35:28 - Nested Consciousness Problem - 42:36 - Q&A: Modern Dualism? - 50:51 - Debating Indifference Principle Links mentioned: - Niagara University’s 2025 Fall Speaker Series: https://www.niagara.edu/academics/initiatives-and-institutes/fall-speaker-series/ - Michael Barnwell [Site]: https://www.philosophy4business.com/ - David Deutsch [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vKeWv-cdWkM - Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - David Chalmers [TOE]: https://youtu.be/RH5qjdHhtBk - The Most Abused Theorem in Math [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo - The Mandela Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory#Mandela_effect - Efron’s Dice: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/EfronsDice.html - String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY - Emily Adlam & Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/rw1ewLJUgOg - Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min

  5. OCT 13

    Yakir Aharonov: The Future Propagates Backward in Quantum Theory

    As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Physicist Yakir Aharonov argues that the standard story of quantum mechanics is wrong, proposing a time-symmetric “two-state vector” view in which reality is defined by wavefunctions from both past and future. He explains weak measurements (information without collapse), nonlocal dynamics behind interference, and phenomena like the “quantum Cheshire Cat.” Aharonov recounts the birth of the Aharonov–Bohm effect, why gauge potentials mislead about locality, and how pre and post-selection restore causal insight without determinism. He shares memories of Bohm, Heisenberg, and Feynman, touches on gravitational and non-Abelian AB analogs, and lays out why a clear narrative—not just math—is essential to understanding quantum theory. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Links mentioned: - Yakir’s Papers: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1023512 - Jenann Ismael [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7kvXihDAOi0 - Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - Shift Of An Electron Interference Pattern By Enclosed Magnetic Flux [Paper]: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.5.3 SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min

  6. OCT 6

    David Deutsch: Einstein Would Fail Modern Grant Applications

    David Deutsch argues that Einstein would struggle to secure modern research grants, exposing how funding systems favor incremental work over bold, fundamental ideas. He connects this bias to quantum computing, constructor theory, free will, and the role of creativity in scientific breakthroughs.- 00:00 - Einstein's Grant Application- 07:00 - Funding People, Not Projects- 12:35 - Is Physics Stagnant?- 17:34 - The "Checkbox" Problem- 26:05 - Physics vs. Math Departments- 32:42 - Fundamental vs. Foundational- 40:08 - Physicists and Philosophy- 45:44 - Why Academics Are Silent- 51:20 - The Problem of Quantum Gravity- 58:31 - Qubit Field Theory- 1:03:18 - Problem-Solving in Physics- 1:17:14 - Deutsch's "Impossible" List- 1:24:23 - Meeting Hugh Everett- 1:35:01 - Susskind's MWI Objections- 1:46:44 - Everett and Quantum Computing- 1:56:20 - Constructor Theory- 2:03:01 - Free Will and Knowledge- 2:09:08 - Follow The FunSPONSORS:- The Economist: 20% off - https://www.economist.com/toe- Claude: 50% off Claude Pro - http://claude.ai/theoriesofeverythingRESOURCES:- Beginning Of Infinity [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359- How To Reverse Academia’s Stagnation [YouTube]: https://youtu.be/Em-85baHx0A- Qubit Field Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0401024- Quantum Theory, The Church–Turing Principle And The Universal Quantum Computer [Paper]: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.1985.0070- ArXiv: https://arxiv.org/- Scott Aaronson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/1ZpGCQoL2Rk- Wayne Myrvold [TOE]: https://youtu.be/HIoviZe14pY- Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/zNZCa1pVE20- String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY- Alex Honnold [TOE]: https://youtu.be/D4oXvxqzSyA- Michael Levin Λ Anna Ciaunica: https://youtu.be/2aLhkm6QUgA- Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/FkYer0xP37E- The Heisenberg Picture: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Advanced_Statistical_Mechanics_(Tuckerman)/09%3A_Review_of_the_basic_postulates_of_quantum_mechanics/9.04%3A_The_Heisenberg_Picture- Jacob Barandes Λ Emily Adlam: https://youtu.be/rw1ewLJUgOg- Everett’s Letter To DeWitt: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds/orig-02.html- The Many-Worlds Interpretation Of Quantum Mechanics [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Interpretation-Quantum-Mechanics-Princeton-Library/dp/069161895X- Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok- Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo- David Wallace [TOE]: https://youtu.be/4MjNuJK5RzM- Chiara Marletto [TOE]: https://youtu.be/40CB12cj_aM- Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU- Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8- Yang-Hui He [TOE]: https://youtu.be/spIquD_mBFk- Maria Violaris [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Iya6tYN37ow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2h 19m

