The Meaning Code: Recent Episodes
Karen Wong
Mapping the universe through discussions about physics, art, economics, philosophy, and more. The search for meaning through connections from one domain of knowledge to another. Finding the code that connects the substructures of the universe.
For video recordings of these podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgp_r6WlBwDSJrP43Mz07GQ
Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/klwong43
View my art here: https://karenwongartcom Read essays here: https://TheMeaningCode.com
Clip of a larger conversation regarding Esther's book, The Mother's Smile:
https://youtu.be/SCwA9iGdGx0?si=EmtFXxMLa-n33gB8
Clip of a larger conversation around Esther's book, The Mother's Smile:
https://youtu.be/SCwA9iGdGx0?si=EmtFXxMLa-n33gB8
From a longer discussion of Esther's book, The Mother's Smile found here:
https://youtu.be/SCwA9iGdGx0?si=EmtFXxMLa-n33gB8
Clip of a longer conversation with Esther regarding her book, The Mother's Smile.
https://youtu.be/SCwA9iGdGx0?si=EmtFXxMLa-n33gB8
From a longer conversation with Esther Meek about her new book, The Mother's Smile.
https://youtu.be/SCwA9iGdGx0?si=EmtFXxMLa-n33gB8
Esther Meek, philosopher, author of Longing to Know, Loving to Know A Little Manual for Knowing, Doorway to Artistry and The Mother's Smile Ryan Lewis, software engineer and counselor (coherence therapy) join to discuss the Cartesian disjoint of modernity and how to indwell reality through a trusting relationship with truth, goodness and beauty.
"I trust reality. It's there. It's good...beautiful...true." Esther Meek
"You need a foundational trust upon which to build." Ryan Lewis
Topics:
Knowledge and Reality
Childhood Philosophy and Religious Exploration
Cartesian Dualism and Embodiment Therapy
Subsidiary Knowledge and Learning Processes
Coherence Therapy and Intuitive Understanding
Covenant Epistemology and Knowing
Learning to Trust Reality
Faith and Doubt
Consenting to Reality and Healing
Authoritative Guides in Personal Growth
Finding Faith Through Life Challenges
Enchantment in Everyday Life
Computational Approaches to Rap Music The link to the video about the arca musarithmica machine we discussed: https://youtu.be/ko3kZr5N61I?si=HWvV_0fBFSIhc2aP Addy and Karen discussed exploring rap music from computational and linguistic perspectives. Polymathing and Creative Cross-Disciplinary Insights The concept of "polymathing": how deep expertise in one area can provide transferable frameworks for understanding other fields. Addy shared how his interest in perceptual cryptography and hormesis originated from childhood drawing habits and later influenced his understanding of music and art. Artists like Eminem and Christopher Nolan create works with multiple layers of interpretation, balancing the need for clear communication in collaboration with the creative freedom to allow different meanings for different observers. Art, Music, and Language Similarities Context and Perspective in Interactions: Lupe Fiasco's MIT course and the concept of micro-decisions in songwriting. Prediction and Coordination Concepts The balance between using AI tools and maintaining independence and agency. Computational Theory in Rap Music Computation as a series of choices over time Rap and Accents Discussion Addy discussed his upcoming Substack post on "Passing Thoughts on Accents, Auditory Illusions, and Rap," exploring how accents can be used to create phonetic compression and make words rhyme more easily.
Jason helps to facilitate the Estuary meetings in Portland, OR.
In this episode, he gives an introduction to the Estuary way of building community. If you are interested in finding an Estuary near you, or in starting an Estuary where you live, see https://estuaryhub.com
Paul Scott Grill (Scott) and Karen discuss the new western fantasy novel, Travel by Star, "a story about carrying burdens, finding purpose, and bearing the light through a world already surrendered to shadow". They reveal his process, the symbolism and the eternal struggle to communicate what we have been given.
Scott can be found on X: @PlainRunner2
On substack: plain runner.substack.com
Link to Paul Bullard's interview with Scott where he tells more of his story:
x.com, livestream broadcast: https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1nxeLyOVnoZJX
Almost all 5 star reviews on Amazon. Here's a comprehensive one: Gwen Moorcroft Blake 5 out of 5 stars - A Western-Fantasy That Rides Hard and Shines Bright Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2025 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase “In the struggle for existence, it is only on those who hang on for ten minutes after all is hopeless, that hope begins to dawn.” G.K. Chesterton Chesterton’s words feel like a fitting banner over Paul Scott Grill’s Travel by Star, a rare gem in a fantasy landscape too often filled with disappointment. Grill has crafted a tightly woven and emotionally astute tale that balances high-stakes action with a deeply human story of redemption and resilience. Travel by Star is a sharp, fast-moving fantasy western that delivers on action without sacrificing heart. Travel of the Ruelands is a rugged, battle-worn guide drawn into one last impossible journey, and what follows is a relentless, dangerous trek filled with monsters, moral weight, and moments of real grit. The fight scenes hit hard, the world feels lived-in, and the characters are both grounded and compelling. But what truly sets this book apart is its heart: a story about carrying burdens, finding purpose, and bearing the light through a world already surrendered to shadow. This powerful debut is a must-read for fans of character-driven adventure. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes their fantasy with grit, meaning, and momentum. Put this on your shelf next to Lewis, Tolkien, Alexander, and Lawhead.
This interview between Karen and Annette Poizner focuses on Annette's new book "Weaving the Way: Jewish and Chinese Teachings for a Fractured World," about the intersections between Jewish and Chinese wisdom traditions. Annette, a clinical social worker and psychologist, relates how both cultures share similar philosophical concepts, particularly around the five elements theory in Chinese medicine and corresponding elements in Jewish thought. Exploring how these ancient wisdom traditions can provide frameworks for understanding personality types, mental health, and spiritual balance, the conversation also covers upcoming events during Asian and Jewish Heritage Month, including lectures by various scholars and a free display honoring prominent Chinese and Jewish civic contributors. Both Jewish and Chinese cultures embrace a "dignity culture" rather than victim mentality. The conversation concludes with a brief discussion about publishing the interview on Sunday morning May 10 to coincide with the free book download availability.
How did language develop its rich, complex properties and what led to your epiphany about language’s nature? Elan framed a recent realization that language may possess an internal, self-generative structure revealed by large language models. He argued that modern language models work by learning statistical relations in sequences rather than by possessing external world knowledge or reference. Elan proposed that human speech may be language “running on its own,” with the speaker acting mainly as a prompt to an internal informational system. He reported conducting computational and empirical work over the past ~18 months to test and develop this intuition about language. Elan suggested language likely evolved from preexisting biological sequence-generating mechanisms rather than appearing de novo in humans. He proposed music as a possibly purer autogenerative domain that may have preceded or informed early language forms. EMIC analysis (emic) is used to derive internal musical rules from large samples of transcribed songs to enable generative composition that insiders can validate. Generative analysis aims to produce compositions that are stylistically authentic based on derived internal structures. Historical precedents exist for algorithmic composition; the Arca Musarithmica mechanically generated musical settings for Latin texts in the 17th century. Was the 17th‑century Arca Musarithmica an actual physical machine? Are all musical forms capturable by emic/generative techniques and do musical universals exist analogous to linguistic universals? Elan raised two core research questions: whether all musical forms are capturable by this technique and whether cross‑cultural musical universals exist. Ethnomusicologists are generally skeptical of declaring broad universals and emphasize cultural distinctiveness. Drew argued that the act of singing is a likely universal behavior with implications for intonation, audiation, scales, harmony, and rhythm. Does disciplinary bias (postmodernism) explain ethnomusicologists’ reluctance to assert universals? Quranic recitation exemplifies a vocal tradition that resembles music to outsiders but is treated as elevated intonation internally, and reciters often receive formal singing training. Serialist and some 20th-century art music intentionally separate musical sound from social function. Most music functions socially to connect people and express shared feelings beyond mere acoustics. Postmodern art and music challenged conventional notions of beauty and meaning by redefining what counts as art. Peirce’s semiotic categories (icon, index, symbol) map cleanly onto musical modes of signification. How is music conveying meaning when tonal pieces evoke emotions without explicit narrative? Indexical musical features, like minor chords, commonly signal sadness through shared or embodied associations. Cultural familiarity determines whether listeners register symbolic musical cues and extract meaning. Language and music both operate as relational systems that create expectations and structure meaning without direct reference. Music functions as a program that generates emotional responses rather than transmitting explicit narratives. Popular-song phrases can reliably evoke emotion across broad audiences due to stable structural hooks. How do you define and operationalize “meaning” in language versus music within this autogenerative framework, and what concrete predictions does this yield for experiments? In an autogenerative framework, both language and music are treated as systems that generate expectations over time, but they differ in what those expectations are anchored to and how “meaning” stabilizes. How “meaning” is defined
Exploring Lisa Barrett's relational realism and its implications for counseling, linking philosophical, clinical, biological, and spiritual perspectives.
The video we are discussing: https://youtu.be/T1b7nEj7IlQ?si=FzNbMcnLRU28NR1j
Distinctions between maps and territory;
Ryan contrasted a Cartesian epistemology that treats perception as isolated with a constructivist view in which clients build internal "maps" and therapists help update those maps when they no longer match reality.
Examples — including C.S. Lewis's image of removing irrational fear — to frame therapy's goal as restoring choice rather than imposing a single truth.
Tensions between modern counseling/psychiatry and traditional spiritual guidance
Limits of a detached scientific "view from nowhere" given changing cultures and replication issues.
Strongest outcomes combine top-down meaning work and bottom-up biological intervention, emphasizing embodied, practice-based recovery through small actions and service.
Is medication necessary for severe cases?
Biological adaptability evidence, citing Barbara McClintock and rapid posture changes from bodywork.
Connecting adaptation to belief and repentance (James 1:2–8) and recommending a localized, role-based perspective to reduce cognitive overload while remaining aware of broader systems.
How communities can provide orienting vision.
Karen and Adam discussed Adam's new YouTube summarization app called Headwater, which helps users quickly understand video content without having to watch entire videos. Adam, a dentist pursuing a master's in computer science, explained his philosophical reflections on computation and technology, drawing parallels between computer science concepts and fundamental aspects of reality. They explored topics including Michael Levin's bowtie architecture concept as an analogy to the implications of AI on society, and the challenges of digital attention fragmentation. The conversation also touched on Adam's previous experience with YouTube content creation and his family life, including the upcoming birth of his fifth child.
Be one of the first to try out headwaterapp.com. User flow: paste a video link, follow channels by channel ID, and receive a prioritized email digest that includes a full summary for the top channel and condensed summaries for others. Adam noted summaries persist even if the original video is removed, initial testing is limited to roughly 20 users, feedback is routed to headwater.com emails.
From a talk with Annie Crawford about the C S Lewis novel: That Hideous Strength, which she likens to Augustine's City of God with its discussion of the kingdom of heaven versus the kingdoms of this world.
The whole talk is here: https://youtu.be/c-_iu0jPfGo?si=6w5ezl5mfZO6G7Xl
Perry Marshall, Author of Evolution 2.0 and creator of the $10 million Evolution 2.0 prize for a patentable theory of the Origin of Information, to be judged by George Church and Denis Noble. Glen, physicist and mathematician who has had many appearances on The Meaning Code discussing information theory, entropy and robotics.
The whole episode can be found here: https://youtu.be/PXDC4sIy5dA?si=ORZxIquCl4bkiltZ
'Electracy, coined by theorist Gregory Ulmer, is the cultural, cognitive, and skill-based shift from print literacy to the digital age, representing the "literacy" for electronic media like the internet, social media, and virtual worlds, emphasizing play, performance, and affective connection over purely rational thought, and involving new ways of identity, learning, and meaning-making. It's a dynamic cultural apparatus, not just a set of tech skills, blending "electricity" and "trace" to capture both technology's power and its inherent relational meanings.'
We hear Parker's story and his introduction to Paul VanderKlay and TLC, along with news of and details about his search engine for the 10000 videos that have been generated by TLC affiliates.
The "flotilla" is on the move!
Dr. Iain McGilchrist and Dr. Chris E W Green join The Meaning Code to speak of the way back from our current wandering in the wilderness. Introductions to the two follow the timestamps, which regrettably only cover the first hour. If anyone wants to add the second hour, go for it.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:00 Reflections on Spirituality and Hope
01:25 Iain McGilchrist reads poem by Hermes Trismegistus
06:37 The impact of Reductionism on Art and Experience
13:16 The interplay of Death, Life and Storytelling
19:01 The danger of grasping mode in human experience
31:40 The nature of understanding and intelligence
36:09 The temptation to turn resistances into tools for personal gain
40:30 The importance of making space for growth
45:00 Opposites and Dark Sides - George MacDonald
49:04 The importance of acknowledging darkness for health and society
52:50 Rituals and Henri de Lubac
56:00 Sentimentality is cruelty
Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Consultant Emeritus of the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital, London, a former research Fellow in Neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, and a former Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch. His books include Against Criticism (Faber), The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World (Yale UP), The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning; Why Are We So Unhappy? (Yale UP), and Ways of Attending (Routledge).
Chris E W Green Chris Green is Professor of Public Theology at Southeastern University (Lakeland, FL) and Director for St Anthony Institute of Theology, Philosophy, and Liturgics. He is the author and editor of a number of books, popular and scholarly, including most recently All Things Beautiful: An Aesthetic Christology (Baylor University Press), the first volume of a forthcoming trilogy.
Grey Hamilton, a 28 year old husband and father, joins Karen to discuss relationships, education and the impact of societal changes on family and community dynamics.
Cassidy joins the Meaning Code to talk about the excitement around the upcoming Breakwater Festival in Culemborg, The Netherlands from November 7-9, 2025
She also fills us in on past conferences, and what to expect at this one.
For more information:
Breakwater Festival Culemborg, The Netherlands: November 7-9 2025
Crowdfunding/Pre-sale ticket link: https://igg.me/at/BackingBreakwaterBreakwater
Email: contact.breakwater@gmail.com
Rick Walker, Entrepreneur, Podcast Host and Author joins The Meaning Code to discuss his new book, 9 Steps to Build a Life of Meaning, (endorsed by both John Vervaeke and Paul VanderKlay) which tells the hard fought lessons he has learned through trauma, loss and building multiple businesses while doing his best as a husband and father.
Book Link: https://a.co/d/6fjDRXr
Rick Walker website: https://rickwalker.com
Rick Walker Podcast, also available on pod bean, Spotify and YouTube https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rick-walker-podcast/id1667818152
Chris Green is Professor of Public Theology at Southeastern University (Lakeland, FL), Bishop of the Diocese of St Anthony (CEEC), and Director for St Anthony Institute of Theology, Philosophy, and Liturgics. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including most recently All Things Beautiful: An Aesthetic Christology. (cewgreen.com)
Discussion topics:
Theological Concepts of Creation and Christology
Dynamics of Optimization and Context in Natural Selection
Metaphors in Music and Existence Creation,
Causation, and Beauty
Relationship between over-identification and under-identification
Causation and Recognition in Conversations Biology and Regeneration Order, Chaos, and Harmonics
The integration of chaos and order in the context of existence.
Dynamics of Creativity and Order in Relationships
Exploring Play, Wisdom, and Creativity
Anticipation is a key element that makes play enjoyable
The role of play and creativity in understanding theological concepts.
The significance of anticipation versus prediction in theological discussions.
Intersection of AI, Language, and Psychology
The hardware and software distinction in language processing. Programming languages build layers of abstraction that relate to human cognition.
The Creative Process: Hardware vs. Software
Creative process in painting, compared to coding, highlighting the need to transform abstract ideas into tangible forms. This iterative process is similar to scientific investigation and everyday decision-making.
The Hardware-Software Distinction in Perception
Parallels between cognitive processing and art therapy. Individuals can become stuck in cognitive patterns and the need for therapy to help them navigate different cognitive zones.
James Gibson's theories on perception, highlighting the direct relationship between reality and our perception of it.
The relationship between art processes and cognitive functions. The relationship between AI and human experience, emphasizing that AI operates on a condensed version of human knowledge.
AI lacks the direct, ecological experiences that humans have not only because of their embodiment but because of their life experiences.
The Linguistic System and Its Underlying Structure Karen elaborates on the relationship between language and a foundational scaffold of reality, suggesting that both are governed by dynamic principles that allow for complexity and meaning. highlighting the limitations inherent in linguistic systems, such as the specific combinations of letters and words that can form coherent phrases and sentences.
Exploring the Scaffold of Reality in Art and Harmony Reality as a dynamic net that fosters creativity, contrasting it with static boundaries. Principles such as harmony and balance play a crucial role in shaping experiences.
Personal Growth Through Physical and Emotional Engagement
Societal perceptions have limited personal growth, comparing it to children on a playground who don't realize their potential.
Rafe Kelly's work in parkour as a means to help individuals connect with their physical abilities and emotional experiences. This engagement can lead to significant personal development and a deeper understanding of one's limits and capabilities.
Measurement plays a crucial role at the Intersection of Hardware, Software, and Ecological Perception
Michael and Karen consider the theories of Elan Barenholtz, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida Atlantic University. His self-description: "I use behavioral and embedded computational approaches (i.e. neural networks running in robots) to study the brain and behavior with the goal of developing a broad theoretical framework of neural function."
The videos that Michael and Karen were discussing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca_RbPXraDE with Curt Jaimungal, Elan Barenholtz and William Hahn positing a radical theory of human language generation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1q6Hhz0MAg with Kenneth Stanley who used to be at Open AI talking about an earlier method of AI research through Picbreeder
Karen ends the episode by reading from C S Lewis' essay on Transposition focusing on the necessity of a higher.
Exploring Story Craft and the Intersection of Faith and Hollywood with Justin Wells, filmmaker of documentaries, professor teaching documentary and story craft. On X as @onejwells https://www.youtube.com/@justinsmorningcoffee
Seeing Story Structure through the lens of Complexity Theory
Justin elaborates on the five-act structure of storytelling, emphasizing the importance of updating a character's mental map as they navigate challenges.
He connects this process to complexity theory, outlining the journey from order to chaos and back to harmony. Apparently, Sean Coyne and John Verveke are working on a book titled "Story Principia," which will delve into these concepts.
The importance of mental models in understanding character development.
The development of a five-act structure for storytelling. Understanding the Journey from Law to Chaos in Storytelling
The transition from a procedural phase, where rules are strictly followed, to a chaotic phase in storytelling when everything goes wrong. He uses the analogy of teaching a child a game to illustrate the importance of learning and applying the rules before questioning them.
Exploring Creativity Through Chaos Creativity is rooted in chaos, citing research that shows how epiphanies occur when individuals abandon conventional thinking, leading to breakthroughs.
Chaos and Creativity in Storytelling
Justin emphasizes the importance of chaos in the creative process, suggesting that characters in the New Testament often experience a shift in perspective that challenges their expectations. He notes that this pattern of death and resurrection is essential for learning and creativity.
The Stages of Learning and Knowing
Outlining four types of knowing, including propositional, procedural, perspectival and participatory knowledge, he describes the procedural stage as a time of obedience and practice, akin to boot camp, before moving into a more fluid, participatory stage where one can innovate and adapt.
Matthew Allison discusses the metaphysical and theological implications of infinity plus the influence of dualism and Gnosticism on philosophical discussions.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Matthew on the Infinite
06:00 Heidegger
06:55 Wittgenstein
08:00 The significance of chiasms in biblical texts and how they reflect divine inspiration
14:00 Phenomenology
22:00 Reflections on Hebrews chapter 11, focusing on the theme of faith and the biblical figures who endured suffering without receiving God's promises.
30:00 The Nature of time and relationship 34:00 Methodological a priori and its implications
43:00 Contrasting Maximus's approach with that of Neoplatonists, pointing out that while he engaged with their ideas, he did not adopt their analytic framework. This distinction is significant for scholars studying the intersection of philosophy and religion.
46:00 Exploring Ontology and Methodology in human experience
53:00 The connections between choreography and spirituality in community
59:00 Square dance and its potential relationship to experiential dna
Karen and Haris explore Julian Barbour's theory of time and the universe, "nothing without ratios" while discussing the role of ratios in both mathematical theories and artistic expression.
