Episodes
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Episode 63: AI & Open Source
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
What are the implications of recent developments in code- and image-generating AI? What is the difference between intelligence and consciousness? What impact do these developments have on the open-source community? How will this affect developer jobs?
Test Driven Development in the Age of AI: https://youtu.be/kBIr46RNxVI
DALL.E: https://openai.com/blog/dall-e/
GLIDE: https://syncedreview.com/2021/12/24/deepmind-podracer-tpu-based-rl-frameworks-deliver-exceptional-performance-at-low-cost-173/
AlphaFold: https://alphafold.ebi.ac.uk/
AlphaCode: https://www.deepmind.com/blog/article/Competitive-programming-with-AlphaCode
GitHub Co-Pilot: https://copilot.github.com/
GPT-3: https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.14165
Helen Keller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
Michio Kaku: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku
Douglas Hofstadter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Hofstadter
Terrence McKenna on Intuition: https://www.post-wave.com/21-terence-mckenna
Jest: https://github.com/facebook/jest
Enzyme: https://enzymejs.github.io/enzyme/
Web Vitals: https://web.dev/vitals/
Embrace Extend Extinguish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish
Outro Music by Trevor Villwock
Thursday Jan 20, 2022
Episode 62: Plato
Thursday Jan 20, 2022
Thursday Jan 20, 2022
What does it mean to exist? We explore Plato’s theory of ideas and his Republic.
Plato Republic: https://youtu.be/rVxSoiHtovM
Sophie’s World: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%27s_World
Stephen Wolfram heat death of the universe: https://youtu.be/kuFRyOwkYuE
Universal wavefunction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_wavefunction#:~:text=The%20universal%20wave%20function%20is,times%20a%20deterministic%20wave%20equation.%22
Bohr’s atom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr
Alan Watts quote: https://youtu.be/-VzLBkmeW8E
Steven Pinker – The Better Angels of Our Nature: https://stevenpinker.com/publications/better-angels-our-nature
Iain McGilchrist episode: https://www.post-wave.com/49-divided-brain
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Episode 61: Stoicism
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Who were the Stoics, what did they believe about the world, and how can we apply it to life today?
References:
Marcus Aurelius - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marcus-aurelius/
Hunter-gatherers and happiness - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/10/01/551018759/are-hunter-gatherers-the-happiest-humans-to-inhabit-earth
Dzogchen - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzogchen
Music by Trevor Villwock
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Episode 60: Enlightenment
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
update: oh no! I accidentally bungled the conversion and only uploaded the last 2 minutes of this episode. Here's the full episode! (should be fixed now).
What is the self? Am I a different person than you are? How can we engender compassion in ourselves? Trevor & Eric discuss enlightenment as talked about by Ram Dass – philosopher, psychologist, luminary.
Ram Dass lecture: https://youtu.be/kjh1BAG5Pfs
Dzogchen Buddhism - https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/the-practice-of-dzogchen/
Timothy Leary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary
Terrence McKenna: https://www.post-wave.com/21-terence-mckenna
Ted Achocoso: https://www.post-wave.com/47-analysis-dr-ted-achacoso
Alan Watts: https://www.post-wave.com/episode-10-alan-watts-this-is-it
Peterson Dillahunty debate: https://www.post-wave.com/55-religion-and-morality
Incompleteness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems
Outro Music by Trevor Villwock
Thursday Nov 25, 2021
Episode 59: Space Exploration & Inequality
Thursday Nov 25, 2021
Thursday Nov 25, 2021
How should we feel about billionaires pursuing space exploration when there's so much wrong on earth?
References:
Billionaire tax rates - https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
Culture series - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series
Lex Fridman's conversation with Neal Stephenson - https://youtu.be/xAfdSak2fs8
Sabine Hossenfelder on terraforming Mars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb0UnogKQeo
Spinlaunch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAczd3mt3X0
Largest comet ever discovered - https://www.space.com/newfound-comet-biggest-recorded-history
World's richest people 2021 - https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Elon Musk helping fight world hunger - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/11/11/1052719247/how-6-billion-from-elon-musk-could-feed-millions-on-the-brink-of-famine
Percentage of U.S. who are independents - https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Episode 58: Abstraction (pt.2)
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
We are joined by special guest Walker T. Roman to continue our discussion of abstraction, this time in the context of art and music.