  7. SEP 29

    Wayne Myrvold: A 2 Hour Deep Dive Into Entropy

    In this episode, we dive deep with philosopher of physics Wayne Myrvold to puncture entropy clichés and reframe thermodynamics as a resource theory. He argues the “entropy always increases” slogan is a consequence—not the law—and shows that Clausius’s entropy is defined only given the second law, while Gibbs vs. Boltzmann entropies answer different questions (“which entropy?”). We tour Maxwell’s demon, Landauer erasure, available energy/Helmholtz free energy, and why, once fluctuations matter, Carnot efficiency is only a statistical bound. Along the way: macrostates vs. microstates, why “disorder” misleads, ergodicity’s limited relevance, whether the universe is an isolated system, heat death as resource exhaustion, and how collapse theories would rewrite the story. We even touch QFT/stat-mech pedagogy and career advice. If you're curious about what entropy really is—and how information, agency, and objectives change the answer—this one’s for you. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Timestamps: - 00:00 - Is Entropy in the System or in Our Minds? - 07:12 - The Original Thermodynamics: A 'Resource Theory' of Heat and Power - 18:24 - The Second Law Doesn't Assume Entropy; Entropy Requires the Second Law - 30:58 - From Caloric Fluid to Molecular Motion: The Historical View of Entropy - 39:04 - Maxwell's Revelation: Why the Second Law Can't Be an Absolute Truth - 48:11 - Information as a Resource: How Knowledge Can Seemingly Defeat Entropy - 1:00:53 - Boltzmann vs. Gibbs: The Objective vs. Subjective Views of Entropy - 1:10:24 - Maxwell's Demon and Landauer's Principle: The Physical Cost of Information - 1:25:02 - The Inevitable "Heat Death" of the Universe? - 1:30:19 - The Fallacy of Equating Entropy with "Disorder" - 1:35:21 - The Ergodic Hypothesis: A Foundational, Yet Possibly Irrelevant, Concept - 1:43:52 - Why Statistical Mechanics May Be on Shaky Ground (Like QFT) - 1:50:50 - A Professor's Advice: Don't Jump on the Research Bandwagon Links Mentioned: - Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8 - Concerning Several Conveniently Applicable Forms For The Main Equations Of The Mechanical Heat Theory [Paper]: https://web.lemoyne.edu/giunta/Clausius1865.pdf - John Norton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M - On An Absolute Thermometric Scale [Paper]: https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/2559_Therm_Stat_Mech/docs/Thomson_1848.pdf - Carnot Efficiency: https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Carnot_efficiency - Maxwell’s Talk On Molecules: https://victorianweb.org/science/maxwell/molecules.html - Helmholtz Free Energy: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/helmholtz-free-energy - Boltzmann Entropy: https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Western_Washington_University/Biophysical_Chemistry_(Smirnov_and_McCarty)/01%3A_Biochemical_Thermodynamics/1.05%3A_The_Boltzmann_Distribution_and_the_Statistical_Definition_of_Entropy - Maxwell’s Letter: https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PH-CAVENDISH-P-00092/1 - Landauer’s Principle: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S135521980300039X - On A Universal Tendency In Nature To The Dissipation Of Mechanical Energy: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786445208647126 - Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/zNZCa1pVE20 - Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo - Understanding The Infinite [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Infinite-Shaughan-Lavine/dp/0674921178 - Classical Electrodynamics [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Electrodynamics-John-David-Jackson/dp/1119770769 - Why Information Is Entropy [YouTube]: https://youtu.be/8Uilw9t-syQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2h 6m

  8. SEP 22

    Michael Levin Λ Anil Seth: Your Brain Isn’t a Computer and That Changes Everything

    The best way to cook just got better. Go to http://HelloFresh.com/THEORIESOFEVERYTHING10FM now to Get 10 Free Meals + a Free Item for Life! * One per box with active subscription. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code, at http://claude.ai/theoriesofeverything For the first time on TOE, I sit down with professors Anil Seth and Michael Levin to test the brain-as-computer metaphor and whether algorithms can ever capture life/mind. Anil argues the “software vs. hardware” split is a blinding metaphor—consciousness may be bound to living substrate—while Michael counters that machines can tap the same platonic space biology does. We tour their radical lab work—xenobots, compositional agents, and interfaces that bind unlike parts—and probe psychophysics in strange new beings, “islands of awareness,” and what Levin’s bubble-sort “side quests” imply for reading LLM outputs. Anil brings information theory and Granger causality into the mix to rethink emergence and scale—not just computation. Along the way: alignment, agency, and how to ask better scientific questions. If you’re into AI/consciousness, evolution without programming, or whether silicon could ever feel—this one’s for you. Timestamps: - 00:00 - Anil Seth & Michael Levin: Islands of Consciousness & Xenobots - 08:24 - Substrate Dependence: Why Biology Isn't Just 'Wetware' - 13:13 - Beyond Algorithms: Do Machines Tap Into a 'Platonic Space'? - 21:46 - The Ghost in the Algorithm: Emergent Agency in Bubble Sort - 29:26 - Degeneracy: The Biological Principle AI is Missing - 36:34 - The Multiplicity of Agency: Are Your Cells Conscious? - 43:24 - Unconscious Processing or Inaccessible Consciousness? The Split-Brain Problem - 49:32 - The Ultimate Experiment to Decode Consciousness - 57:31 - A Counter-Intuitive Discovery: Consciousness is *Less* Emergent - 1:03:39 - Psychedelics, LLMs, and the Frontiers of Surprise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 13m
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Exploring theoretical physics, consciousness, Ai, and God in a technically rigorous manner. If you'd like to support this endeavor, then please visit the Patreon ( https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal ). Thank you for your charitable and kindhearted support. My name's Curt Jaimungal, a Torontonian with a degree in mathematical physics from the University of Toronto and I analyze various Theories of Everything from this analytic perspective, though more and more opening up to alternative approaches. The separating factor of TOE from other podcasts is its focus on depth even at the risk of limiting the audience due to how much detail we delve into subjects. Paralleling the intensity found in academic discourse, we're increasingly embracing a spectrum of unconventional ideas to conduct research during this podcast, rather than merely conveying existing information. Contact toe [at] indiefilmTO [dot] com for business inquiries / sponsorship.

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