Balazs Kegl, Head of AI Research for Huawei Paris, meets Annie Crawford, C S Lewis Scholar, to discover the crossovers between AI research and Lewis' concept of transposition of the higher into the lower, also looking at Michael Levin's Bowtie Theory, Chiastic Structures and Modes of Knowing.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro and overview of AI and Transposition
13:17 Exploring AI Text Generating and style adaptation
15:31 Understanding Randomness in AI Outputs
20:10 Consciousness and Communication
27:04 C S Lewis' concepts of Transposition and Modes of Knowing
36:49 Creativity and Memory in relation to Info Theory
46:09 Chiastic structures and bowtie theory in life and literature
51:13 The triune pattern in creativity
Drew, with a master's in ethnomusicology and a voracious interest in all things music, joins The Meaning Code today to open up the ancient view of music as relationships, balance, proportion. Through the lens of Aristoxenus and Boethius, we explore -memory as the mother of the muses -the original meaning of Harmonia as proportion and balance -relationships between notes in a melody -principles of Melos - realign, reharmonizes body, soul, mind -dunamis (function - power & potential) Music doesn't exist at any one time but between times. Memory fixes the past and perception leads to the future. Before Plato, all knowledge was in poetry form. Music of the Spheres or Harmony of the Cosmos? Music as an apologetic
Brendan Graham Dempsey and Cory Barker help Karen to gain a greater understanding of Metamodernism.
Brendan is writer, poet, farmer, and systems thinker. As Director of Sky Meadow Institute, he works on productively bridging the divide between science and spirituality.
Cory has a Master of Arts in Social Science and Informatics and is working on a PhD with a research focus on applying big picture thinking to improved AGI design. He serves as President of the Archdisciplinary Research Center (Arc.voyage)
If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend my first conversation with Cory Barker as background (which explores the concept of moving from discipline, to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinarity and finally to archdisciplinarity as a method of solving intractable problems.) We also cover how the world works and other interesting things:-). https://youtu.be/LwqByLmk1AU?si=LqS2kXXfo4-Qj99_
Topics covered: (If anyone wants to turn this into timestamps, go for it.)
AGI, LLM's, tokenization and statistical inference
Computable functions related to development psychology
The natural relations of Knowledge
More efficient systems that take less energy to run
The brain autonomously organizes information Universal classes of human experience Dynamic skill Theory, Kurt Fischer Reflexes, sensory motor, representations skills, pairing concepts and action/words, abstraction
The Universal Learning Process Adaptive Complexity
Coupling of an agent to its environment (wittedness)
Variation and selective retention
Autopoesis and cognition
Coupling between elements and the formal systems
Unlike other animals, we are not perfectly fitted to our environment, but are made for space Antagonism drives adaptation.
We are not endlessly pliable
Our linguistic component allows us to go off into abstract space
The free energy principle, maximum freedom
Think beyond our environments We advance on the basis of our previous equilibriums
Ted Lasso and metamodernism
Critique and transcend (the pattern of culture shock, also)
Universal process of automation
Cause and Effect Forming a stable system with a boundary space
Cascades through the interior
Universal process of concretion
Creates a stake through the system
The optical way to process info Free energy principal
A set of expectations, a model that we hope will hold up and avoid surprise
We continually update our model and that will minimize the distance between our expectation and the reality
Anomaly drives hierarchical complexification
How space affects equilibrium
Turning point Ted Lasso and space
Earnestness and Sincerity in the context of irony and cynicism
Bill Tolbert, Action Inquiry
A stage model of managerial styles postmodernism - ironist metamodern - a sense of coherence @ what is going on
Understanding how things are relating to each other
Arch modernism
Entropy production is creative
Alicia Juarrero
Maximum complexity before it becomes chaos
Randomness is not high in info
Chaology - a study of the hidden order inside chaos, too difficult for us to understand at this point
Metamodernism, transcending the critique of postmodernism
Brantley Vosler, host of the Transposition Podcast, joins Karen to talk about C S Lewis' essay of that name, as well as Lewis' argument against Bulverism. Along the way, we dive into the symbolism of Silo!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Exploring the Concept of Transposition
09:08 The Transposition of Ideas in Music
14:26 Vertical Causation and Spirituality
20:50 Themes of Power and Weakness in Scripture
27:34 Symbolism in "Silo" and Christian Hope
37:04 Discussion on Themes of Hope and Love in Family Dynamics
44:51 Reflections on Love and Gratitude
51:03 C S Lewis' argument against Bulverism
1:00:56 Transposition and AI Insights
1:06:01 Understanding Bulverism and Its Implications
1:13:57 Reductionism as an inversion of transposition
Neal initiated a discussion on the intersection of evolutionary principles and human social phenomena, particularly in relation to organizations and art. He critiqued the dominant scientific perspective that views beauty as a byproduct of natural selection, proposing instead that beauty and design principles are independent evolutionary forces. Neal introduced a dual force model that includes a push away from vulnerability and a pull towards an instinct for quality and beauty, referencing eight principles of design to illustrate these concepts.
Karen Wong and Joy Frimpong engage in a conversation about progressivism, exploring how Joy's educational experiences contributed to her understanding of the ideology. Joy notes that while she can't point to a specific moment of indoctrination, the influence of media and cultural narratives played a significant role in shaping her views. She describes this influence as a "cultural dis-ease" that permeated her academic environment.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro 01:00 The nature of progressivism and its influence on individual identity.
03:10 Reflections on Academic Experience and Ideological Influences
16:57 Progressivism and Utopia. Joy elaborated on the embedded telos within progressivism, arguing that it promotes a self-centric worldview and lacks a grounding in faith expressing concern that this perspective leads to a deceptive notion of progress and justice.
25:03 The concept of sin and its relation to personal identity, suggesting that the struggle between good and evil exists within each individual. How external power structures can lead to internalized anger and health issues.
41:25 Shame and guilt can lead to a sense of dissociation from identity
1:06:25 Personal reflections on education and growth through struggle
Tyler Hollett, a problem-solver and facilitator within Discord communities, shares insights from his journey through various online spaces and the creation of the Metagora project, which aims to streamline educational curricula within a community setting. They conclude by discussing the potential of Tyler's website, which features a dynamic visual representation of available knowledge along with opportunities presented by challenges as catalysts for growth and innovation.
Timestamps:
00:00 Exploring Identity and Meaning in a Digital Age
08:38 Tyler’s Journey Through Despair and Discovery 17:30 Concept of "Not Knowing" and Growth Mechanisms
20:53 Collective Dynamics and the Nature of Reality
40:41 Exploring Collective Understanding and Community Building
50:41 Website Functionality and Community Rebuilding Concepts
54:50 The Interplay of Meaning, Relationship, and Choice
1:02:50 Tyler's Journey and Educational Initiatives
1:13:48 Exploring the Nature of Life and Matter
1:25:00 Discussion on Project Development and Website Features
Michael has been a regular on The Meaning Code discussing such topics as Owen Barfield, data compression and radical orthodoxy, and today, he joins to consider the meaning and role of narrative.
Topics Covered:
Exploring Particle Self-Organization
The Limits of Objective Perspective in Science and Transcendence
Computational Epistemology and Meaning in Tradition
Exploring Desires and Identity through the Lens of Jesus
The Intersection of Science and Christianity
Evolution of Scientific Narratives
Reflections on Control and Freedom
Discussion on AI Tools and Personal Updates
Much of this conversation can be enjoyed In podcast form, but if you want to see Lester's art during the discussion, the YouTube format would be better.
https://youtu.be/DsLS-vojqt4
A rich dialogue between Karen Wong and Lester Rappaport, focusing on their artistic journeys and the intellectual influences (Jordan Peterson and John Vervaeke, among others) that have shaped their work: The conversation sets a collaborative tone, with both participants exploring their artistic processes and the broader cultural movements they are part of, particularly those emerging from Toronto.
Lester recounted his introduction to John Vervaeke's ideas and the impact of discussions with other thinkers, which led him to connect with Karen. They both expressed excitement about being part of a transformative intellectual renaissance, highlighting the significance of various influential figures. The conversation then shifted to the artistic history of Toronto, with discussions about the David Mirvish Gallery and the evolution of their respective artistic practices. Karen shared her journey through different painting mediums, while Lester reflected on his transition from drawing to abstract art, emphasizing the importance of spontaneity and exploration in artistic expression.
Karen introduced Stephen Wolfram's innovative ideas in physics, particularly his alternative understanding of space and time. This led to a conversation about generative models and the relational aspects of the universe, referencing physicist Carlo Rovelli's views. The dialogue also touched on personal reading habits and the transformative impact of engaging with philosophical texts.
With reflections on personal growth, grief, and the transformative power of art, Lester shared how his experiences, including the loss of his mother and a cancer diagnosis, influenced his artistic development and led to significant lifestyle changes. Both participants discussed the interplay of culture and personal experiences in shaping their artistic expressions, referencing Jordan Peterson's insights on navigating cultural roles. The conversation ends with a philosophical exploration of art's implications, with Lester articulating the significance of his artistic choices and Karen emphasizing the connection between life and the creative process.
Brantley Vosler is a worship pastor and joins Karen to talk about the nature of meaning as it relates to music, as a language and as a path forward.
Haris, computer scientist, mathematician and student of the classics, joins Karen to discuss the concept of risk understood through the lens of human cognition and pattern recognition.
Timestamps:
00:00 Exploration of Meta-Hypotheses and Platonic Philosophy
07:30 Mount St. Helens and Ecosystem Regeneration
11:30 Quantum Concepts and Universal Fittedness
20:15 Hypothesis Generation and the Nature of Mathematics
28:05 Discussion on Mathematics, Physics, and the Nature of Discovery
39:05 Human Pattern Recognition and Forecasting
51:12 Distinctions Between Teleology and Teleonomy
55:02 Platonism and the Concept of the Demiurge
1:05:02 Decoding Plato's Cryptic Passage through Prime Numbers and Primordials
1:24:18 Holographic Principles and Chiastic Structures The concept of risk understood through the lens of human cognition and pattern recognition
A noted mathematician and philosopher, William A. Dembski is a Founding and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and a Distinguished Fellow with the Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. His most recent books relating to intelligent design include Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information (2014), Evolutionary Informatics (2017, co-authored with Robert Marks and Winston Ewert), and the second edition of The Design Inference (2023, co-authored with Winston Ewert). More info here: https://www.discovery.org/p/dembski/
Clara Gaddie, graduate student at University of Notre Dame in Sociology, has been studying This Little Corner for awhile now, and she took the opportunity of attending the Estuary Northwest Conference in Olympia to check it out, encountering Face to Face.
Ben Lyons recently gave a talk on Michael Levin's Academic Channel with his theory that price in economics relates to Levin's theory of bio electricity as the cognitive glue of collective intelligence. Marcus Shera, expert in Austrian Economics, joins us to discuss this theory and how it might apply to the wider view.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introductions
04:28 Exploring the Concept of Value in Economics and Biology
19:47 Discussion on Cellular Level Decision Making
24:02 Brain Function and Finance Analogy
29:15 Economic Perspectives and Transaction Costs
39:05 Computational Irreducibility and Reducibility
41:30 Contracts and Social Institutions
52:32 Discussion on the Role of DNA in Biological Systems
58:20 Discussion on Subjective Theory of Value and Scarcity
1:02:48 Discussion on Entropy and its Relationship to Choice and Economics
1:19:00 Exploring the Relationship Between Opportunity Cost and Entropy
1:26:04 Discussion on the Role of Price System in Coordinating System
Ben Lyons presentation to Michael Levin: https://youtu.be/0Oo4ng6dWrQ?si=vzfUAjNG6pSqOXmg
Ben Lyons website and an article on Memory in Mathematics: https://benjaminflyons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/memories-in-math-3.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Lauren and Kara were new to TLC and still got up the courage to attend the Northwest Estuary Conference in Olympia, WA. We talk about their experience.
Karen and Cory David Barker discuss the book "Foundations of Arch Disciplinarity" and the contributions of Brendan Graham Dempsey starting with Cory's early life and his interest in comparative religion and Carl Jung's work, which led him to develop archidisciplinarity, including scopes of inquiry towards a broader discussion on the evolution of human advancement and the integration of disparate domains for joint problem solving.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Cory's new book, The Foundations of Archdisciplinarity with Brendan Graham Dempsey as one of the co-authors and Cory's background with comparative religions and Jungian archetypes.
05:19 Universal computability as an archetypal pattern that manifests across various frameworks of human knowledge.
12:10 Universal patterns and their impact on human understanding and decision-making, touching on
19:45 The cyclical nature of conservatism and progressivism. The scientific process as a form of universal computability pattern, drawing parallels between the process of painting and making decisions in life.
24:27 Anomaly as a necessary transcendental function of nature. The categorization of human endeavors in academia, emphasizing the relationship between utility and aesthetic in art and its parallels to scientific exploration.
28:25 The importance of context and the underlying principles of universal computability and the subconscious processes involved in creating art, as well as the historical and societal influences on art, reflecting the unconscious development of a society through artistic expression.
36:23 Recursivity
39:40 A detailed discussion about arch disciplinarity, exploring its connection to universal computability and the energy, design work, and power involved in creating objects.
48:05 The release of the first edition of the Foundations of Arch Disciplinarity book, emphasizing the plan to release a second edition with more examples and stories to bring the concepts to life for readers.
Go to Arc.voyage to read the book for free.
Michael Bull, author of Bible Matrix and numerous other works joins Tomer Solomon to discuss the question, "Is the chiastic structure a literary device or does it reflect a deep core pattern of reality?" Tomer draws on his knowledge of Arthur Young's Reflexive Universe and A. N. Whitehead's process philosophy to discuss the isomorphisms of these structures that keep showing up everywhere as scale invariants.
For more information on the Encountering Face to Face conference in Olympia, WA in September, https://estuarynorthwest2024.com
Michael Bull's website: https://www.biblematrix.com.au This is chock full of great resources.
Previous conversation on Bowtie Structures in perception: https://youtu.be/Iz7yC6Ux0Jk
The paper Karen and Ryan were discussing in that video: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2004.09426
METABOLIC PATHWAY MAP. https://faculty.cc.gatech.edu/~turk/bio_sim/articles/metabolic_pathways.png
Michael Levin, developmental and synthetic biologist from Tufts U meets Jordan Hall, pioneer of disruptive technologies. What's the crossover? Come along to find out!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:34 Bowtie concept in cognitive systems
08:54 Collective Intelligence and Embodiment
17:15 Markets and Cognitive glue
19:33 Scaling
22:14 Mechanisms of Cognitive Glue
24:47 Identity question
25:12 Mechanisms of Cognitive Glue
29:33 What is OODA?
36:37 Hyperobjects
39:48 Complexity and Effort in Biological and Social Systems
48:05 Patterns and Collective Intelligence
53:17 Nature of Poetry and its relation to Consciousness
Can the price mechanism be seen in biology?
Signups for Olympia Face to Face conference at: https://estuarynorthwest2024.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
23:01 How is the price mechanism influenced by collective intelligence?
27:06 What is the role of subjective value in determining prices?
44:43 How does profit provide different kinds of information compared to prices?
1:03:38 Is inflation an evil force that keeps people down?
1:21:06 What does it mean to witness and observe in the context of economics?
Olena and Karen explore specific paragraphs of "Maps of Meaning" regarding the implications of individuality and subjectivity in Peterson's teachings, highlighting the complex dynamics in personal growth and interaction with others as well as the nuanced relationship between humility and confidence drawing insights from the work of Dallas Willard, and discussing the development of intuition and its relevance in facing life's challenges. The transformative power of trust and faith in navigating fear and embracing the unknown arises in the midst of finding treasures in chaos, drawing parallels to dragons guarding treasure and emphasizing that valuable treasures are hidden in difficult situations. Additionally, they explore the dynamics of initiation and response, discussing the interplay between active will and response, and highlighting the importance of every individual's unique expression of creativity as a contribution to the wholeness of society. Because of generational differences, discernment is essential in bringing back treasure and integrating it into the community.
Karen Wong and General Grizwald Grim of the First Ingression Protocol discussed a range of topics, including an upcoming conference in Olympia, WA (estuarynorthwest2024.com).
Conspiracy theories, the educational system, the kayfabe of the American dream, fear, demonic power, and conscious love emphasizing the importance of clear communication, trusted human networks, positive actions, and reliance on Jesus to overcome darkness
Rafe Kelley, founder of Evolve Move Play and host of a podcast by the same name get together to lay the groundwork for a conference at which they will speak in September.
Timestamps follow info on the conference. https://estuarynorthwest2024.com Olympia, WA,
September 12 through 15. Signups are still available.
Other speakers include Paul VanderKlay, Dr. Chris Green, Dr. Michael Martin and poet Graham Pardun. Hosted by Nate Hile, host of Grail Country podcast.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Strength and capacity of human body requires love and sacrifice
01:20 Physical and dialogical practices 02:10 Love as a physical expression
05:00 The upside and downside of transformative practices
12:03 Mindfulness practices
19:11 Discussion of Evolve Move Play retreats
13:12 Books John Vervaeke recommended to Rafe Kelley
34:54 How Rafe got involved in this little corner
37:23 Dealing with fear
41:00 Metamodernism
49:15 Rafe's journey towards an exploration of Christianity
1:10:45 The relationship between faith and works
The conversation between D C Schindler (PhD professor of metaphysics and anthropology) and Jordan Hall (pioneer of disruptive technologies) emphasized the need to bridge the domains of science, philosophy, and theology to gain a deeper understanding of the transcendent and its implications for human identity and the pursuit of knowledge.
Timestamps follow announcements:
Reminder there is still time to sign up for Estuary Northwest 2024, the Face to Face conference in Olympia, WA September 12th or 13th through the 15th.
Signups at https://www.estuarynorthwest2024.com.
Speakers include Paul VanderKlay, Dr. Chris Green, Graham Pardun, Rafe Kelley, dr. Michael Martin and me.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
05:00 The radical nature of our problems are getting us to the heart of the matter.
05:43 The excitement of the synchronicity of unicorns!
16:00 Subject object loop of learning
19:50 The immanent and the transcendent
24:00 Faith as Reality in relationship with us
27:00 The consequences of lived multiculturalism, the global village and Marshall McLuhan 29:00 Challenges of communication across ideological boundaries
40:40 Discussing the video clip of Michael Levin's discussion with Karl Friston and Chris Fields on the idea of novelty and the transcendent. Where does novelty come from?
48:00 Exploring the concept of novelty and the isness of objects. Novelty is not strange (Heidegger) 50:45 Banal novelty and the booby trapping of metaphysics. Seeking a deeper understanding of the concept of metaphysics and its relationship to theology.
58:30 Developing the premise of the relationship between the transcendent and personal relationship with reality. (The nature of faith, reason, and the transcendent).
1:07:18 Recasting the self in the transformative experience.
1:10:36 The principles of design and beauty in art and nature intersecting with the principles of science and metaphysics.
1:18:04 Discovering art as a continuity of contact with the transcendent
1:22:07 The relationship between truth, science, art, and religion. 1:26:30 Announcing the upcoming conference in Olympia, Washington.
Sam Tideman of the YouTube channel, Transfigured, joins Karen to discuss the recent Peter Robinson interview with Stephen Meyer, David Berlinski and James Orr called The Magician's Twin. Info for the September conference in Olympia, WA where I will be one of the speakers. https://www.estuarynorthwest2024.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:06. The Nature of Scientific Laws
19:02 Aristotle's Four Causes and Their Relevance in Science
25:02 The Purpose of Survival 30:04 Discussion on Completeness and the Desire to Exist
42:46 Confronting Anomalies and the Pursuit of Perfection
50:47 Exploring the Christological Passage
59:30 The Nature of AI and its Potential Influence on Humanity
1:09:47 Evolution and Creationism Discussion
1:16:31 The Mathematical Challenge of Protein Discovery
1:21:54 Evolution and Adaptability
Annie Crawford, a classical educator and cultural apologist, discussed her work in renewing a sacramental view of the world emphasizing the importance of this worldview in addressing the modern meaning crisis as it reveals that meaning is woven into the fabric of creation. Annie defined sacraments as visible signs of invisible grace. She shared her personal journey of rebuilding her life and family around a sacramental view of the world, drawing inspiration from C.S. Lewis, Plato, and her experiences in a liturgical church. Discussing the role of moral values in academic discourse, she highlighted the potential risks of falling into postmodern relativism and the influence of critical theory. Karen and Annie explored the idea that embracing certain moral values can serve as a safeguard against these pitfalls and discussed the connection between objective truth, metaphysical truth, and moral discourse. Additionally, they addressed the tension of the "inner ring", the desire to be part of the elite, and the potential moral implications of using it as a motivation for moral endeavors. After that background, they brought in the themes of "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis, drawing parallels to Augustine's City of God and the biblical dichotomy of the kingdom of heaven versus the kingdom of man. They highlighted the importance of patient waiting and obedience in the process of healing the world. Annie particularly emphasized the idea that grandiose plans and rhetoric are not the key to victory, but rather it is obedience, humility, and quiet faithfulness that play a pivotal role. The conversation underscored the powerful portrayal of these themes by Lewis and the encouragement it provides in understanding the role of obedience in the restoration of the world. The symbolism of the head in Lewis's work draws connections to transhumanist ideologies and depopulation strategies. The prophetic nature of Lewis's writings in relation to current societal trends highlights the relevance of his ideas to contemporary issues. The current concern about the significance of AI and the potential introduction of superhuman intelligences from another world reflects on the broader implications of these concepts in the context of science, faith, and societal evolution.