References:
Walker T. Roman: https://www.walkertroman.com/
Lascaux cave paintings: https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/
Isometric perspective: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_projection
Vermeer optics: https://arranqhenderson.com/2017/09/19/did-vermeer-use-optics-in-his-art/
Danielle: http://www.daniellemulcahy.com/
Origins of Kindergarten: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/little-history-american-kindergartens-180963263/#:~:text=Kindergarten%20itself%20is%20a%20German,in%201837%20in%20Blankenburg%2C%20Germany.
Jackson Pollock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock
Clement Greenberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Greenberg
Isorhythm: https://www.britannica.com/art/isorhythm#:~:text=isorhythm%2C%20in%20music%2C%20the%20organizing,around%201900%20by%20the%20German
Serialism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serialism
Trevor's music: https://soundcloud.com/trevor-villwock
Eric's music: https://soundcloud.com/faero
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Episode 57: Immortality
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
In this episode we discuss the various forms of immortality humanity could possibly achieve and their implications for meaning and purpose in life.
References:
Sean Carroll on time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAScJvxCy2Y
Roy (Rick & Morty) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szzVlQ653as
Simulation argument (Nick Bostrom) - https://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html
Possible evidence for a multiverse - https://www.quantamagazine.org/multiverse-proof-possibility-from-colliding-universes-20141110/
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Episode 56: Abstraction (pt. 1)
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
This is the first in a two-part series in which we discuss the topic of abstraction. In this episode we focus on the term as it relates to computer science, existentialism, and music.
Max MSP: https://cycling74.com/
Dorris McComics: https://dorrismccomics.com/
Infinite Jest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Jest
Finnigan's Wake by James Joyce:
Wassily Kandinsky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
Terence McKenna Episode: https://www.post-wave.com/21-terence-mckenna
The Double by Dostoevsky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Double_(Dostoevsky_novel)
Donald Hoffman Episode: https://www.post-wave.com/episode-5-is-what-we-see-reality-donald-hoffman
erowid: https://www.erowid.org/
Yes: http://www.yesworld.com/
The Mars Volta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2puUdO4YBg&ab_channel=TannerBarker
Tally Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjGzOJ5IiSM&ab_channel=TallyHall-Topic
The Well Tempered Clavier by Bach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0ufknMW0FI&ab_channel=RiqueBorges
Reggaeton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxFSBPHwKgY&ab_channel=OSOCITYNATION
Music by Trevor Villwock: https://soundcloud.com/trevor-villwock/lattice-for-climbing
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Episode 55: Religion and Morality
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Can we have morality without religion? Where do spiritual experiences fit into a modern scientific conception of the world? In this episode we discuss a debate between Matt Dillahunty and Jordan Peterson from 2018 on religion, morality and more.
References:
Debate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmH7JUeVQb8
New Atheism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atheism
Secular Humanism - https://secularhumanism.org/what-is-secular-humanism/
The Moral Landscape - https://samharris.org/books/the-moral-landscape/
Expert systems - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_system
Godel’s Incompleteness Theorems - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/goedel-incompleteness/
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Episode 54: Coding Bootcamps II (w. Eric Saldivar)
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
What motivates a teacher to pursue a career in software engineering? How do class roles permeate our society? We speak with teacher Eric Saldivar about his experience transitioning into a technical field.
References:
Eric Saldivar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esaldivar1214/
JavaUnscripted: https://anchor.fm/javaunscripted
Codesmith: https://codesmith.io/
Elon Musk work ethic: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/03/elon-musk-works-80-hour-weeks--heres-how-that-impacts--your-health.html
Doing Good Better: https://www.post-wave.com/20-doing-good-better
AI singularity: https://www.post-wave.com/episode-7-artificial-superintelligence
Outro music by Eric Mulhern