Apologies! Right around 6 minutes, I say Adam Sandler when I meant Adam Savage:-)
Timestamps are approximate.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:00 The Intersection of Art and Science in Measurement
15:00 Tolerance and Precision in Manufacturing
25:00 Viscosity and its Relationship to Environmental Factors
41:00 The Complexity of Science and Empirical Derivation
46:00 Discussion on Thermodynamics and Viscosity
53:00 Discussion on Temperature and Energy Transfer
58:00 Precision Measurement and Metrology
1:06:14 Discussion on the Concepts of Ruler and Standard
1:16:00 Discussion on Measurement, Uncertainty, and Perception
Here's the summary the AI did, which is pretty good on the technical stuff, but the underlying metaphysical implications seemed to fly right over its head.
"The meeting addressed several topics, including metrology and measurement, viscosity, energy transfer, and precision measurement . The conversation then shifted to tolerance and precision in manufacturing. The speakers examined the impact of tolerance on production costs and the necessity for machines to achieve greater precision than the components they produce. They also considered the effects of environmental factors like temperature on machining processes and the importance of measuring components at specific temperatures. Further, William and Karen discussed the concept of viscosity and its relationship with environmental factors, such as temperature, pressure, and surface roughness. They compared the behavior of liquids and gases concerning viscosity and discussed its practical implications in engineering, especially in fluid dynamics and mold design. The complexity of science was another topic of discussion, with an emphasis on the limitations of achieving a completely ideal understanding and the use of maps, equations, and measurements with tolerance and approximation. Additionally, the relationship between temperature and energy transfer was explored, considering the process of adding energy to an object and the resulting cooling effect. The speakers highlighted the hidden complexities of measurement and metrology and the intricate processes involved in achieving accurate and reliable measurements."
Karen Wong and Jess Purviance ranged from their personal backgrounds and interests to deep theological explorations of the Book of Job. They discussed how a deep dive into a specific topic can reveal the interconnectedness and how it can provide a framework for understanding the world. They also spoke of embracing uncertainty and finding faith in difficult circumstances, drawing inspiration from scriptural examples and personal experiences.
They also analyzed the book's relationship to Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, highlighting the unique illustration of Job's integrity and suffering that goes beyond the wisdom books in the Bible.
Psalms and Job are both good examples for dealing with a diverse array of human emotions and experiences, including anger, despair, and praise,
In a look at the role of boundaries and chaos in creation, they drew from biblical references and mythological stories to illustrate their points.
In the next get together, they plan to talk about measurement. In preparation for this, you could watch this fascinating video of
Adam Savage on gauge blocks: https://youtu.be/qE7dYhpI_bI?si=QP80-nxysYLQMx7C
Become New on the "world of perhaps": https://youtu.be/uJwB5OwG-34?si=hVsYWmBDMFJ3Zkqj
Jess' Youtube channel (scroll down for playlist of Job episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@JessPurviance
Christian Baxter of the new Youtube Channel, Yours Truly, joins Karen for an extended discussion of the telos of worship. For a peak at how AI described this conversation, scroll down past the links.
The very first episode on Christian's channel: https://youtu.be/aUbULLbltzo?si=ZF249oYpIyJK0NHO
Christian's first conversation with Karen: https://youtu.be/tSIFpKcE_Fk?si=u62VXLD9EgDwO0s-
"Living Water" by Christian Baxter, with Karen's "Living Water" series of paintings: https://youtu.be/BhTWO-C2pRg?si=t5RBwHTpZK_ZM61R
For the curious sort, here is how AI described this conversation:
"Christian Baxter and Karen Wong had a deep discussion about the evolution of online conversations and the shift towards long-form discussions. They also discussed finding better language for the telos of worship to bridge theological distinctions, the concept of sacredness and worship, and the essence of worship as a continuous practice beyond Sunday gatherings. They expressed a desire for more corporate prayer, scripture reading, and a sense of restoration and remembrance in evangelical church services, highlighting the absence of these elements in their current experiences. They also explored the idea that active engagement in liturgical rituals can lead to a more profound and transformative experience compared to passive consumption. The speakers also discussed the evolution of worship music in churches, focusing on the transition from traditional to contemporary styles. They explored the consequences of this shift, such as the fragmentation of church services and the lack of communal participation in worship. They also delved into a thought-provoking discussion about the symbolic meaning of communion elements, emphasizing the profound significance of bread and wine production processes. They expressed concerns about the potential loss of meaning in modern worship practices, particularly in music and preaching, and stressed the need for language to address the crisis within the worship space. Christian Baxter led a discussion on the implications of the Dunbar number in church growth, emphasizing the need to recognize the limitations of scaling a church beyond a certain size. He argued that rather than viewing the capacity as a barrier to overcome, it should be seen as a practical marker for determining what the church can effectively manage."
This September I will be one of the speakers at Encountering Face to Face, Estuary Northwest 2024, a conference sponsored by Grail Country in Olympia, Washington. It will take place September 12-14 and will also feature Paul VanderKlay, Chris Green, Michael Martin, Rafe Kelley, and Graham Pardun. You can find out more about it here. https://estuarynorthwest2024.com
I'm publishing this video now because it tells more about what these conferences are like and the kind of community you can experience there. Sevilla King of the YouTube channel, A Quality Existence, speaks with Karen about their shared experiences at the recent conference, Quest for a Spiritual Home, which featured Jonathan Pageau, John Vervaeke, Paul VanderKlay and John VanDonk.
William joins Karen to propose some ideas around the necessity of specificity in language, what it means to be "obvious", and how definition differs from description. As Peterson says, tell the truth, at least don't lie.
Karen will be one of the speakers at the Pacific Northwest Estuary conference in Olympia, WA (September 12-15) sponsored by Grail Country's Nate Hile. Info here: https://www.estuarynorthwest2024.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Estuary Conference information
03:00 Laying out the topic
10:07 Importance of Specificity in Language
15:10 Importance of Specificity in Communication
28:02 Intercultural Communication and Misunderstandings
31:39 Definitions vs. Descriptions
45:32 Hemispheres of the Brain and Marriage Analogy
54:00 More on Definitions and Descriptions
59:57 The Nature of Obviousness
1:07:14 Necessity of definition for reality
1:15:39 Personal Reflections on Family Routine
1:18:26 Discussion on Language and Humility
Andrea Hiott, host of Love and Philosophy (sample episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSO9QThuQ6I) joins Karen to talk Failure and Risk Taking
Karen will be speaking at the PNW Estuary Conference In Olympia, Washington, mentioned at the beginning: https://www.estuarynorthwest2024.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro and announcement re: PNW Estuary Conference
01:22 Exploring the concept of failure
06:50 Risk-taking and Development
13:05 Failure and Social Media
20:46 How can we align with the unknown and confront it voluntarily to build resilience and strength? 29:42 The concept of order and chaos
35:32 Understanding failure and how it relates to shame
43:15 Trust in the goodness of God and its role in overcoming failure and shame
43:48 Speak the Truth, at least, don't lie
48:35 Navigating the dance of conversation, authenticity, hiddenness
53:21The effect verbalizing an idea Has on ts original beauty and truth?
1:06:31 Pushing the boundaries of science and creativity
1:08:06 Loyalty to personal interest as it relates to the archetypal hero's journey?
1:16:09 Risk-taking and failure as they contribute to the path forward?
Tomer Solomon joins Karen to talk about his recent paper on an integrative theory that looks at Markov blankets and the free energy principle, the parallels to the creative process and the nature of reality itself. In addition, he discusses the Biblical narrative through the lens of predictive processing and complexity theory, bridging ancient texts with modern scientific and mathematical frameworks. Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:23 Tomer’s background and career journey
10:55 Unified Process Theory of Meaning Markov blankets
25:53 Sacrifice and Unity
30:00 Beauty and its relationship to order and symmetry, the role of art and music in aligning with the patterns of nature.
1:00:00 The interconnectedness of Mind and Cosmos, the Biblical Narrative and Symbolism
1:08:45 Complexity theory and predictive processing
1:14:59 Evolution of Wholeness and complexity
1:42:56 Discussing books and potential collaborations
Personal Website: https://www.tomersolomon.com/
Twitter: http://www.x.com/tomer_solomon
Substack: https://tomersolomon.substack.com/p/uptm-1-a-paradigm-for-the-21st-century
Stephen Iacoboni, MD, is an award-winning cancer researcher and cancer center director at four locations in the Pacific Northwest over his 40 year career. He is also the author of the highly acclaimed cancer care spiritual journal, The Undying Soul. Halfway through his 4 decades as a cancer specialist stuck in the atheist paradigm, he realized something was missing, and that led him to write this remarkable book about the need to recognize Telos.
Order a signed copy or ask him any questions at his website: https://stepheniacoboni.com https://stepheniacoboni.com/contact/ The book is also available at Amazon and most booksellers.
Karen will be speaking at the PNW Estuary Conference in Olympia, WA in September. Info here: https://www.estuarynorthwest2024.com/
We tackle the big questions here:
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Dr. Iacoboni's Journey and Research
06:10 How does the paradigm in biochemistry need to shift? 14:41 Purpose in Nature
32:49 Discussion on the Origin of Life and Purpose in Biology
41:55 What is the role of emergence in understanding the purpose-driven nature of life?
51:06 The Emergence of Telos and Intentionality in Living Organisms
1:01:55 The complexity of DNA Transcription and Regulation. How do molecules exhibit intentionality and self-organization in biological processes?
1:03:36 Discussion on Organizing Principles and Belief Systems
1:11:20 How does the idea of meaning preceding matter impact our understanding of the natural world? The role of function in Defining Structure.
1:23:16 What are the challenges in cancer care and research?
Stephan Solomon of the YouTube channel, Charlie's Little Corner, joins today to tell his story.
Gabe introduces aspects of his theory to Glen who has a background in physics, mathematics, computer science and design engineering.
Ryan and Gabe discuss the overlaps of cognitive theory, psychology and body work. Timestamps are approximate.
Timestamps
00:00 Introductions and Setting the Agenda
04:00 Discussion on Patterns of Cognition and Consciousness
16:00 Exploring Cognitive Mapping and Historical Perspectives
20:00 Discussion on Barbara McClintock's Research and its Implications
23:00 Philosophical Reflections on Balance and Measurement
32:00 Overcoming Obstacles and Staying on Track
36:00 Exploring Hope and Faith
43:00 Exploring the Relationship Between Senses and Decision-Making
47:30 Understanding the Cycle of Information Processing
50:00 Exploring the Markov Blanket
56:00 The Concept of Tension and Balance
You can follow Delbert Larson on Twitter @Larsondelbert or at his website, https://larsonism.com.
The topics you will find discussed there include a replacement for relativity, a new way to produce clean and cheap energy through fusion, a new quantum mechanical formulation and a new theory for elementary particles.
Today's conversation focuses foremost on the theory of the Aether which would be a replacement for relativity. Dr. Larson has a Ph.D. in physics and decades of experience as an author and reviewer of peer-reviewed scientific works. Among his many efforts are three sole-author publications in the highly prestigious journal Physical Review Letters[1,2,3]. He's held positions at well-known institutions such as the Superconducting Super Collider, where he had a leading role on longitudinal physics design, and UCLA, where he was an adjunct assistant professor of physics. He has designed and led the construction of two working accelerators[4,5], one of which[4], a 2.5 MeV electron accelerator, employed “relativistic” particle velocities. Timestamps are approximate. Approximate
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:00 Five classic tests of general relativity
18:40 Layout of 19th century theory of luminiferous aether
31:15 Insights into gravity and aether fields
36:44 The measurement stick and the Clock
45:54 Dirac's idea of an infinite sea o electrons Pauli's exclusion rule
51:00 Affordances and theory of visual perception
55:00 Cubic square model of tension/compression and quantum expansion
Jordan Hall joins Karen for an exploration of the intricate nature of identity and patterns in human development, the fundamental principles underlying creativity and reality, and the philosophical concepts of beauty, love, and truth. Other topics include the significance of unity, harmony, and contrast in shaping our understanding of the cosmos, and the role of analytical processes in understanding these principles. Timestamps are approximate. Links mentioned follow the timestamps.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage
04:47 Discussion on Identity and Patterns in Human Development
12:48 The Underlying Principles of Creativity and Reality Faith and its relationship to identity and development
26:19 Embodiment and Faith, the development of identity
39:05 Covenantal Epistemology and the Pyramid of Relationality
44:36 Faith and Relationality
53:54 Exploring the Depth of Beauty and Wholeness The process of fitting and measurement in relation to Christ and reality
1:06:22 DC Schindler, Michael Levin, and Wolfgang Smith Beauty, truth, and goodness arising from love Relating to AI in a loving manner 1:19:56 Exploring the Role of Understanding and Faith
1:23:42 The Evolution of Science and Cultural Warfare 1:25:30 Relationship Between Communication, Love, and Understanding Understanding the relationship between understanding, hope, faith, and love 1:32:01 Discussion on the Spiritual and Cosmic Aspects of Love and Music
The clip discussing Maps of Meaning and the loving gaze. https://youtu.be/B-fviFKFsw4?si=zM2b63DJoG4qfNCc
Nima Arkani Hamed's lecture on The Morality of Fundamental Physics: https://youtu.be/5aAMJNVmdoY?si=RihvT4pdjYMR348k
Jordan Hall and Rafe Kelley (I quoted from about 31:00-34:00) https://youtu.be/U3omOoJGybA?si=g-0Uz2W2xfvBg745
A wide-ranging discussion on topics such as free will, entrepreneurship, creativity, and the pursuit of truth. The philosophical implications of free will in the context of scientific determinism and materialism. The significance of creativity and the interplay of love, beauty, and truth in the creative process. Connections between the constraints in art, science, and the natural world, emphasizing the necessity of boundaries for the emergence of new forms of beauty and significance. The embodiment of transcendence and immanence, exploring how the experience of beauty and meaning impacts and is impacted by our identity. The significance of having both someone to love and an enemy to fight, and the role of communication and propagation in fulfilling our purpose as human beings. The transformative power of unconventional time signatures in jazz music, drawing on examples from Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck emphasizing the artistic freedom and creativity that arises from breaking away from standard time signatures, likening it to the necessary constraint that precedes artistic release. The intricate relationships between elements of design and their presence in art, science, and musical compositions. The balance between technicality and attraction to beauty in driving breakthroughs.
Listening to Ryan's journey through destabilization to coherence was a deeply meaningful experience for me, as I hope it will be for you. Try to set aside the time to listen to the whole thing as it all comes together in the end. We journey through the laying down of memories (the initial consolidation), the destabilizing journey, and the rapid reconsolidation that brings hope. His description of the eclipse is also NOT TO BE MISSED!
The first two parts of his story are linked below:
Part 1 of Ryan's story: https://youtu.be/QRQwrY2_dqs
Part 2 of Ryan's story: https://youtu.be/WOsAm4B2Mfg
Andrea connected with Karen through Richard Watson. Andrea has degrees in Neuroscience and Philosophy, and a deep interest in Waymaking.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro and Synchronicities
02:47 Andrea Hiott's Journey to Berlin and Utrecht
08:00 Connecting through YouTube
09:16 Mind as Movement and Ecological Perception
27:30 Perception and Artistic Representation
37:00 Discussion on Hegel, Ian McGilchrist, and Jonathan Pajot's work
44:56 Discussion on Attention, Meaning, and Consciousness
51:48 Exploring the Concept of Attention and Measurement
1:01:59 Exploring the Concept of Knowing
1:04:38 Discussion on the Concept of Measurement and Alignment
Kirk Durston and his beautiful mind joins Karen for a wide ranging conversation the includes origin of life, quantum mechanics, truth and reality, art and science and bioinformatics, among other things. For those interested in Kirk's bona fides, here's a link to his story. Scroll down to see his educational background and scientific papers. https://www.kirkdurston.com/kirk
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Exploring the Origin of Life and Information
05:30 Discussion on Wolfram's Theory and the Ruliad
10:25 Coherent Existence and Limitations
13:14 Discussion on Quantum Mechanics and the Nature of God's Knowledge
18:45 Discussion on the Implications of God in Scientific Research
33:04 Exploring the Connection Between Truth and Reality
43:38 Exploring Creativity and Constraints in Art and Science
46:31 Discussion on Engaging with Alex O'Connor and Addressing Challenges to Faith
51:51 Approaches to Understanding the Supernatural Foundation of Nature
Balazs Kegl, AI researcher and host of the podcast, I, Scientist, joins me for a wide ranging discussion of the purpose and the nature of podcasting, and the reason for the and the experience of participating in This Little Corner.
William tells his story and he and Karen discuss the challenges with dating and moving toward marriage in a society that does not honor marriage and children. Challenges of finding relationships, dating, and marriage in modern society How to foster a sense of community and connection in the church for young adults. The importance of community, familial and intergenerational relationships in the church What about reaching out to other pastors and church leaders to discuss the possibility of creating intentional spaces for young people to connect and build relationships within the church community? Should the church consider organizing a co-ed event or gathering within the church community to facilitate connections between young adults? How can we create more intentional spaces for young people to connect and build relationships in the church? The impact of online platforms on relationship building What are the challenges and benefits of online platforms for meeting potential partners? What are the traditional and modern ways of meeting potential partners, and how have they evolved over time? Can we find ways to present abstract ideas and philosophical concepts in a way that is accessible and valuable to a wider audience, including women? How can we bring abstract ideas and philosophical concepts into practical, real-life applications for personal growth and relationship building? The need to practice precision and intentionality in language and communication, and encourage others to do the same to foster better relationships and understanding. The need for precision and intentionality in language and communication
Timestamps:
00:00 Design and Redundancy in Genetic Information and the Bible
02:15 The Role of Meaning and Consciousness in Perception
11:30 Discussion on the Meaning of Words
15:00 Discussion on the Nature of Representation and Connection
21:58 The Limitations of Mental Models
29:47 Discussion on Flexibility, Free Will, and Love in Decision Making
Timestamps:
01:00 Ryan discusses coherence therapy and the positive adaptations of psychological problems. Releasing body tension has led to emotional catharsis through the interconnectedness of specific postures with associated emotions and memories.
11:00 Repressed emotions from college manifested as physical tension in his muscles, along with the process of acknowledging and releasing these emotions, leading to a positive shift in physical and emotional well-being.
16:00 Computer Simulation Concept involving an amoeba-like entity with a neural network that processes sensory information and makes decisions based on memories.
26:00 Understanding the Mind-Body Connection between cognitive and emotional states, allowing the transition between different moods more rapidly. Connecting this insight to Bruce Ecker's work on memory reconsolidation, highlighting the importance of alternating between different perspectives to link neural networks together, emphasizing the connection between physical posture, stress, tension, and memories, and how rewiring these connections can lead to a profound shift in one's emotional and cognitive states.
Insights on Muscle Imbalance and Emotional Release
Childhood computer use led to muscle imbalances and emotional associations with different sides of his body. Work on both sides facilitates dialogue between the dominant and non-dominant sides.
30:00 The Power of Submission and Release
Adopting a specific physical posture, akin to being on a cross, has helped Ryan release tension and confront emotional and spiritual issues. By fully submitting to the posture, he experiences forgiveness, cathartic releases of anger, and transformation, leading to a daily practice of bearing his cross to address his emotional and spiritual challenges.
36:00 The Power of Submission and Letting Go
Allegory of Moses and the Amalekites highlights the significance of the posture and submission in spiritual practice connecting the allegory to a physical exercise, emphasizing the importance of emotional and spiritual understanding in addition to the physical aspect.
40:00 Embodied Cognition and Therapeutic Techniques
The concept of embodied cognition and its relationship to emotional experiences. Therapeutic techniques like EMDR and tapping can aid in processing trauma and adaptive responses. The conversation highlights the complexity of triggering emotional states and the role of the will in these processes.
Embodied Cognition and Posture
Matt and Allyn join Karen to talk about relationships, how to think about them, what's important, and how to be someone others want to relate to. They both emphasized the importance of real-life interactions and integrating these experiences into the dating and relationship process. At the beginning, each one introduces himself and we begin with the question of how to put online relationships in perspective.
Brad joins Karen to talk about the implicit and explicit, how that ties into narratives, and the gift of knowledge that comes from love and results in communion.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Discussion of Topics
04:17 Understanding Implicit and Explicit Knowing
06:51 I Cor 13
09:44 Love as the Endgame, Reflections on Love, Fitting, and Implicit Things
26:49 The Purpose of Knowledge and the connection between knowledge and love 28:59 Analysis of Fictional Narratives in Lord of the Rings, The Space Trilogy, and Dune
39:31 Discussion on the themes of various books, "That Hideous Strength," "Till We Have Faces," and "Lord of the Rings"
58:02 Life as a painting
1:08:50 Relationship between horse and rider
1:13:15 A Woman and Her Horse, learning to speak the horse's language
1:15:00 Brad's story about his Dad
1:18:30 Learning to train horses and learning to Dance with Life
Link to the YouTube series on Til We Have Faces playlist of the entire book, dramatized https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqUNYJ_czWY&list=PL5lO5q9IlqxSk6wp_EI8CGOsBBldeXiTc
I talk with Ian about something he said on Twitter. "Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris were all my heroes growing up. Atheist household, so it wasnt rebellious, but we did think the Christian’s were going to destroy the world. Then two years ago I became one of those “world destroyers."
Timestamps
00:00. Introduction and Background
10:20 Ian Clarke's Non-Religious Upbringing and New Atheism Movement
22:32. Ian Clarke's Journey with Atheism and Buddhism
38:00 Screaming on the inside
45:07 Coping with Existential Dread
48:51 Ian Clarke's Personal Life and Covid Experience
56:09 A Personal Testimony of Faith 59:45. Karen's Father's Conversion to Faith
1:06:27 Discussion on Ian's church experience and family's reaction
1:11:12 The Slavery of Self-Importance
1:16:00 Ian's life now and his new restaurant
Teacher of Philosophy specializing in Nietzsche, Aron van Os shares on topics such as Nietzsche, philosophy, religion, weakness and strength, opponent processing, reality, modernism and postmodernism, ancient traditions and modern science, free will and choice, and Nietzsche's paradoxical ideas on self-discovery, forgetfulness, and stability. Aron shared his personal journey, struggles with depression, doubts about his faith, and how he found solace in music and eventually pursued a liberal arts degree. He also discussed his interest in Nietzsche and his master's thesis: The Pious Anti-Christ: Nietzsche as a religious thinker.
Aron clarified that Nietzsche's hammer is not about destruction, but rather a tool for examining the soundness of ideas and values. He warned against the dangers of conceptualizing powerful people as evil and oneself as good, and encouraged positive self-evaluation and being good in comparison to oneself and one's own potential. Karen and Aron also explored the complex societal issue of weakness and resentment, examining its roots in the power and oppression debate, and discussing potential solutions such as joining a diverse institution and treating others as human beings.
Karen and Aron engaged in a thoughtful discussion about the different interpretations of reality and Christianity, with Aron highlighting the importance of reconciling opposites and valuing art as a way of seeing beyond the objective truth. They also discussed the differences between modernism and postmodernism, and the potential benefits of rethinking truth and finding connections in ancient traditions. Additionally, they explored the complications of free will and choice.
Aron offers a fresh perspective on complex philosophical and societal issues highlights the potential benefits of reconciling opposites, valuing art, and finding connections in ancient traditions.
Can coherence therapy and memory reconsolidation contribute to personal healing and transformation? What role do spirituality and faith play in the healing process? Ryan joins me to tell his story.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:20 Ryan's Story of Healing
09:38 Ryan's Journey to Healing and Self-Discovery
12:00 Coherence Therapy
25:32 Personal Transformation and Empowerment
29:38 Ryan's Transformation and Career Shift
40:55 Finding Purpose in Pain and Suffering
44:15 The Interweaving of Psychological and Spiritual Healing
55:50 Developing Heuristic Models for Understanding the Body
1:04:09 Integrating Mind and Body for Healing
1:12:50 Learning to Listen to Yourself and Paying Attention
1:24:16 Integration of Science, Religion, and Healing
1:28:43 The Interconnectedness of Systems and Healing
Two books Ryan recommends: Ecker’s book Unlocking the Emotional Brain https://www.amazon.com/Unlocking-Emotional-Brain-Eliminating-Reconsolidation/dp/0415897173
The book I referenced at the end (with info on how to do the inner child work) was in Attachment Disturbances in Adults. It’s a textbook, not very accessible, but very good material https://www.amazon.com/Attachment-Disturbances-Adults-Treatment-Comprehensive/dp/0393711528?nodl=1&dplnkId=835a6f9a-05a4-4bc0-8ac1-a9f40146aa79
Alastair Duckworth discusses his book-in-progress, The Golden Extremes, a play on Aristotle's Golden Mean and a fascinating look at how a deeper understanding of polarity may help to heal our fractured society. Links to ideas mentioned follow the timestamps.
Timestamps 00:00 Introduction and Book Overview
07:22 The Paradoxical Nature of Design and Faith 22:39 The Relationship Between Courage and Virtue
25:48 The Importance of Polar Relationships in Marriage
30:14 The Transformative Power of Evil
35:46 The Relationship Between Truth, Goodness, and Beauty 41:06 The Relationship Between Fittedness, Goodness and Unity
46:18 The Importance of Every Part
53:46 The Importance of Implicit Elements in Building Community
1:00:36 The Challenge of Creating Meaningful Brands in Materialistic Companies 1:05:13 Life and Creativity as Polar Dynamics
Rupert Sheldrake and Mae-Wan Ho on Everything is Life:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/IwMWTD-nyck?si=ljcZv4Sfjqjxn2Zx
Part 2: https://youtu.be/9Z5D8v4EYHQ?si=p0sj_lVhR5LAfm2A
Stephen Talbott's book, free on-line
Organisms and Their Evolution - Agency and Meaning in the Drama of Life https://bwo.life/bk/index.htm
Prof. Richard A. Watson Institute for Life Sciences/ Department of Computer Science (Agents, Interaction and Complexity group), University of Southampton "Scientist, academic lecturer, author and…a human - doing their best to live a life well. Research expertise links evolutionary biology and computer science with a desire for personal and societal well-being, investigating big questions about life, learning, evolution, cognition and love."
Timestamps follow these links to Richard's theory set forth in five episodes:
Episode 1: https://youtu.be/zdmY6q2ZWm8?si=EH8J2mUnVPq26SB-
Episode 2: https://youtu.be/8B9eMUvFQc0?si=_ES6UgQEUE8uVDmR
Episode 3: https://youtu.be/krQoXA0pwV0?si=kI3xqJ0t_Z_P-65O
Episode 4: https://youtu.be/B8RnbHWv6n8?si=ta34RkP29REncdtE
Episode 5: https://youtu.be/rbYaM-RTpic?si=TrcApNydRI_6WW1f
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:20 Richard's background.
02:18. The algorithm of evolution by natural selection ca
nnot explain the origin of life, the evolution of evolvability, and the transitions in individuality.
16:00 Dominance (serving the focal point) produces unity in art.
18:18 The physics of guitar strings, frequency, vibrations and the synchronized movement of the molecules.
23:00 The role of context and environment in shaping the dynamics of living systems. The role of tension and stress in living systems
31:00 Placebo and Healing
36:00 Exploring the idea of life as a song, discussing how stress and tension can lead to transformation and growth, and creativity in natural selection.
40:30 The Creative Engine of Evolution, The tension between optimizing and harmonizing within a structure of possibility space.
57:37 Viscoelastic Connections in Natural Induction Networks
1:00:00 The connection between learning and the adjustment of relationships in a system
1:10:15 The possibility of resonance and harmonic relationships in living systems suggests a top-down causation story and heritability of a dynamical process.
1:26:17 The shape and form of an organism resonates with the song that the genes were singing.
1:33:06 A calculus that links shape, form, geometry, computation, optimization, and learning using the language of songs and harmonies.
Peter Berkman and Karen Wong discuss the life and work of Romano Guardini, a 20th-century theologian. They explored Guardini's delineation of the difference between oppositions and contradictions, and the idea that some things, like truth and falsehood, cannot exist in the tension of opposites. They also discussed the philosophical and ethical implications of the contradiction between living and non-living things, and the need to understand and tame the technological advancements that surround us in order to preserve our humanity.The conversation then turned to the importance of context and attention in building things, and the intersection of attention in the works of various philosophers and thinkers. Wong and Berkman also delved into the concept of experiential DNA and how it affects our perception of the world, arguing that acknowledging our biases is crucial for scientific research.
Peter's latest album with Anamanaguchi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqPETi21K8Q
Thanks so much for having me, that was great
Pastor Phil Eubank of Menlo Church in Silicon Valley tells his life story and how he looks at The Great Story. Along the way, we covered a range of topics, including his experience at Moody Bible Institute, and his appointment as lead pastor at Menlo Church. We also discussed deconstructing faith, understanding God, and the dangers of finding identity solely in labels. Phil shared his reading list and discussed the liturgical approach to Menlo's worship service and the significance of life groups in church communities. At the end, he reveals his current reading list and his thoughts on the impact of politics on the church and the dechurching of America. Books follow timestamps. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:15 Phil EuBank's Life Story and Experience at Moody Bible Institute 08:53 Deconstructing Faith and Understanding God 13:55 Identity, Introspection, and the Great Story 17:20 Teaching and Understanding the Bible and Science 26:54 Phil EuBank's journey to Menlo Church 29:50 Adjusting to a New Environment 31:30 Recent Books Read by Phil EuBank 37:12 Exploring Liturgical Approaches to Worship Services 39:43 Explore God and Community Building 42:43 Importance of Life Groups in Church Communities 47:04 Navigating Politics and RealityThe Reappearing Church by Mark Sayers (pertinent quote from this book: "The renewal pattern is composed of four stages through which we progress: Holy Discontent, which leads into Preparation, which then sets us up for the posture of Contending, which then moves into the formation of Patterns that center our lives around God’s presence. A group of people gathered around this process then finds each other, forming a Remnant. The process looks like this, moving in a clockwise direction.” and “In the post-Christian vision, progress replaces God’s presence as the engine of history” Live No Lies by John Mark Comer Genesis Unbound by John Sailhammer How Not to Read the Bible by Dan Kimball The Air We Breath by Glen Scrivener The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt The Great De-Churching by Jim Davis, et al The 4 Views Series, including Creation, Evolution & Intelligent Design (Stephen Meyer, Ken Ham, and others)
The meeting began with Haris Neophytou providing an update on his research and transition period, highlighting his focus on his own research and departure from EU funded projects. He discussed his progress on his monster group theory and an alternative method of calculating entropy, as well as his interest in cognitive science and interdisciplinary research. Karen and Haris discussed the importance of different domains of knowledge in offering perspectives on the whole, and the need for generalists in academia who can explore beyond their domain. They also delved into the world of interdisciplinary connections and unconventional cognition, discussing the work of Michael Levin and his ability to bring together people from different disciplines to have fascinating conversations. They also explored Richard Watson's idea of morpho space and its connection to palindromes and recollection, and how quasi experimentation can be used to study living systems through numerical analysis and simulations. Additionally, they touched on the history of science and the work of Galvani, and how his experiments with electricity and bioelectricity relate to the concept of galvanization in computer science. The group then discussed the concept of different types of knowing, including perspicacious, perfusive, and palindromic knowing, each with their own unique characteristics and examples. They explored the importance of these types of knowing in various contexts. They also delved into the concept of palindromic knowing and its connection to tradition and knowledge passed down through generations. The meeting concluded with a deep discussion about the nature of truth, beauty, and goodness, and how they relate to God's love. They explored the idea of running experiments in life to move towards the ultimate good, and how this can be seen as a personal journey towards becoming more like Christ. Haris shared a personal story about a wish he made at a church in Turkey, and how it relates to his theory of maximum unentanglement. They also touched on the concept of factorization in order to talk about different service spaces, and how this relates to quantum physics and communication.
Turing's work on the chemical basis of morphogenesis: https://www.dna.caltech.edu/courses/cs191/paperscs191/turing.pdf
Dragon drone light show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G1KBu6H6BM
Yves Klein's art, the International Klein Blue https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/yves-klein-1418 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Klein_Blue
A Critique of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) - Scott Aaronson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQa5cu7Ao9M&t=1s
And the actual open letter, signed by 124 researchers https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/zsr78/
Karen and Lucas discussed the book "Till We Have Faces" by CS Lewis. They analyzed the themes and symbolism in the book, including the transformative power of love, the nature of sacrifice and scapegoating, and the protagonist's journey of self-discovery. They also explored the impact of perspective on how we view others.The conversation then shifted to the impact of technology on human connection, since face-to-face interaction is valuable and essential for deep conversations and meaningful relationships. Lucas shared his passion for his podcast where he seeks wisdom by having conversations with interesting people, including his talkative family members. Karen offered to include links to his podcast and other relevant information in the description section. Lucas" YouTube channel, here talking with his brother Aron Van Os who was one of the speakers at the Breakwater Conference in Mannheim, Germany in October 2023.https://youtu.be/Nz6TK8L9CZE?si=nd8dczaPj10a_vm1
Allyn is an ad copywriter by day, and uses his creative side in comedy and sketch writing. Here, we discuss the aspects of creativity that supersede boundaries among artistic endeavors.
Jesse shared his creative journey, discussing his struggles with dyslexia and his love for music and film. Karen and Jesse delved into the complex topic of symbolism in art and music, discussing how it can create a narrative and resonate with audiences. They explored the balance between technical skill and symbolism, and the dangers of losing the symbolic message in pursuit of technical perfection and also touched on the idea that beauty can be hard to define and appreciate, and the importance of authenticity in art. Additionally, they discussed the Pre-Raphaelite movement and its deeply romantic and symbolic paintings, contrasting them with the formulaic plots of modern rom-coms. Jesse is concerned that people have become addicted to the certainty and predictability in music and stories, and how this has led to a trap of authenticity where people want to feel like they are having an authentic experience rather than embracing uncertainty. He suggested that artists and creators should try to find new ways to bring back ambiguity and develop new paths, rather than continually subverting expectations, delving into the personal and societal implications of coping with uncertainty and novelty. They explored how it affects engagement with art and entertainment, and how intentional desensitization can impact audiences. Going deeper, they talked about the concept of carrying burdens and the importance of recognizing one's limitations. They referenced the movie "The Mission" and Jesse's track "The Place of No Return" as examples of this idea. They also touched on the idea of meeting the transcendent at the limits of one's knowledge and the importance of acknowledging one's need. They talked about the idea that it is possible to idolize the call to adventure or the leap of faith and the danger of reducing the size of God by bringing the transcendent down to a level that can be grasped.
Karen and Scott explored the concepts of context, anomaly, synthesis, dichotomies, and deep triads, delving into the complexities of each. They also discussed the principles of art and the impact of algorithms and social media on learning and life.
Matthew talks about his personal experience with adoption and how it has impacted his life, including the practical and spiritual aspects of adoption. They also discussed the concept of the spirit of adoption and touched on the topic of harmony and its relation to biology and the universe, all while exploring the deeper connections between art, science, and spirituality. Matthew shared his inspiring story of adopting four children in four years and how it has helped him embody high ideas and become a better person. He talked about his transformation from a Protestant, charismatic worldview to an Orthodox and symbolic worldview and how Jordan Peterson and Jonathan Pageau have been instrumental in his journey. He also discussed the challenges of adopting children who have experienced trauma and the importance of foster families in providing love and support. Matthew and Karen discussed the importance of commitment in pursuing the good and finding rest in God. They explored how committing to self-emptying can lead to creating a better reality, particularly in parenting.
Magnus shared his life story and explained the inspiration behind his vision for restoring beauty to our world. He believes that the Protestant evangelical tradition has neglected the potential of beauty and overemphasized reason. Magnus and Karen delved into the topic of beauty and creativity in art and spirituality, sharing personal anecdotes and insights. They discussed the struggle of artists to create beautiful art in a world that values edginess and darkness, and the negative impact of modern art galleries. They also touched on the need for a revival of classical values and the importance of balancing contrast and conflict in art. Finally, they emphasized the importance of learning from each other and using elements that create a sense of timelessness and above-the-world thinking in both art and spirituality. Magnus Gautestad discussed his personality trait of being a pilgrim and how it has influenced his life choices, including becoming an entrepreneur. He also talked about his tendency to dive wholeheartedly into new things and leave difficult situations, which has been a trait in his family. Gautestad shared his spiritual journey and how he found true peace of mind in a small International Baptist church in the south of Spain, which grounded him and took his spirituality to a new level. Magnus also discussed the importance of having a vision as an entrepreneur, and how he is trying to paint a couple of visions for people so they can move in that direction. Magnus is proposing a strategy to turn ugly, modernistic areas into beautiful places, starting with small art centers and eventually building bigger urban developments. He suggests that faith-driven entrepreneurs can come together to develop a synergy of businesses and the profit from that will help to pay for the real estate of the church, making it sustainable and easily paying for itself. This will allow the church to be planted in urban areas where it is needed the most. Gautestad believes that the project will work and can easily pay for itself, but in order to reduce risk, the plan is to start with small art centers. In the meantime, he hopes to explore the impact of beauty on environmental stewardship, moral character, and spiritual life through his show, Beauty and the Faith.https://www.youtube.com/@beautyandthefaith
Michael Sartori discusses his vision for encouraging careers in the trades, working with one's hands, building beauty and community.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction and Background08:31 Discussion on Carpentry and Aesthetics13:04. The Value of Repurposing and Connection to Objects20:39 Integrating Faith and Work in the Trades28:35 Applying Practical Knowledge to Bible Study32:10 The Importance of Essential Trades and Building Quality People43:46 Addressing the Trade Shortage and Lack of Male Involvement in Churches49:45 Creating a Ministry for Skillful Men in the Church1:01:34 Job Corps and its Training Program1:04:15 Importance of Practical People in Building New Institutions1:09:23 Discussion on Tectonic School and Michael Sartori's Youtube Channels
The relationship between nature and creativity, the cosmic consequences of not using your voice, and vision always outruns skill. Timestamps 00:00 Discussion on Art Quotes and Mistakes as Portals of Discovery 11:50 Art and Fear and the Importance of Imperfections in Art 19:00 The Significance of the Mustard Seed 28:30 Care only about The Small Fraction That Soars 36;00 The Importance of Artistic Expression 42:55 Overcoming Fear and Starting Small 50:00 Coping with Pressure and Finding Purpose (Perelandra) 55:10 The seed of my next work lies in the imperfections of my current work Books mentioned: Art and Fear by Orland and Bayles The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Lucas and Karen carry on with their discussion of Wolfgang Smith's work and its implications. Links for things we discussed follow the timestamps: Timestamps: 00:00 Intro to Part Three of the Wolfgang Smith Series 04:17 Science and Myth: The Limitations of Scientific Truth 32:00. Why we need a stable myth. The Relationship Between Science and Truth 40:00 Myth starts to work when you start to believe it The Subjectivity of Physics and the Humility of Scientists 42:00 Two thoughts: one on envy and one on free will 45:00 What is driving the contagion of mimetic? 49:30 Wolfgang does not make any accommodation to scientistic view The Power of Myth and Language Discussion on the intersection of religion and materialism 50:00 Discussion on Speed Listening and Progressive Overload 53:30 Critique of Carl Jung and his Influence Discussion on Speed Listening and Progressive Overload The Intersection of Science and Philosophy 1:01:40 Jung as the creator of his own false religion 1:14:50 The distrust young people have in institutions. Reflections on Leadership and Truth Discussion on Quantum Physics and Wolfgang Smith Previous episodes with Lucas regarding Wolfgang Smith: Episode 1: https://youtu.be/D9zkVqhrjM4 Episode 2: https://youtu.be/TU0PjZbavB4 Nima Arkani Hamed lecture, The Morality of Fundamental Physics: https://youtu.be/5aAMJNVmdoY Q-bism, Christopher Fuchs video on determinism and free will (@30:58) https://youtu.be/nSqDMtHoaT0 Gavin Ashenden discussion of Jung https://youtu.be/nSqDMtHoaT0 Four Views on Evolution, etc. (I have not read this) https://a.co/d/3noHB9h “Envy is the passion which causes evil… the first entrance of sin… envy banished us from Paradise, having become a serpent to oppose Eve. For envy, it is not its own misfortune, but another’s good fortune that is unfortunate.” St. Gregory of Nyssa
Lucas and Karen carry on with their discussion of Wolfgang Smith's work and its implications. Links for things we discussed follow the timestamps: Timestamps: 00:00 Intro to Part Three of the Wolfgang Smith Series 04:17 Science and Myth: The Limitations of Scientific Truth 32:00. Why we need a stable myth. The Relationship Between Science and Truth 40:00 Myth starts to work when you start to believe it The Subjectivity of Physics and the Humility of Scientists 42:00 Two thoughts: one on envy and one on free will 45:00 What is driving the contagion of mimetic? 49:30 Wolfgang does not make any accommodation to scientistic view The Power of Myth and Language Discussion on the intersection of religion and materialism 50:00 Discussion on Speed Listening and Progressive Overload 53:30 Critique of Carl Jung and his Influence Discussion on Speed Listening and Progressive Overload The Intersection of Science and Philosophy 1:01:40 Jung as the creator of his own false religion 1:14:50 The distrust young people have in institutions. Reflections on Leadership and Truth Discussion on Quantum Physics and Wolfgang Smith Previous episodes with Lucas regarding Wolfgang Smith: Episode 1: https://youtu.be/D9zkVqhrjM4 Episode 2: https://youtu.be/TU0PjZbavB4 Nima Arkani Hamed lecture, The Morality of Fundamental Physics: https://youtu.be/5aAMJNVmdoY Q-bism, Christopher Fuchs video on determinism and free will (@30:58) https://youtu.be/nSqDMtHoaT0 Gavin Ashenden discussion of Jung https://youtu.be/nSqDMtHoaT0 Four Views on Evolution, etc. (I have not read this) https://a.co/d/3noHB9h “Envy is the passion which causes evil… the first entrance of sin… envy banished us from Paradise, having become a serpent to oppose Eve. For envy, it is not its own misfortune, but another’s good fortune that is unfortunate.” St. Gregory of Nysa
Matthew Segall joins The Meaning Code to discuss the intersection of music, memory, and the fundamental nature of life. They explore the communal nature of cellular life and how it relates to the collaborative effort of human development as well as the importance of intelligent sensitivity in decision-making and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction and Discussion of Music and Memory (Memory, habit, and pattern) 14:40 Discussion on Steven Talbott's book and the art of making choices 17:15 The Importance of Learning and Memory in Achieving Goals 24:50 The Challenge of Teleology in a Materialistic Understanding of the Universe 28:05 Reductionism and Materialism 33:00 The relationship between art and biology The Universe as a Work of Art 43:30 The Value of Pain and Suffering in Evolution and Learning 47:18 The Unity of the Whole and Its Parts 49:15 The Nesting Process, The interconnectedness of scientific disciplines and The Principle of Dominance in Art and Society The role of dominance in creating unity and harmony 1:05:00 The Unique Biological Characteristics of Humans and Our Relationship with Technology 1:08:00 Discussion on Whitehead's Adventure and Cosmology Course and AI Tutorial on Whitehead's Last Modes of Thought Books and Videos mentioned: Evolution and the Purposes of Life by Stephen Talbott: https://bwo.life/org/comm/ar/2017/purposes_31.htm A list of other publications of Stephen Talbott: https://bwo.life/pubs.htm The Master of Physical Life by E. L. Grant Watson (Foreword by Owen Barfield) A. N. Whitehead: Adventures of Ideas (Part 4 discussion of Beauty) Christopher Mastropietro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5hTzorhQys Chris Fields: https://www.youtube.com/live/TOZp_XNYijQ?si=5FWkX6GaXAcDtNTS
In Episode 1 linked after the timestamps, Lucas Van Os gave an overview of Wolfgang Smith's life and his ideas. In episodes 2 and 3, we will explore several of Wolfgang's books. In this episode specifically, we are looking at The Quantum Enigma and Vertical Ascent (the idea of vertical causation). Links follow timestamps. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:00 Between Being and Non-Being 06:00 We are not separated from nature, Barfield, etc. What is the binding problem for visual perception? Key Question Why does our perception pick up wholeness when what we're looking at is made up of a bunch of parts? 8:16 The Binding Problem 9:07 Perception and memory 14:52 Vertical causation and its importance in understanding the quantum realm 31:22 How do cells know when to stop forming biological parts, such as fingers on a hand? 24:00 The concept of a higher existence and forms (archetypal blueprints) in biological organisms, using trees as an example. How do trees receive nutrients and water all the way up to the top of their branches? 34:09 How can the world be intelligible to us if it's all just particles? Knowledge 50:00 Michael Polanyi 51:00 Esther Meek 55:03 The role of the intermediary plane in visual perception and its connection to the corporeal and spiritual planes 1:02:08 What are the implications and consequences of science as a myth on society? Episode 1 of Lucas Van Os on Wolfgang Smith: The Solution to the Quantum Enigma https://youtu.be/D9zkVqhrjM4 Links from Lucas: My channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Lucasvoz Talk with my father (theologian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xk4PwhL_tg&t=44s Talk with my brother (philosopher): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN6_ho6ocDY&t=3s Gitanjali (free pdf): https://www.spiritualbee.com/media/gitanjali-by-tagore.pdf Gitanjali (physical book): https://www.amazon.com/Gitanjali-Thrift-Editions-Rabindranath-Tagore/dp/0486414175 Links with Wolfgang Smith Wolfgang Smith and John Vervaeke Number I https://youtu.be/5G9gk49VhKM Wolfgang Smith and John Vervaeke Number 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lm3y_4a--0&t=4870s Wolfgang Smith and Jonathan Pageau https://youtu.be/WMZLHhjIsHk Part I w Curt Jaimungal https://youtu.be/9M_uFQNDlvI Part II w Curt Jaimungal https://youtu.be/vp18_L_y_30
Lucas Van Os discusses Wolfgang Smith's personal history and begins looking at his ideas and his reach. We look at how Wolfgang's thought intersects with the paradigm of subjective reality, objective reality, transjective reality, J J Gibson's ecological theory of perception and Stephen Wolfram's ideas concerning computational reducibility and irreducibility, as well as Wolfram's proof for the inequivalence of emes. Conversations: Wolfgang Smith and John Vervaeke Number I https://youtu.be/5G9gk49VhKM Wolfgang Smith and John Vervaeke Number 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lm3y_4a--0&t=4870s Wolfgang Smith and Jonathan Pageau https://youtu.be/WMZLHhjIsHk Part I w Curt Jaimungal https://youtu.be/9M_uFQNDlvI Part II w Curt Jaimungal https://youtu.be/vp18_L_y_30 We will continue this with two more episodes on Wolfgang Smith's books and his ideas.
Scott Wallner is a former professional soccer player with a degree in physics and mathematics, extended study in neuroscience and perception, and a passion for philosophy and psychology. Here, we are discussing the concept of tension, both as a force in physics and as a reality in the world of relationships. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Scott's Background, Education and focus on soccer 06:45 Catastrophic knee injury and the end of soccer career 08:25 The importance of family 09:14 The first book that captured him, then his intellectual history and journey towards academia 12:00 Doing the Thoreau thing and Journey to Overcoming Adversity 20:00 The pulling force and restoring force of tension in real life. Surface tension as a restoring force. 25:00 Understanding Tension as a Force and a Discussion from Scriptures 35:00 Dry Land as Stability and Order. The dry land "appears".Exploring the 36:30 Scott's own orderings and icons 38:45 Your future calling you forward. Hope draws. 43:30 Perspectives on Memory 51:50 The Role of Patterns and Boundaries in Biological Processes 1:03:00 Building Community and the Importance of Hierarchy 1:19:45 Turn up your sound for the video clip on Music as Life Discussion on Friction, Tension, and Gravity
Neil DeGraide (Dirt Poor Robins) and Drew Garret (Drewsicology) join The Meaning Code to discuss various aspects of music, sound and meaning. Link to the video about sound and sand: https://youtu.be/wvJAgrUBF4w Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:30 Dirt Poor Robins' new album, and a music clip! 04:59 Is music the least idolatrous art form? 15:20 Philosophy of Music 19:47 Reflection and Symbolism in Music 30:07 The Development of Music in Different Cultures 37:34 The Nature of Music and its Relationship to Technology 43:52 The Importance of Music and its Connection to the Human Experience 52:05 The Metaphysics and Symbolism of Music 1:05:37 The Role of Sound and Music in Understanding God and the Universe 1:21:49 Discussion on Idolatry in Modern Worship Music 1:24:23 The Relationship Between Music, Memory, and Time 1:30:54 Music and Worship in the Church
A thoughtful discussion about the main themes of C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy, including the idea that he was attempting to baptize the modern imagination and retrain the way we think. The consequences of the initial lie in the garden. The trilogy as a presentation of un-fallenness. An exploration of the portrayal of masculinity and femininity in the trilogy. The significance of attentive listening in relation to obedience, citing examples from the Bible. A caution against the dangers of selective hearing in religious language and structure. The complex interplay between worldview, perception, attention, and obedience in C.S. Lewis's works, drawing on examples from his books and other stories. Lewis's portrayal of corruption and spiritual realities in "That Hideous Strength," analyzing the characters and their actions as examples of the connection between political and spiritual corruption. The inspiration for the angels in the novel and how Lewis drew from Dionysius the Areopagite's "Celestial Hierarchy" and Greek mythology. Finally, Ted discussed the importance of daily obedience and faithfulness, emphasizing the need for gratitude and daily acts of obedience in saving the world. Mentions: J R R Tolkien George MacDonald's Phantastes Lewis's other books, The Great Divorce and The Chronicles of Narnia Michael Ward's book, Planet Narnia Maximus the Confessor
Jackson Pitts is a Condensed Matter Physicist and an Artist. He and Karen discuss the bottom up approach, the object, background, foreground, the move towards freedom and entropy, including its destructive and creative side. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction and discussion of his involvement with the space station 05:00 Explaining Condensed Matter Physics and Crystal Structures 15:45 A description of the many body problem 18:45 Reductionism and Constructivism in Physics 22:25 Approaches to Painting 27:50 Discussion on the Anomalies of Painting 32:00 Developing a Style 37:00 Exploring the Relationship Between Figure and Background 43:15 What is worth calling an object? 52:20 A discussion of Jack’s doctoral dissertation 55:00 Exploring Emergent Phenomena and Entropy in Physics Discussion on Quantum Mechanics and Interpretations 56:00 Q-bism 1:05:00 The Implications of Determinism 1:17:00 Discussion on Wolfram's theory of fundamental physics and the uniqueness of Emes The video on qbism from which we watched a clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSqDMtHoaT0&t=1s The video on Q-bism and Christopher Fuchs: https://youtu.be/nSqDMtHoaT0 Wolfram's Working Session, starting around 1:20:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzM3jM7Dtds&t=4976s Sharon Glotzer's research on particles forming crystalline structures with entropy alone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et5KcmdCXRk&t=1346s For a quick summary of Wolfram's theory by Mark Jeffery, complete with easy to digest animations: https://lasttheory.com/channel/ Scroll down for a list of the videos from first to last If you’re interested in my art, and my process, here is a video with some explanation. Jack’s art: http://jacksonpitts.net/watercolors You can navigate from this page to his work in other media. https://youtu.be/f3mSQLDycgw My website: https://karenwongart.com
Karen met Olena at the Chino Conference on the Quest for a Spiritual Home and here they talk about Olena's background and her participation in TLC.Timestamps00:00 Intro13:27 Karen and Olena discuss Jordan Peterson's teachings on the Bible and their impact on faith. 25:45 Discussion on structured vs unstructured thinking and the tension between masculine and feminine perspectives. 32:26 Balancing Masculine and Feminine Energies 43:56 "The Tract Illustration" 45:51 Discussion on Matthew Pageau’s book, The Language of Creation 48:20 Software Engineering and Language as fundamental 58:45 The Limits of Knowledge and Determinism 1:01:52 Cultivating Humility and Empathy 1:10:28 The Healing Power of Beauty and Art
Karen met Allyn Engle at the Chino "Quest for a Spiritual Home" conference. He is a comedian and writer working in advertising in New York City. Timestamps: 00:00. Introduction and Setting the Stage 09:29 Allyn Engle's Childhood and College Experience 15:25 The "dream" and the decision to change his life 28:35 The Importance of Traditions and Community 39:25 The "dawning" of evil and the Supernatural Experience 44:00 Finding the Meta Goal 50:50 Humbling oneself to pursue higher principles Faith RX and Experiences with Church Communities 59:25 Importance of Community and Participation 1:09:00 This Little Corner isn't enough for full communion Humble yourself 1:15:30 Understanding true identity The Power of Writing and Creativity
Ted Stiritz returns to discuss Reality, Knowledge, Hierarchy, Narrative in Daniel Toma, part 2. This is also a YouTube video and timestamps are at the link:https://youtu.be/31IV0iNjUK8
I had the great opportunity to meet Sevilla of A Quality Existence during the Quest for a Spiritual Home conference in Chino Hills, California. Here, we get together and talk about what were for us, the highlights of the weekend.
Kendelle is an artist in the story department of an animation studio. We discuss her career, her work as a storyboard artist and the overlap of the principles of art and narrative in the making of compelling stories. Links discussed follow the time stamps. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 01:00 Kendelle's experience at the Chino Estuary conference 08:20 The Intersection of Storytelling and Internet Culture 16:00 This little corner of the internet 20:00 Paul VanderKlay causes the whole world to settle down 20:45 The Artistic Process and Limitations 24:15 The perspective of the grand story Discovering Justin Wells and his series on narrative and plot 29:30 Collaborative Filmmaking Process 35:00 The Process of Creating Animated Films 55:00 Everything has relationship The Importance of Story Structure and Relationship in Film and Art 1:01:00 How art shows up in science and science shows up in art. Discussion on Art and Synthesis of Disciplines If you're interested in more information about the Bastions of Beauty, make a comment and I'll get you the appropriate contact information.
Nolan joins again for another romp through the space of ideas. Hold on. It's a wild ride.
Nolan Manteufel is an electrical engineer with interesting ideas about how the world works. Links mentioned by Nolan follow the notes. How did the ancients take what they could see so clearly and put it in a story so that the "coding" could be protected over time" Can we "over analyze" or "under analyze"? What is the "correct" amount of analysis? The proper "level" of analysis? The games we play can actually have the structure of generalized formulas. Every story we tell (or game we play) about a system seems to have a source potential, a conductor and a flow through the conductor because of the source. This is the story of electricity and magnetism, at least since Ohm. Another way to see the same story would be that Knowledge is a source, energy/matter/space/time is a conductor, and emotional state(s) equals flow. Another permutation might be that Ideas x real space + emotion space. The circular notion of identity. Force = Ability x Ambition (If my ambition to do something is zero, my force is zero no matter how much ability I might have to accomplish the task. Note from Nolan: "Hans Camenzind is the electrical engineer that i mentioned during our conversation. He's a recent historical character that i admire. He also wrote a book on religion, but i don't remember reading it. Much Ado About Almost Nothing, http://www.historyofelectronics.com/Much-Ado-About-Almost-Nothing.pdf Designing Analog Chips, http://www.designinganalogchips.com/ Another living hero of mine is Forrest Mims III. His books inspired my love of electronics. Also, he was 50% partner in the venture that created the opportunity that inspired Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard! The stories that can be told are crazy."
Glen and Karen discuss how language and computation are tied together, that multiple languages can be used to create a symphony of choices to express something logically and emotionally. Links follow timestamps. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:40 The halting problem, Joscha Bach on Godel’s incompleteness theorem, and the connection between language and computation. 04:24 “There is no deeper notion of truth than proof.” Joscha Bach Patterns 06:20 “There. Is a covenant between Truth and Language.” 15:33 Euclid’s fifth postulate is not decidable Decidability and the equivalence of the halting problem to other problems. Wolfram’s computational irreducibility Rule 110 in cellular automata. 22:30 The concept of computation relates to heuristic rule sets. Computation as a physical process that can be based on formal languages or logic, probabilities, or heuristic rule sets. Example: a recipe. 26:00 Computation is a sequence of choices guided by a set of rules. Undecidability. Computational Systems 39:26 Language, an alphabet of symbols, Russell's Paradox, Incompleteness Theorem, a project to reduce mathematics to a formal system, doomed to failure with Kurt Godel's Incompleteness Theorem. Russell and Whitehead left mathematics and became philosophers. Glen also explains the Barber Paradox, which is related to Russell's Paradox, and how it can be solved by adding new rules. 45:46 The concept of truth relates to language. Glen suggests that truth can be determined by stepping outside of the system and asking questions, Language is a key factor in our ability to ask questions and understand truth. Truth is not just a statement about math and formal systems, but also about people and their ability to ask questions. 56:25 The problem with a lock is that it needs an outside agent. Computation is a group phenomena. Can’t analyze a computational system in isolation. Exploring the Relationship Between Computation, Consciousness, and Agency Alignment of AI/LLM to humans1:07:09 Archetypes are a proof in a non-formal language, a story with a punch line. The Relationship Between Language, Computation, and Truth. Truth can be found in both formal and non-formal languages. The concept of alignment, and how large language models can be hacked by flooding the learning set with false statements. 1:16:50 A symphony of choices. Exploring the Possibility of Creating a Symphony of languages to express emotional joy. Could this be used to solve the alignment problem in Artificial Intelligence?Interact with Glen on Twitter, @wildiris Up and Atom on The Halting Problem: https://youtu.be/t37GQgUPa6k The three body problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20general%20closed,repeating%2C%20except%20in%20special%20cases Undecidability, Part I: https://youtu.be/nsZsd5qtbo4 Part 2: https://youtu.be/FK3kifY-geM Part 3: https://youtu.be/lLWnd6-vSGo Joscha Bach on TOE, start at 58:03: https://youtu.be/bhSlYfVtgww Michael Levin, Richard Watson, Mark Solms, 30:00 to 50:00 https://youtu.be/gjArtj5PIU8
Dr. Jim joins The Meaning code to talk about his life, the Chino conference, the intersection of history and the western tradition, and the importance of context. F=MA and E=MC^2 But it's NOT the same M. What is the purpose for running the experiment? The meanings of things.
Lucas Van Os joins to tell us about the differences between Austrian Economics and Keynesianism, as well as a journey into the world of bitcoin, and how this all lines up with a life of personal responsibility and the freedom to do what's best. Videos and books mentioned: The Dao of Capital by Mark Spitznagel Human Action by Ludwig von Mises Metaphysics of Quality, Maps of Meaning and Austrian Economics: https://youtu.be/B-fviFKFsw4 Money and Reality: The Natural Order of Money w Ira and Brad https://youtu.be/Uwsz4q4Ufk4 Robert Breedlove and Mike Hill series on Metaphysics of Quality: https://youtu.be/pEgpNGfS6XM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuBqB1FCPCs&t=0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwU1zilQagA&t=0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqO3KIq9LYc&t=0s https://www.youtube.com/@drmichaellevin Levin, Watson, Fields: Harmonics and Resonance https://youtu.be/RkkqQF_ulYo Levin, Watson, Solms: https://youtu.be/pMTuWL2vDoY Levin, McGilchrist, Watson #4 https://youtu.be/nWgzWYt5c88 Levin, McGilchrist, Watson #3 https://youtu.be/jdrfx7Z5oo4 Levin, McGilchrist, Watson #2 https://youtu.be/fgnQBD0CjMo Levin, McGilchrist, Watson #1 https://youtu.be/ynHfrfpTH18
Chad the Alcoholic tells his story and we discuss his unexpected homecoming. The mask is to adhere to the "11th tradition" of Alcoholics Anonymous, to protect him from his own ego, and to protect AA from his ego.Paul Vander Klay speaks of Chad here: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxIRyw_wg-PyZ3Biegxx6b69ZuvIABLJuW Chad's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thefridaymorningnameless7623 The basic tenets of AA - Seek God and Help Others. If one helps another, sobriety is possible. Receive help, then give help. The dilemma: the choice between two undesirable options, alcoholic suffering? or seek spiritual help? Why do some choose life, and some don't? We feel powerless, looking for something to connect us to the world, to feel like a person. Addiction is a misdirected use of power, a spiritual malady, a separation between me and my fellows. Alcohol is one of the options to fill that hole, but leads to despair for alcoholics. Misery, deliverance, gratitude. The alcoholic sees a need for help (a recognition of misery) , seeks God (deliverance) and then helps others (out of gratitude).
Justin Wells, maker of documentaries, adjunct professor teaching documentaries, YouTuber analyzing story and narrative, daily winner of Twitter (@onejwells) Justin's Morning Coffee, 7 Basic Plots on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@justinsmorningcoffee Intro to This Little Corner with Justin Wells and Grim Griz https://youtu.be/ivl_SlzbeW8
Chad comes to John with a very specific question. Seeing the way institutions fail when they are lacking or when they have discarded their natural constraints. The dangers of transplantation, transference, loss of tradition, monetization, radical simplification or coercive ordering of complexity. What can we in This Little Corner do to prevent these dangers and to improve our ability to dance the ineffable freedom of jazz and the "snarky puppy": https://youtu.be/L_XJ_s5IsQc Earlier conversation with Chad's story, including the story behind the mask: https://youtu.be/4XdgA1PZO48
Ted Stiritz introduces the work of Daniel Toma, a new framework within which to understand developmental biology. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:05 The flat ontology of materiality 12:55 Introduction and Overview of Daniel Toma's Ideas 22:15 The tadpole wrong face "knows" how to develop into a proper frog face 24:00 Ted Stiritz discusses his background and interest in regenerative agriculture and earthworks. 29:07 Developmental biology is amazing 34:22 Material cause and formal cause The Impact of Human Ideas and Values on Landscape 49:50 The entire hierarchy of the living is about self giving 50:49 Discussion on Creation and Redemption in Art and Construction The Redemptive Process of Intelligence and the Nonlinear Development of Organisms The Influence of Environment on Development Daniel Toma's Hierarchy of Being and the Gift of Life The Importance of Understanding the Formal and Final Cause of Cells Discussion on Toma's idea of the relationship between common human experience and the scientific endeavor. 1:03:25 Dr. William Beaumont's Experiments on Digestion Toma's Arguments on Geometric Knowledge and Immortality of Intellect Discussion on the Whole Being Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
Kyle McNease, Nate Hile (A Grail Country) and Luke Thompson join Karen for a discussion of That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man, two books by C. S. Lewis that speak to our current moment. The lecture by C. S. Lewis that was mentioned regarding punishment or remediation: https://youtu.be/xP4_dVs_Ks4 timestamps 00:00 Intro and Directions for the conversation 08:35 The Cosmology of That Hideous Strength 16:00 The roadblocks that inculcate you into "the club" 23:50 Unity and Diversity 31:58 Virtue terrorism 38:10 What to do about it? 44:00 NICE's sorceress approach 51:30 Venus in her proper mode 1:00:50 Beckoning back to Babel, the power channeled through Merlin 1:15:00 C S Lewis' experiences from WWI and WWII incorporated 1:24:00 We're all cyborgs now anyway 1:30:55 What true knowledge really is 1:41:20 Siloed thinking
Tayo, from the UK, had the opportunity to attend the Quest for a Spiritual Home conference in Chino last month. Finding a family in the community that makes up this corner of the internet, Tayo is especially thankful for Estuary groups and the commitment of friendship within the groups. See Timestamps below for topics covered. Timestamps 00:00 Intro and Tayo's life story 16:00 How Tayo found the corner 19:30 Finding a church 24:00 Talking about Estuary 33:45 Speaker's Corner 38:00 The experience of the Estuary at Chino, the "as if" feeling, the assumption of trust 45:00 John Vervaeke and his 4 P's of knowing 49:30 Another conception of Estuary. Its telos is friendship and the freedom to play. Is there an "out of bounds"? 52:00 Tayo's description of The Meaning Code channel as a place for scientists to "play" with ideas. 55:50 A discussion of a previous conversation with Justin Wells, art and narrative structure 1:02:05 The Meaning Code builds a bridge to bring new ideas into the corner 1:04:00 Getting corn plants to generate their own nitrogen 1:07:00 Tayo's illustration of John Vervaeke's emanation/emergence dance! 1:11:00 The autodidact space 1:13:00 N. T. Wright's role in Tayo's journey 1:27:30 Seeing demotion as an opportunity, the frame of gratitude and humility 1:31:45 God has got His reasons A link to the Justin Wells conversation that Tayo mentions enjoying so much: Documentaries with Justin Wells: Looking Down to Look Up: https://youtu.be/XqOhjRS072Y
Lucas Vos was introduced to Karen Wong's channel through his brother and was interested in her conversations with Wolfgang Smith and John Vervaeke. He was born in 2001 and grew up in a rural area in the Netherlands with a Protestant church-going family. Not interested in church, drinking and partying in high school drove him to ask how his parents still offered unconditional love. His own desire to better himself led him to the self-help section of Youtube, which eventually led him to Jordan Peterson. Links below timestamps: Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:15 Lucas details his journey from rebellion to faith, his interest in history, philosophy and Eastern and Christian worldviews. 12:25 Exploring the Impact of Self-Help and Psychedelic Experiences on Faith 12:35 Self-help as a gateway to Jordan Peterson 16:20 Psychedelics and Christianity 24:58 The asymptote 28:00 The impact of Participatory Practices, Ayahuasca and John Vervaeke 34:20 The power of having a grounded tradition instead of just a spiritual experience 39:00 The benefits of boundaries and commitment in relationships 50:18 The journey toward marriage 53:20 Egyptology - Joe Rogan and Graham Hancock, Immanuel Velikovsky, war in the heavens and a worldwide flood 1:01:47 The Relationship between Jesus, the Bible, and the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Truth found in Chinese characters and artifacts in other languages and cultures.1:07:00 Discussion of Monotheism and Polytheism in Ancient Egypt 1:12:26 Lucas asks Karen about how she became a Christian (conspiracy theories and fear v. Faith and peace) 1:26:10 Transforming through faith 1:28:06 Introducing Lucas’ new YouTube channel on meaning and metaphysics. If you have an idea for a title, drop it in the comments:-) Karen's talks with Paul VanderKlay, a good introduction to The Meaning Code channel. Art, Chaos, Information, Jesus is the Axis: https://youtu.be/HlMgGkwWUNY From Hippie Prepper to Christian Artist: https://youtu.be/ZC03aNsPHOQ Immanuel Velikovsky - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Velikovsky&crid=21KJX4MQQK5Z4&sprefix=velikovsky%2Caps%2C140&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 Links from Lucas: His Ayahuasca experience: https://youtu.be/oGW8piXqFao Lucas' channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Lucasvoz The song we talked about, In the Valley, He Restoreth My Soul - various versions This one because the comments below the video are awesome: https://youtu.be/TunsbrLBxiA This one is fresh and young:-). https://youtu.be/WXJvNfoxskU Including this one because the lyrics and many wonderful verses are in the description section below the video: https://youtu.be/r_a014JObkI And for those who prefer a male voice: https://youtu.be/LL90MDww5Ew The vertical and horizontal discussed on The Meaning Code with Jeremy Firth: Jeremy on Structure and Flexibility, The Two Great Commandments: https://youtu.be/6IfWU3zQRjI
Jump to 3:20. If you want the intro of my guests, start at the beginning. Episode is also on YouTube
Dr. Michael Levin, developmental biologist and pioneer in the area of morphogenesis and regenerative possibilities meets with Matthew Segall, a philosopher who sees Alfred North Whitehead's cosmology as a way forward in healing the rift between philosophy and science. They discuss the role of behavior, environment, time and necessity in shaping life. Timestamps and links follow description. The relationship between philosophy and science is tied together now by the work in developmental biology. Advances in science can help to sharpen philosophical categories. Plato's static view of forms and Aristotle's great chain of being need to be revolutionized to account for the emergence of forms in evolutionary history. Mechanistic science has been successful in terms of instrumental knowledge, but has left out formal and final causes. Whitehead's view of evolution as an accumulation of facts in the past and a field of possible forms in the future was discussed, as well as the agency that is needed to search this field of possibilities. Perhaps the environment is massively underdetermined, but pattern memory can be visualized and rewritten. Finally, Levin posited that "proof of humanity" must be related to the level of compassion, ability and existential struggles that humans have. Timestamps are from YouTube video and will be off by 15 seconds.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:20 Question regarding Michael Levin's view of the relationship of philosophy and science. 06:15 Developmental biology is the key to looking at the relationship between philosophy and science. 22:30 Whitehead's injunction to take self-organization seriously 28:30 Free energy principle and the agency of the environment 28:50 The environment is massively under-determined 32:45 Engineering protocols. What do I need to know in that spacetime environment to most optimally relate to that system? 33:45 How Whitehead might relate to the idea of cognitive light cones 47:55 Anomaly 51:30 Determinism is a side effect of the deistic hangover of Newton and Descartes The Observer is within the world being observed, and has an impact on it. 55:40 Mechanistic cosmology is deism, basically. We need a new metaphysic. 58:30 We are more than just perceiving beings 1:01:45 Every cell is trying to behavior shape its neighbors 1:11:00 The Logos as ordering principle 1:13:20 Ingression of relevant novelty The relationship between perception, agency, and intelligence as collective efforts. 1:16:10 Does the prompting of the oak tree leaf presuppose that the subroutine that creates the gall is already present in the leaf? 1:20:00 When a salamander regrows a limb, is that a memory capacity? 1:22:50 Energetic transmission is a kind of vector feeling (Whitehead) What is the Place of Thinking, Feeling, and Willing in Nature? 1:23:50 The project is the sentience of physics and the physics of sentience 1:24:34 The distinction between control and relationship The Paradigms of Control v. Relationship The Spectrum of Persuadability Levels of Controllability 1:28:50 Ethical considerations and the movement from force to persuasion Michael Levin's website: https://allencenter.tufts.edu Matthew Segall's website: https://footnotes2plato.com Books by Matthew Segall: https://footnotes2plato.com/books/ Michael Levin's TAME paper (scroll down for Figure 1): https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2022.768201/full
Balazs Kegl, a computer scientist with a PhD in AI joins today for a discussion about recognizing the danger inherent in the fears that surround the rapid development of AI. Also available on Youtube.
A wide ranging conversation that includes ideas that come from the following resources: Balazs Kegl's Substack: https://balazskegl.substack.com/p/the-case-for-aligning-the-ai-scientist The AI Dilemma: https://youtu.be/xoVJKj8lcNQ Alignment experiments, here both the text and the video are vital. https://community.openai.com/t/agi-alignment-experiments-foundation-vs-instruct-various-agent-models/21031 John Vervaeke on AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-_RdKiDbz4 Quote from Martin Shaw: "Limit is the difference between growth and death."
Matt Segall weaves together the thought of Descartes, Kepler and Alfred North Whitehead in a deep synthesis with biology, physics, cognitive science and theology. Timestamps in comments. Matt Segall's website is full of great resources, videos, articles, online classes, etc. https://footnotes2plato.com/about/ His article, the Universe as a Work of Art: Images of the Cosmos in Plato Descartes and Kepler: https://footnotes2plato.com/2011/08/16/the-universe-as-a-work-of-art/ Matt's conversation with John Vervaeke from 2020: https://youtu.be/FHkIi1KZ_qk Karen's discussion of sacrifice, actuality and potential: https://youtu.be/6cbq4u2C8dk Books by Matt Segall: The Re-Emergence of Schelling https://www.amazon.com/Re-Emergence-Schelling-Philosophy-Time-Emergency/dp/3659524247/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1YUDK81UL6L8H&keywords=Matthew+Segall+books&qid=1659564534&sprefix=matthew+segall+books%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-5 Physics and the World Soul https://www.amazon.com/Physics-World-Soul-Whiteheads-Adventure-Cosmology/dp/1948609363/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2KBIGXS0BZ3YN&keywords=Matt+Segall&qid=1659564377&sprefix=matt+segall%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-4 The simplification of Wolfram's Theory by Mark Jeffery: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClX6kNQ9Kt3LL6kLd4hC7sQ/videos
Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 05:32 Geeky Kid to Engineer: Ian Glendinning's Journey Ian Glendinning is an engineer from the northeast of England who has had a long career in the energy business. He grew up as a geeky kid, reading Jacob Bronofsky's Ascent of Man and excelling in STEM subjects. 14:41 Exploring the Complexities of Information Management Ian Glendinning and Karen Wong discuss the complexities of information management, from the physical technology mismatch between office-based design and hands-on construction to the need for digital twins and sophisticated models to capture the relationships between physical items. They also explore the challenges of using AI to discover patterns and relationships in free-form text. Managing Information23:41 Exploring the Difference between a Spade and a Shovel and how this difference can be used to illustrate the complexity of writing specifications. They also explore the implications of this complexity in the civil engineering and aerospace industries, and how it has led to a shift in thinking about physical models of the world. 28:09 Exploring the Concepts of Cybernetics and Systems Thinking, including the differences between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order thinking, the role of feed forward and feedback loops, and the functional relations between internal and external systems. The application of these concepts to the example of a watch, and the difficulties of multitasking with multiple screens. Cybernetics 35:03 Exploring the Relationship between Physical and Functional Relationships including the idea that physical relationships are better thought of in terms of what they do, rather than what they physically are. They explore the concept of scalability, and how it applies to metaphysics and pre-intellectual societies. They also discuss the idea of mutuality in experiencing, and how it relates to observer disturbance. Functional Relationships 43:11 Examining the Relationship Between Actions and Beliefs Values are betrayed by one's actions, and that in the last few hundred years, people have become more focused on intellectual identification than on direct participatory actions. They also discuss the importance of understanding the intent behind a piece of information, and the potential for hidden agendas. 46:43. Comparing the Perspectives of Iain Mcgilchrist and Mark Solms on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness They note that the two are friends, but have not referenced each other's work in any published paper or book. Ian Glendinning suggests that the two are both right, but have slightly different perspectives on the matter. They also discuss the scalability of this kind of thinking and how it relates to industrial information modeling..
Karen and Matt discuss reality, transhumanism, attention and habit formation. The Mary Harrington video clip starts at around 25:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufy9t-VLrzU&t=1503s The video w Jonathan Pageau, beginning at about 18:00, but the whole thing is great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbZk_YDex2E&t=2s The video on bacteria I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXWurAmtf78 The prayer book Matt mentioned, Orthodox Christian Prayers: https://stmpress.com/ Maximos the Confessor, The Ambigua, Volume 1: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674726666
Matt and I explore the concepts of rootedness versus stuckness, and discuss how these might work out in the idea of marriage, not just the covenant of marriage, but the way that the idea of marriage is near the very beginning of everything. The summary from AI.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:21 Discussing the Concepts of Being Rooted and Stuck00:06 Karen Wong and Matthew Dean Allison discuss two concepts that have come up in the last month since they last talked: being rooted and being stuck. They bring up a video that Matthew sent to Karen to illustrate the concept of being stuck and discuss how it relates to a parable from the Bible. They then decide to focus on the concept of being stuck and how it applies to their lives. 11:19 Exploring the Benefits of Marriage Over Cohabitation Karen - the advantages of marriage over cohabitation, with Karen sharing her own experience of a difficult first ten years of marriage and the helpful teachings of Bill and Annabelle Gilham on the sandpaper principle. They also explore the idea of making a vow to a partner as if it were a vow to God, and how relationships can be functional and essential like a tree in a thunderstorm. The Advantage of Being Stuck The purpose of marriage and how it helps each partner grow into who they are created to be. 20:24. Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Marriage & relationship Matt and Karen discuss the implications of social media on marriage, using the analogy of the WWE and chair shots. They explore how social media often only shows the "froth" of a marriage, and how this can lead to unrealistic expectations. They also discuss how in the past, private matters were kept private, but in the 21st century, this is no longer the case. 23:40. The importance of pursuing one's highest good in marriage and life. Discussing the importance of pursuing one's highest good in marriage and life. Mattemphasizes the importance of patience and practice in preparation for marriage, and the need to be aware of the dangers of social media in creating unrealistic expectations. 36:40 Exploring the Hierarchy of Values and the Marriage of Heaven and EarthThe hierarchy of values and the marriage of heaven and earth. They explore the idea of a meta space, where evolution can search for what it needs, and the concept of teleology. They also discuss the idea of marriage as a crucible, where two disparate things can come together to form something new. Finally, they consider the idea of the feminine archetype providing the question, and the masculine archetype providing the answer, and how this puts the horse in front of the cart. Hierarchy of Values 56:54. Exploring the Benefits of Discipline and Precision Matt discusses the importance of discipline and precision in achieving one's goals, comparing the process of lighting a candle to the rigors of a boot camp. He suggests that both approaches can be beneficial, and that everyone should strive to find their own path to realizing their own dignity. 1:00:12. Qualifying Human Interaction with the Veil of the Tabernacle Testimony Matt discusses the significance of the lighting of the lamps in front of the testimony or in front of the tent of testimony in Leviticus. He explains that the law exists to help us become aware of our human dignity and to approach the limit between us and God with qualification, drawing a comparison between this and the story of the wise and foolish virgins in the New Testament, noting that the foolish virgins were missing something important. 01:05:32. They discuss the importance of maintaining quality in life and how it is connected to creating energy. Chaos theory and the value of a root in its place. They explain that if you give up on quality, you start to degenerate and that it is important to build habits into your life that keep you on a quality track
Sevilla and Karen consider some of the main points from the recent conversation with D C Schindler and how his work may relate to the work of Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance). Here's the AI summary:-) Karen and Sevilla King discussed the idea that love is the source of all being, and that beauty is the interface with reality that allows us to recognize and love God. They discussed how beauty changes us inwardly and how it is received and transforms the appetite. How the left and right hemispheres of the brain work together to select from the menu of the universe. They also consider the difference between the visceral experience of love and the act of love, with Karen citing Scott Peck's book The Road Less Traveled to explain the biochemical and neurological response of cathexis. The idea of love is different for each person, and it is important to develop trust in order to stay in a relationship. Karen and Sevilla delve into the difference between being and becoming, and how God's love is an example of pure love that does not ask anything in return. They also discuss the idea of perfection and how it is an asymptotic relationship, and how the sophists believed in excellence above everything. They also touched on the challenges with striving for excellence, the personal God versus postmodernism, and the concept of projective geometry. The idea of the yoke, which is a symbol of a voluntary relationship between two people, and how it relates to striving for excellence. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 20:59 What is the sense that Schindler means by beauty? 55:23 How do we differentiate the love of God from the human experience of love? 01:19:28 What Was It About the Sophists That Makes Us Use the Word as a Pejorative? 01:35:03 What is the best way to go in a particular situation?
Karen and Ryan continue their discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic, The Mind of the Maker, using Chapters 7 and 8 as a starting point. Here's the AI summary of the talk. Timestamps0:00 IntroReflections on a message about the hunger for righteousness and how it relates to impostor syndrome. How the law intensifies sin and how Eve chose to fill her hunger for righteousness with the knowledge of good and evil instead of companionship with God. How impostor syndrome can have both a good and bad side, and how it can be used to build the future. 12:46 An example journey of Resolving Resentment and Reconciliation In The Adam Project (a movie), Adam travels back in time to rescue his wife, but instead finds his twelve-year-old self. Through his journey, Adam learns to reconcile his resentment towards his father and to love his younger self. 19:35 God's Love in a Time of Need. Karen recounts a time four years ago when she experienced God's love in a time of need. She carried the scar as a wound of honor for a long time. This story serves as a reminder of God's love and protection in times of need. Exploring the idea of good and evil in the process of human creation
Bruce Ecker, MA, LMFT, Licensed Psychotherapist, joins the Meaning Code to discuss intersections of Coherence Therapy, Memory Reconsolidation and Listening with This Little Corner of the Internet. This episode is also on YouTube.
He speaks of the indelibility of sub-cortical emotional conditioning but also the hope that there is a key to unlock, expose and ultimately nullify the emotional learning that lead to problems in later life.
Timestamps may follow later, depending on how much time I have. But one great quote from poet, Robert Bly:
"Maturity is an increase in the range of conditions that you experience as workable."
Link to Bruce's new book, Listening: https://a.co/d/5W1oIoC
Bruce's organization: https://coherencetherapy.org/contact.htm
D. C. Schindler joins Karen and Michael to discuss his book, Love and the Postmodern Predicament. We talk about the centrality of love and beauty, and of the nature of Being and Becoming. D. C. Schindler is professor of metaphysics and anthropology at the John Paul II Institute, Washington, DC. He is the author of eleven books, including Plato's Critique of Impure Reason, Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty, and many others.
Brad, a mechanical designer with an interest in measurement, and Ira, a physicist working in fluid mechanics with an interest in Austrian economics, join Karen to discuss Roy Sebag's new book, The Natural Order of Money. This episode is also on Youtube at The Meaning code channel.
Along the way, we discuss time, measurement, inflation, economic stability and instability and digital currency v. gold as a standard.
Previous videos with these guests: Brad on Measurement, Part 1: https://youtu.be/iT43zHL2Xp8 Part 2: https://youtu.be/qkDWTKNMI2c
Ira on Economics: https://youtu.be/B-fviFKFsw4
Ira on Jordan Peterson, Whittaker Chambers and Ludwig von Moses: https://youtu.be/xaGqYV8Ohw0
Readings mentioned:
The Natural Order of Money by Roy Sebag
Human Action by Ludwig von Moses
Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek
Reinventing Collapse by Victor Orloff
Financial Nihilism, substack by Luke Burgis
Kale Zelden, English teacher and practicing Catholic, joins Karen to discuss Social Justice, its various meanings and the difficulties with clarity of communciation around these ideas. References discussed: Spe Salvi (In Hope We are Saved, Cardinal Ratzinger) Readings on the 1st Vatican Council - Timothy O'Malley George Orwell's essay on Politics and the English Language: https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/
Karen and Sevilla discuss the concept that God is personal rather than a force,
and look at Jonathan Pageau's definition, including the idea of identity always being one level up. The multiplicity and unity nested all the way up.
This leads to looking at Plotinus at one end of the spectrum and current moves in science, bioengineering and morphogenesis at the other.
Numbers and numerals
Bell curve
Logic gates
Where are they all stored?
God as a communion of love, creating out of the overflow of love, love knitting everything together.
Scriptures that mention the storehouse:
Isaiah 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
Proverbs 2:7-9 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, And He watches over the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness, justice, And integrity, and every good path.
Ryan and I continue our conversation about the elements and principles of art, the creative trinity as set forth by Sayers, and the questions that arise concerning faith, science, principles versus rules and what is meant, creatively speaking, by right and wrong. This episode is also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wHoK6boKLkE
Quote from the Mind of the Maker:
"That being so, how can we know that the Idea itself has any real existence apart from the Energy? Very strangely, by the fact that the Energy itself is conscious of referring all its acts to an existing and complete whole. In theological terms, the Son does the will of the Father... Quite simply, every choice of an episode, or a word [every stroke of a painting, every choice of a color or a texture] is made to conform to a pattern of the entire work which is revealed by that choice as already existing.
This truth, which is difficult to convey in explanation, is quite clear and obvious in experience. It manifests itself plainly enough when the writer [artist] says or thinks: 'That is, or is not, the right phrase' - meaning, that it is a phrase which does or does not correspond to the reality of the Idea."
Video mentioned: The Porous Self v. The Buffered Self
https://youtu.be/n9AB14m7W_0
In this conversation, we are reacting to an article that Gavin wrote in the Catholic Herald about something Jordan Peterson wrote in a tweet response to the Pope, @pontifex on twitter.
Here is the article: https://catholicherald.co.uk/jordan-petersons-twitter-spat-with-pope-francis/
A quote from the article: "What had the Pope written to provoke the world’s most popular psychologist to lay down a Twitter challenge?
'#socialjustice demands that we fight against the causes of poverty: inequality and the lack of labour, land, and lodging; against those who deny social and labour rights; and against the culture that leads to taking away the dignity of others.'
To which Professor Peterson (never short on self-confidence) replied: “There is nothing Christian about #socialjustice. Redemptive salvation is a matter of the individual soul.”
Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen of England, a university lecturer in psychology, had his own radio show on the BBC and now blogs at Ashenden.org. He converted from the Anglican Church to becoming a Catholic apologist for the faith.
The story of his conversion: https://youtu.be/J-3CxAjbVBM
An earlier conversation on ecumenism: https://youtu.be/F3y7gD_2NTI
Video links follow notes: This episode is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZqTA2QJIhTA
Stephen Hurn's background is in software development, and his passion is science fiction as literature and the consideration of truth.
There was so much hope in programming during the '90's that technology would free us from menial facts, but...
The new atheists fought against the straw man of the god of the gaps but failed at explaining the mechanisms behind the world.
Godel - for every rational system (the universe is an example of a rational system), there is an infinitely larger set of true facts that you can ever prove.
Art, Music and Literature offer a way forward.
Literature of the 20th century: 1984, Brave New World, Dune
We need a religious instinct that works against letting AI think for us.
Herbert (Dune) understood the power of religion and taboo. Will we also have a Luddite rebellion against technology? Look at Dune to see where an overreaction can lead.
The mystical is an important part of the human experience and must be aligned properly, towards Christ.
Gnosticism, pride and the sin in the Garden. Right things can be done in the wrong order. You can do anything in life, but you can't do everything in life.
Videos mentioned:
McGilchrist, Watson and Levin: https://youtu.be/ynHfrfpTH18
Jordan Peterson, Jeff Sandefer on Education: https://youtu.be/FEUjcRWfu3c
Discussing Mark's tweet:
The difference between 'being is good' and 'emergence is good' cannot be understated. One is actually good, the other is actually just #Gnosticism.
Mark talks fast:-) You might want to put it on .75, but then
I talk slow, so maybe not:-)
This conversation is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ohd7jDO-PyM
We look mostly at emergence, how faith in emergence tends to overlap with gnosticism, we look at some of the questions in evolutionary theory.
The example of "emergence" we looked at in this video:
How Particle Life Arises from Simplicity: https://youtu.be/p4YirERTVF0
Mark's YouTube channel, Navigating Patterns: https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingPatterns
Ryan and Karen dig into the ideas in Dorothy Sayers' eye opening work on creativity and through that lens to get a look into the principles that lie at the foundation of the universe.
Discussion with Stephen Hurn, Software Engineer for 18 years. Now working on Game Design and Writing, stay at home Dad. This episode is also on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Di_vUSQw-J0
The design process for video games.
Levels you operate in. Mechanics (the interaction with the user) up through Dynamics to aesthetic. Aesthetic (idea) informs the process and gets communicated through mechanics. That's the meaning layer.
Quaternion Mathematics, 3-D software, triangles and measures
Code is like a plan for the house. The computer builds the house based on the plan. Computer hardware is the atom level (Intel and AMD have different hardware, but a level up they can talk to each other) Each level up is to solve different kinds of problems.
Hardware is converted to electrical signals, displaying the image on the screen. The level of the user interacting is the most important level. That's where the meaning is. Materialists think you can go from the bottom up, but the top level is the most important. User centric view in software.
Every artist wants to communicate. The things you do are an attempt to communicate what you are seeing to the rest of the world.
Accuracy. The God object - an anti-pattern. Software engineers follow patterns that become apparent in the world much as mathematicians see mathematics already there in the universe that can be used by us. There are good and bad ways to write code. Actual patterns emerge from the languages themselves and the way they interact with the hardware.
There are better ways (preferred ways) to map the higher level to the lower level. There are divine patterns, and then there are evil patterns. The focus on accuracy or simplicity gives you a code that is as simple as it needs to be but no simpler. On the other side is the one great piece of code that fails because it is so convoluted and twisted that you can fix one bug and three more appear. Equivalent to the Tower of Babel. Too big not to fail.
Don't touch it. It's likely to break. If you break it, it's hard to fix. Code is written for programmers to understand. The computer, on the other hand, will run (execute) anything it's been programmed with.
Excellent coding book: Design Patterns: The Big Four
Michael and Karen discuss a lecture James Lindsay gave on the dangers of the philosophies that have captured the present moment. We try to thread the needle through the truly beneficial part of James' lecture and the parts where he might be speaking outside his expertise.
Matt, philosopher/author/person discusses Reality with Karen..
Three perspectives on the meaning of a paper clip:
The avant garde
The creative
The good/useful
The multi-aspectuality of cognitive science.
The thread that ties reality together S
ynoptic Gospels - St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Gregory of Nysa
We are portions of God.
The habit of Scripture is to say.
What is a skill? We are mimicking the habit of our chosen profession
The sublime pedantic
Can one ever really "come back" from a psychedelic trip?
Hegel - Negation and affirmation. You're always right and you're always wrong.
Until you have the "now" straight, you can't think about a practice.
Distinctiveness v. the common
The human being is a microcosm of the macrocosm.
Counterfeits
Heretic
Participation is not optional
We have the evidence of the habit.
We have to eat and sleep - not beyond that.
Ascetic practices. Even the discipline of going to work every day is an ascetic practice.
Orthodoxy is Paradoxy.
Jesus ascended the cross as a king stepping up to His throne.
If it's not real, it's not real. If it is real, whatever it relates to becomes real.
Children like order.
We can approach these wonderful things without falling into sentimentality.
To a perennial problem, there is a perennial innocent.
The human being - the land - the promise. The land being defiled - redeeming the land.
We're not disposable. We're not going anywhere. The land lies fallow.
Order consists of beginning, middle, end. Don't attach to a practice a guaranteed end. When we don't give up, we're reflecting God.
Beware of worshipping at the wrong altar.
Michael Clarage, PhD Physics, (Electric Universe, Safire Project)
Michael Martin, PhD Literature (poet, biodynamic farmer, author of Submerged Reality
join Karen to discuss the need for science to acknowledge qualitative as well as quantitative observations.
Ryan is a software developer who often has the conversation with his colleagues about the big questions underlying software development. Where does the system live? The real system corresponding to the meaning, and the hardware corresponding to the matter. This episode can also be found as video at YouTube:
https://youtu.be/5rDsJOs1zWk
Software designers will often discuss a project they are working on by saying, "It seems like it wants to do X" as though the program itself has some sort of agency. What is really happening in these attempts at communicating abstract levels without the input of narrative?
Sevilla King joins Karen for what will be a monthly get together discussing opponent processing, quality and the nature of ultimate reality. Today's conversation focuses on these Clips from Jordan Peterson/John Vervaeke video. This podcast also available on YouTube @ https://youtu.be/S5JpOaDazoo
A Conversation So Intense It Might Transcend Time and Space
https://youtu.be/IZ-tHaHfB8A
Timestamp from JBP video: 59:50 How decision weighting corresponds to choice in art and the cosmos
Timestamp from JBP video: 1:02:30 How symphonic music describes the layout of the universe and its relationship to ultimate reality
Relevance Realization
Decision Weighting
multi-dimensional opponent processing
The convergence of conjugate dualities
The coincidence of opposites and proportion in art
Links after notes on our talk: tightening up a definition of entropy and exploring computational theory and emergence and their underlying implications. When anomalies show up, a new physics is needed. Entropy is more qualitative than quantitative. No creativity without entropy. It takes excess energy to get things over the hump and energy to create order and to maintain order. You can only play the deconstruction game once. Irreversibility is a fundamental aspect of the universe. The universe is fundamentally irreversible. The 2nd law is not driving time but is a consequence of that. The laws of physics appear to be reversible, but is that just a function of the continuous and differentiable functions that physics is using to do the calculations? Physics is always creating mathematical models that describe what we see in the universe around us, not what it is actually doing. Computation: the simplest system is a finite state machine. The memory of the past is gone. Shows irreversibility in computation. Landauer's principle, Landauer's eraser. When you go through a logic gate, you lose information and entropy has gone up. Transistors need to be in a very specific order to be useful. Emergence crosses a barrier when something complicated becomes simple again.
One of the better popular science video channels that tries to tackle the deeper questions in physics. “PBS Space-Time,” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_gcs09iThXybpVgjHZ_7g
“Turing machines explained visually, (8:45-duration)” https://youtu.be/-ZS_zFg4w5k “LEGO Turing Machine, (2:22-duration)” https://youtu.be/FTSAiF9AHN4
“Computers Without Memory – Computerphile, (8:51-duration)” https://youtu.be/vhiiia1_hC4
“Understanding Consciousness | Rupert Sheldrake, George Ellis, Amie Thomasson, (43:40-duration)” https://youtu.be/c-QOlTD0YHo
“Closer to Truth, the PBS/public television series on cosmos, consciousness and meaning…,” https://www.closertotruth.com/search/site/emergence
And for those who are more book oriented, and have had no previous exposure to the subject of Emergence, this collection of essays would be an excellent place to start. “The Re-Emergence of Emergence: The Emergentist Hypothesis from Science to Religion,” https://www.amazon.com/Re-Emergence-Emergence-Emergentist-Hypothesis-Religion/dp/019954431X
Phillip Clayton, here’s the real bombshell that the physics of Emergence throws into theology, link to https://www.closertotruth.com/series/why-emergence-significant and listen to his segment posted there.
“What Exists is Not Only Physical | George Ellis,” https://youtu.be/Zx3F73po4YE?t=5
Whole 6 Part series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
For full visuals of the movie, see this on Youtube: https://youtu.be/6r8EZwQ7TVg
Moviemaker and musician, Neil DeGraide of Dirt Poor Robins, discusses
Concept Art, Music and Narrative
and the differences between desire and identity.
Politicized propaganda art.
The Cosmic Image
The dual problems: Bottom up - appetites rule (ex: gluttony) Top down - mind forces perception (ex: anorexia)
This could all be a symphony It is showing us something.
In the Incarnation, the unseen is mediated at a level we can see. Pattern is coherent. Each day is a fractal of the whole of life.
Time is not a construct. It is a warm, personal human category.
All the secrets of God are being mediated through mankind.
God made the world intelligible. S
in is a disease and God is not a bean counter.
Reflecting on Mcgilchrist: RH = tradition, LH = renewal
Art can break people's hearts and put them back together in a more beautiful way. The need for teleology The need to fill the culture with Beauty
Glen gives a physicist's view of what is necessary to create a life form. In this episode, we touch on entropy and theory of computation, Link to playlist of all 6 episodes follows notes.
Intro to Theory of Computation link: https://youtu.be/58N2N7zJGrQ?t=466 Misunderstood Nature of Entropy link: https://youtu.be/kfffy12uQ7g?t=140
Digital Smell video link on key in lock mechanism in neurons: https://youtu.be/NsqsEni2uE4?t=3284
Getting Entropy right is important Intelligence as a modifier: intelligently behaved systems, systems that demonstrate intelligence, acting intelligently. Simplest computational structure - a state machine The universe of keys is the universe of consciousness of the lock. What information is useful to you. The key has a profile. The lock mechanism has a model of what it's looking for. The computation is comparing the model with the key. Dance is an example of a learning that has been incorporated into your fabric where you no longer have to think about it. The correspondence between the mechanical side and a language. Using a language like Verilog, an abstract idea can be turned into traces on a silicon disc and instantiated in the real world. The theory of computation - abstract half and physical half. Set theory. Computational systems and a hierarchy of languages. The system recognizes a language. How do we get to an artificial non-biological life form?
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Cast it into the language of computation and it will tell you what the structure will look like?
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Self-sustaining (harvests energy, feeds itself)
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Be able to reproduce.
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Find a chemical that acts as a logic switch.
Using proteins as a logic gate? Life happens because proteins can fold in a certain way. RNA polymerase transcribes the DNA. The protein molecule is built intelligently. Next episode we will discuss Emergence. Also the possible combinations of deterministic and predictable, unpredictable, indeterministic. DNA is encoded information. If something is using the information, the system defines what is useful.
Whole 6 part series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
Glen, the physicist, and Karen, relentlessly curious, continue to tackle the Nature of Life. Apologies in advance for the sound problems with the imported video. Mercifully, it's less than half a minute, so persevere and you will be rewarded.
Scroll down for video links plus playlist to entire series of 6 episodes.
Going forward, we will do a short intro that tackles another view of entropy, and then will move on to the fundamental nature of computation. In this video, we discuss thermodynamics, entropy (the process of converting one form of energy to another - the traffic laws for that process). Next time, we will discuss the aspect of counting states (from Boltzmann) The mathematics of the free energy principle is impenetrable, but nevertheless useful as a paradigm. In systems doing work internally, free energy tends to a minimum, entropy tends to a maximum. In physics, finding equivalent equations of state allows you to compute a solution.
Looking for a.non-biological definition of life. Markov blankets, markov boundaries - a description of connectedness as opposed to dispersion. Boundaries can be functional, not just physical. Openness of boundaries - permeability. Plus, there needs to be an immune system that keeps from breaking up the group. Persistence over time is another hallmark of life.
The boundary persists over time. Also a hallmark of strong emergence. Sensory states: asking questions. Making a measure of its environment. Active states: making a choice in responding to the information. What's in between are the inferences, the if/else/then, the decision matrix. Pop the hood and see what's underneath. Computation. Your senses are always looking for anomalies - for what has changed.
The free energy principle as applied to AI - cost function, reward function, potential energy function. Macro states are defined by thermodynamic variables. The fundamental thing is the second law of thermodynamics.
The concept of entropy was determined later as a mathematical way of describing the process of change in things. (In other words, entropy is not disorder, only defined as a change in things).
HOMEWORK: Contemplate a key in a lock as an example of an intelligent system. Consider the lock mechanism is asking a question of the key. What shape are you? If the shape is correct, the lock opens. Intelligence is required, but the intelligence is built into the system itself. Inserting the key in the lock represents the sensory states. Unlatching or latching represents the active states. In between is the if/else/then built into the system by some intelligence.
Next time, we will dive more deeply into entropy, then move on to computation, analyzing Paul Davies' idea of life as information. Glen would say that computation is more fundamental than information. We tried to watch 7:50 to 8:15 -
Entropy is not Disorder https://youtu.be/vX_WLrcgikc
Free Energy Principle with Karl Friston: https://youtu.be/NIu_dJGyIQI
Whole 6 part series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
The nature of the origin of life from the standpoint of a specific shared set of definitions of terms, We recap Episode 2 definitions of complexity, chaos, order, and entropy, + a deep dive into the history of entropy and its importance.
Thermodynamic systems,
Kolmogorov complexity measure
Crossing the boundary to the outside, complexity is greatly reduced in terms of how you interact with it. Once boundary is crossed complexity transforms. Chaos can be looked at in various ways - from an archetypal context to an emotional state to the strict definition it has within physics.
In disorder, there is a reference point you can go back to, but in chaos, there is no reference point.
The matrix of predictability and determinism. Deterministic but not predictable describes chaotic systems
Unpredictable and non-deterministic - a true random number generator
Predictable but non-deterministic - a computer running a program (there's some intelligence out there that we are responding to) Information - Julian Barbour article, Bit from It. In the Shannon sense - how many bits In the sense of telling you something useful (i.e. tall or short, which can encompass a lot of different states. Yes/No questions don't necessarily map to number of states. In the sense of black holes, holographic principle. In the sense of semantic information
Chaos - strange attractors are acting in phase space. Order coming. out of chaotic systems (unpredictable, but bounded)
Shapes in multiple dimensions. Brain doesn't see the world the way Mother Nature sees it. Entropy definitions are incomplete. Ex: a measure of disorder, a measure of number of states -
Boltzmann, Joule, Carnot, Clausius
Entropy is a bookkeeping device to make sure that you don't violate Carnot's principle. How much free energy depends on the difference between hot and cold. Entropy is the mileage indicator for the disorganization, not the disorganization itself.
Carnot - The max efficiency is T hot minus T cold divided by T h Kelvin - perfect engine Clausius - perfect refrigerator
Entropy is. qualitative metaphysical statement. Can't go backwards. Does the arrow of time only move forwards because of entropy? Or does the second law occur (does entropy always increase) because the arrow of time already has a direction? People assume science is a step by step process - but you stare at it for a long time, and then one day, the answer comes.
Qualitative boundary between the inside and the outside. Inside: thermodynamic entropy ( states/probabilities/energies) tends to maximum disorder, only works at thermal equilibrium Probability of going. back is vanishingly small. Outside: Out of equilibrium will tend towards a new equilibrium and tend towards maximum forgetfulness. You can't go back because you have no idea where came from. (self-organized criticality & complexity economics. Any living system will degrade over time.
When complexity on the inside is hidden, you're dealing with a simple object (emergence. Weak emergence -boundary is artificial - cylinders, pistons, etc. Strong emergence - system is making its own boundary (self-organizing, maintaining its own boundary.
Playlist for the whole 6 part series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
Glen explains his perspective on the physics terminology that is vital to exploring what life is and what it isn't. Glen's view from physics interacts with Karen's view from art at such intersections as boundaries, constraints, limitations and anomaly.
Playlist for all 6 episodes follows notes.
Next episode, Glen will talk about Science with a capital S. If you want to prepare for the discussion, watch these two videos:
Cargo Cult Science with Richard Feynman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvfAtIJbatg&feature=youtu.be
The Morality of Fundamental Physics https://www.cornell.edu/video/nima-arkani-hamed-morality-fundamental-physics
Other videos with helpful information:
Reversing entropy https://youtu.be/KR23aMjIHIY
Maxwell's Demon https://youtu.be/favrMbfi1Pw
John Wheeler paper he referenced: https://philpapers.org/archive/WHEIPQ.pdf Playlist for the whole 6 part series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
John Vervaeke, Wolfgang Smith and Richard Smith begin with a discussion of relativism and what we can do about its negative aspects. Then begins a wide ranging discussion of the tripartite macrocosm and the tripartite microcosm and the overlap between John's work and Wolfgang's work.
Many book recommendations included in the timestamps. Fuller bios of Dr. John Vervaeke, Dr. Wolfgang Smith and Dr. Richard Smith in previous conversation: https://youtu.be/5G9gk49VhKM
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
03:35 JV Discussion of Cultural Relativism; the limits of cultural frameworks
05:30 JV Plato is well aware of he many aspects of any object, even the visual aspect A through line is that which binds the aspects together. The Platonic framework All organisms are varied - a universal process has produced the variation
08:30 WS Relativism is intimately connected with the Cartesian bifurcationism (my res cogitates is different than yours). In today’s world, we are trained to be disrespectful
11:20 JV Relativism exacerbated by Des Cartes. Lack of respect. Elevation of subjectivity to be half of ontology has been problematic Clark’s Explorations of Metaphysics. Kant never gave an argument for the possibility of understanding other human beings. Wittgenstein: There is ‘no private language’. If there were a private language, you couldn’t be corrected.
15:45 WS Respect is a sine qua non for all else. Today, we create skeptics, critics, always negative to the consensus. To find Truth, one needs to start with sane human attitudes.
21:15 JV Nietszche, Freud, Marx have given us the hermeneutics of suspicion. Palo, Merleau Ponti, J. J. Gibson are giving us a hermeneutics of disclosure. Beauty as disclosing reality. What is needed is this kind of dialogic format focused on the hermeneutics of beauty. An ability to follow the through line.
27:00 Many truths are only disclosed to us when we are willing to go through a transformative process. “Not just erudite, but wise.” Wolfgang Smith
30:15 WS You need to have a certain access to the truth before you get more truth. Contemporary teaches to doubt and question everything, so young people are deprived of truth.
33:00 JV That which is most real has intelligible coherence. And the opposite of that, held in tension to the first, is that the real is simultaneously what surprises, shocks, startles us. We need to live a stance as finite transcendents. Reality discloses itself in our finitude. Myths of heroism so we don’t despair of our finitude v. Myths of hubris so that we are constantly aware of our mortality.
38:11 WS The Platonic program - Platonists regarded the intermediary realm to be inherently mathematical (geometry) Sidereal/ planetary / terrestrial Seeing with the eye of the intellect
51:00 JV Difference between Platonism and Neo-Platonism (a continuity between Aristotle and Plato Tripartite in John’s understanding: Nous: The intelligible is that which is accessible only through the nous. Sensible: Corresponds to the corporeal Imaginal: Rituals link the intellect (the nous) and the sensible.
57:15 JV Realizing the through line - theory All the appearances have a throughline that points to something beyond.
1:00:30 JV This all has to translate into me becoming wiser
1:00:59 Geometry, the imaginal, the intermediary, the Pythagoreans, Proclus, theurgia, liturgy. Yogic transition of the imaginal and geometric traditions. Intermediary includes both the intellect and the imaginal
Sacred geometry Truth and Reality Reverence and Virtue
Thomas Taylor’s Commentary on the Timaeus
Eric Perl’s Theophany: the Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius
Thomas Cheetham’s All the World is an Icon
Karen and Glen in Episode 1 of the series which will explore the question, What is Life? Future episodes will cover Thomas Kuhn and paradigms, Complexity v. Simplicity, Landauer's Principle, and a general overview of the meaning of and interactions between Entropy, Energy and Information. Playlist for all episodes follows notes.
Nima Arkani Hamed video: https://youtu.be/5aAMJNVmdoY Hamed is an alpha dog in theoretical particle physics. It took courage for him to address the nature of morality and truth in relation to physics. He came to the conclusion that there is an objective Reality which is Truth with a capital T, and it is both knowable and accessible. In order to do physics, you have to believe that there is an objective reality. Hamed is on the periphery of the question of how we approach the perfect. You have to accept its pronouncement on you. You may work your whole life on a theory only to have someone else demolish it, and you will have discovered that your theory did not accord with Reality.
Paul Davies video: https://youtu.be/GCD1ZT4IgAY (27:00 or 28:00) Brian Miller video: https://youtu.be/YAXiHRPZz0s How does life begin? Paul Davies' assumption is that physics has nothing to say about the matter, because physics uses the language of matter and energy and forces, while biology uses the language of information, coding, instructions. To start working on a design problem, you need a set of design specifications. In this case, we need a non-biological definition of life. To do so we must explore the interface of Entropy, Information and Thermodynamics. All of the arguments against the theory that biology was the basis for first life are statistical. Given the improbabilities, there's just not enough time. Maxwell's demon might be a fruitful approach. Has anyone worked out a way to create a Maxwell's demon using a chemical process? Every compression algorithm needs an error checking mechanism and a key to read it. The error checking mechanism is effective only if you keep all the parts together. The Whole is greater than the Sum of the parts. In the same way, God's Word has a built in error checking device which will always keep you from error if you are familiar with the whole Word and don't dispose of some part of it or take some part of it out of context. Jordan Peterson doesn't take Scripture literally. He takes it seriously. Glen takes it very seriously. Everything has a boundary, an inside and an outside. Entropy is only observable from the outside. Physicists talk about the black box view which is the external view, how the user interacts with the system. The white box view is the internal view, the internal workings of the system contained on the inside and not connected to the outside.
PLAYLIST for the whole 6 part series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
Brad and Karen dive deeper into the implications of "measuring up" and the balance between mercy and judgment.
For the full YouTube, see here: https://youtu.be/qkDWTKNMI2c
We discuss the aspect of comparison, relationships between binaries, Iain McGilchrist's work on the two brain hemispheres, the role of the observer, etc. Link to Part 1 follows the timestamps.
Timestamps
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:15 Navigating between two binaries, example: justice and mercy
00:02:50 Migraines that shut down the left hemisphere, comprehending and apprehending
00:08:30 Training horses, the blessing of anomaly, learning to listen with the right hemisphere
00:10:00 Left hemisphere gives us speech, so a truth, once spoken, becomes a lie. 00:11:20 Finding practical meaning in this little corner
00:12:37 Comparing wavelengths, frequencies is what we do, a kind of measurement, at multiple levels and over time.
00:14:30 The observer changing what is observed. The feedback loop.
00:16:30 Hiking in the Maui Rainforest is contact with reality.
00:20:30 Thoughts on the measurement problem and its practical implications 00:23:00 We are also being observed, always. We shape the arena, the arena shapes us.
00:31:00 The incarnation of Christ in us, the triad of Love (intention, communication and action)
00:40:30 Having a question and balancing that with living real life
00:50:28 Was Eve trying to become the Observer? Things have to measure up to my expectations. Unravels the web of Love.
00:59:20 Action as the missing piece
01:06:30 The perils of providing good content
01:14:15 We are comparing frequencies or wavelengths related to context in art 01:23:00 Agape and action
01:24:20 Loving
Measurement Problem, Part 1 The Ideal is a Judge: Gauge Blocks and the Requirement to Measure up. https://youtu.be/iT43zHL2Xp8
Jonathan Pageau joins for a conversation with Dr. Wolfgang Smith and Dr. Richard Smith about icons, symbolism and our connection to the Divine. Links to books and articles mentioned will follow the timestamps.
Timestamps
00:00 Opening chitchat
01:20 Intro
05:30 Wolfgang Smith’s Tripartite Cosmos icon
12:00 Jonathan’s question about the icon
20:15 Examples of 3 dimensional versions
28:50 Jonathan’s icons
42:40 Wolfgang responds to question about the aeviternal realm
45:20 Jean Borella quote as an opening to the question of the symbolism of the Cross
53:20 The connection to the Divine is what fill it with Reality, bringing up into Glory
1:05:30 Without an identity, you can’t measure anything. Identity is a gift.
1:15:30 The cup, the apple, identity and coherence over time an Wolfram’s Theory
1:19:30 Obstacle is the gift
1:27:50 The introduction of perspective in sacred art
1:31:20 Wolfgang is encouraged meeting Jonathan
Wolfgang's books (selected out of a long list)
The Vertical Ascent
The Quantum Enigma
Cosmos and Transcendence
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions
The new physics by Stephen Wolfram: https://wolframphysics.org
Perry Marshall, author of Evolution 2.0 and founder of the $10 million price for the origin of a spontaneously arising communication system joins Glen and Karen to discuss the fundamental nature of information, choice and the observer. Links to videos mentioned will follow timestamps.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:45 Origin of Life v. Origin of Species
05:14 Is something missing in the Intelligent Design argument?
07:35 Where does the idea come from in the first place? Information must become physical.
11:00 How many divine interventions are there supposed to be?
16:00 The limitations of the God of the Gaps argument. Information shows up. There has to be a mechanism, a chunk of hardware. This problem is not addressed by Intelligent Design
18:30 Does Code = Information? Many definitions of information. Shannon, for example.
22:00 Definition of code is symbolic information exchanged between a sender and a receiver, Between an encoder and a decoder, and it’s a digital communication system 27:25 Science v. Religion is a proxy battle for something deeper, perhaps what it means to be human.
33:30 Does Maxwell’s demon actually exist?
41:00 John Torday, A systems approach to physiologic evolution https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcp.25820
45:00 Information capacity is a capacity for choice. Freedom to select a one or a zero. 53:00 Maxwell’s demon lives on symbolic info, not bits and bytes. It’s what the 1’s and 0's represent symbolically. What is the sender looking at and the receiver sending onto? A bigger more holistic landscape than science can look at.
1:00:22 Free choice in quantum mechanics. The observer has free choice in what experiment to do.
1:05:45 Time acts on the rocks. The rocks do not act on time. We act on time
1:11:14 If you want to push choice down to the level of Quantum physics, you have to acknowledge that there are multiple pathways into the future which are all consistent with the past history of the universe, so you can’t have perfect determinism. Choice breaks that.
1:15:25 Following the question of the observer is a fruitful path. Glen’s suggestion: perhaps replace consciousness with agency. Consciousness is how WE experience agency, so it takes US out of the theoretical pathway. Reluctance to recast definitions into formal, mathematical statements hinders progress in the search for Origin of Life.
1:17:00 Stuart Kaufman and Set Theory
1:24:00 Heuristics leads to an outcome that is good enough. Inductive reasoning is a powerful skill set.
The Meaning Code videos related to The Physics of Life: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
The Observer: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZTm9ZRgC9OQINsbC1BxsPy
Perry Marshall and Stephen Meyer on Unbelievable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RHUEXn2upI&t=1s
Perry Marshall, Denis Noble and Lee Cronin on Unbelievable https://youtu.be/Njuso5A2jts
The Prize website: https://evo2.org
The book: Evolution 2.0: Breaking the Deadlock Between Darwin and Design by Perry Marshall
Karen and Glen get together for an informal review of items that have recently caught their attention relative to Stephen Wolfram's Theory of Fundamental Physics. If anyone wants to do a comment with timestamps, I will be forever grateful. At the end, Glen mentions John Walton and his reading of the first few chapters of Genesis. We talked about how great it would be to see a conversation between Jordan Peterson and John Walton, and after I started uploading this video, I saw that the Youtube Channel called Deep Talks had uploaded a video today of clips from those two, so here's the link to that: Jordan Peterson v John Walton on Deep Talks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiSGdDc3bQY&t=2s The art video from Chris Petkau that we mentioned: https://youtu.be/pYgUwolDuPs And Glen once again mentioned Nima Arkani Hamed's Morality of Fundamental Physics video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiSGdDc3bQY&t=2s Here's Wolfram on Lex Fridman # 124. Interesting things happen starting at 1:33:30 and again at 3:16:00 going all the way to 3:40:00 or thereabouts..
In Part 3 of this discussion regarding the role of the observer, Glen weaves together ideas of robust computing (demon horde sort) and distributed intelligence. He makes the claim that it could be mathematically verified whether or not computation is fundamental, and that if it turns out to be so, then language is also fundamental, since computation and language are inextricably intertwined. We also learn that handedness (chirality) is hierarchical. links follow timestamps
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:15 Recapping the end of Part 2
2:00 Central Planning v. Distributed Intelligence 3:00 Responding to viewer’s comments
4:45 PBS Spacetime on the participatory universe 8:32 John Wheeler’s biggest question: Whose bit?
12:20 Implications of observers and the quantum mechanical universe
16:20 A vision of Wholeness
18:30 A challenge for mathematicians
20:35 If there is a point where entanglement does not affect the next layer up, that would solve the Wigner’s Friends paradox and would also illustrate that computation is fundamental.
24:00 Robodog as a way to explore learning systems and language in robotics
28:00 An exploration of group intelligence and the conversation as adaptable
31:30 Handedness is essential and implies Hierarchy
33:30 The language called Forth
38:20 Context Free Grammar, indexed grammars, natural language processing
41:35 The layers of Grammar
47:30 Field workers will probably never be replaced by robots, not a menial task, very complex
51:35 If computation is fundamental, we need a covenant between Truth and Language
53:40 Trust Networks and Cesar Hidalgo
57:50 Decisions at the level of the input output are more effective than centrally planned ones.
1:02:00 Questions about Darwin
1:07:20 It depends on what question you want answered
1:07:45 Questions about Space and Time, the reality of Possibilities and Options
1:11:15 Computational irreducibility is more intuitive if you talk about languages
Finite State Machines on Reason to Believe https://youtu.be/6FOJWxdTvms
“The "Meta" Hard Problem of Consciousness and Quantum Babbling with Levin, Friston, and Fields,” https://youtu.be/J6eJ44Jq_pw
"Cracking The Nutshell," https://www.youtube.com/c/CrackingTheNutshell
"Do Electrons Have Free Will? The Conway-Kochen Free Will Theorem - Closing the Free Will Loophole,' https://youtu.be/7ZqUEAACfyk PBS Space-Time,
“Does the Universe Create Itself?” https://youtu.be/I8p1yqnuk8Y?t=600
"Robust-first computing: Demon Horde Sort (short version)," https://youtu.be/lbgzXndaNKk
"Forth the Hackers Language," https://hackaday.com/2017/01/27/forth-the-hackers-language/
If you want to watch this episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/ZUOiF0tljiw
Sevilla King of A Quality Existence joins the Meaning Code to discuss recent appearances by Jonathan and Matthieu Pageau. We look at Mercy and Judgment, gathering in and cutting away. Judgment as a type of discernment, measurement, paring down, producing fittedness. Mercy as a gathering together, care, attention, choosing. Both together are Agape and Sacrifice, opportunity cost, bringing reality into existence. Matthieu Pageau with Tammy Peterson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Om4NKrOCF4 Jonathan Pageau on Love and Attention at the Consciousness and Conscience Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGQVs4ewHFw&t=647s
For Youtube version: https://youtu.be/G8cAwts0ZZg
Margaret Allen tells her story of being raised in an aggressively atheist household and yet learning of the better way, and opens her heart about the process of writing her book. Lot of resources available on Margaret's website, https://margaretallen.org Be sure to look at the page of Declarations. A great encouragement! Gracious Living: Creating a Culture of Honor, Love and Compassion https://www.amazon.com/Gracious-Living-Creating-Culture-Compassion/dp/1952025087/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3THKU7MET6BVL&keywords=Margaret+Allen&qid=1661454384&sprefix=margaret+allen%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-2
Brad Bilski, a designer of testing equipment, joins The Meaning Code for a discussion of the measurement problem and the need for a covenant between language and truth.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro (reading from Paul Feyerabend's 1975 book, Against Method
04:00 Can facts exist outside of a narrative? A response to John Vervaeke
11:25 Gauge block: "We call it a Master." ANSI
19:45 Calibrations differ; error exists
29:45 Rooted in Christ
31:30 Copenhagen interpretation? Or Many Worlds?
40:30 The sliding scale from mercy to justice
52:15 The dystopian world that arrives if we destroy our ideals
1:00:35 Subjective and objective and the issue of measurement. The limits of our perception
1:10:00 The anomaly is a gift
1:17:30 The focal point creates the meaning. The part must measure up to the Master.
A meeting of two great minds moving from considerations of choice and agency to free will and wisdom. Books and authors mentioned follow timestamps.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
03:30 Decision making and competent behavior do not imply high level cognition 05:20 The value of higher levels is context-dependent
06:30 Be careful not to all into patterns that lead to collectivism
07:07 Composite agents harness their parts toward an action they wouldn't normally be doing on their own. The scaling of cognition.
09:30 A. Juarrero's notion of constraint. Causes are events, happenings. Constraints are conditions and orderings of probability. Bottom up causation, top down constraints. Aristotle's impact on Juarrero: participating the tree structure. Hierarchies presume a single ontological relation. We have to get beyond simple models mapping onto each other. Two kinds of constraints: Selective (reduce probabilities) and Enabling (increase probabilities) counterbalance each other.
14:03 Emergence without emanation is epiphenomenalism: an ontological oxymoron, a monster. We are crypto privileging the level at which we do science.
16:22 We need to acknowledge the importance of the higher levels, but there is not a simple mapping.
18:00 A symphony of choices over time. Constraints as a way to generate creativity. Selection is a way to ignore stuff in order to prevent combinatorial explosion. 21:00 Acknowledging continuity - the problem with extending agency all th way down. Deep identities hypothesis
23:45 Self-constraints are related to behavior shaping
24:30 Choice, agency, decision making as a continuum. What is a decision? It is a decision to the extent that you need to consider a radius of events in space and time to figure out what just happened.
31:45 Not just explained by local forces. Distiinction between causation and causal relevance. What caused the sinking of the Titanic?
33:00 If we allow choice to map onto the causal event.... We need a sensitivity to causal relevance
34:52 the idea of will goes alll the way down to primitive agents
37:02 I am an agent that does things, using the same coarse graining on myself. The need to tell stories, to build internal models.
38:25 The basic physics of being an object. Active inference is also for cells and molecular networks. The critical thing is the difference that makes a difference. 40:05 What does attention look like in the molecular pathway in a cell?
41:20 Will, active inferencing, free energy all bound up together.
45:13 When you zoom in to any event, there are only 2 choices. Determinism or true quantum randomness. If you zoom in... no big shocker! If you zoom in, all you see is physics. Free action (free will) is stretched over long periods of time.
47:30 Free will is exercised over years in small increments
50:00 Free will only applies to extended beings. From here, they go into a discussion of wisdom.
Books mentioned by John:
Shaun Gallagher: Enactivist Intervention
Brian Cantwell Smith: On the Origin of Objects
Alice Juarrero: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26272797/ (paper on constraints)
Drew is a music teacher at the International School in Tunis in Northern Africa. With a Master's in Ethnomusicology, Drew is able to consider music as an art form within and across cultures, considering the harmonious interplay of patterns and the musicality of intelligibility. We hear Drew's life story and then consider various aspects of music as communication, music as an aesthetic form and music as communitas and worship.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:13 Drew's Story 14:20 Arriving in North Africa, Master's in Ethnomusicology
15:45 What drew him to The Meaning Code?
18:30 Using music as a bridge to meaning
20:25 Correspondence between color theory and music theory
27:00 Sound colored by overtones
33:58 Is birdsong strictly just communication or is it an aesthetic experience for the birds as well as for humans?
42:00 Visual arts and music as two different dimensions
47:00 Music, timelessness, unity and multiplicity
54:30 Atomization of modern society and musical silos
58:45 Deeper into the Weeds conversation of Peterson, Vervaeke and Pageau The musicality of intelligibility. "Music is the most representational of art forms." Jordan Peterson
1:02:31 Or, is music the most abstract?
1:07:45 Unity in music, plus multiplicity, diversity, variety
1:09:00 Scale is essential
1:10:45 Pageau, "Consciousness is a pattern perceiving patterns."
1:21:15 What songs does Drew use when leading worship?
1:23:00 Outro
Mentions: Stefan Alexander, The Jazz of Physics
Robin Sylvan: The Traces of the Spirit
Victor Turner: The Ritual Process
Songs:
Christ is Enough
There is No Other Name
Give me Faith
10,000 Reasons
Oceans
00:00 Intro
03:19 The difference between physical and corporeal, the solution to the quantum enigma
07:25 The corporeal enters into the measurement problem through the measuring device
08:50 John describes relevance realization, the 4 P’s of knowing, emanation and emergence
13:45 Reality is structured with things emerging (returning to the One) and emanating (coming from the One
15:50 If the corporeal is not real, we love conformity to Reality
17:05 We are both Platonists!
18:15 Studying Plato through the lens of the ancient thinkers
25:00 Why is James Gibson’s work important? How has it affected your work?
27:30 Wolfgang seeks to understand John’s ontology
32:00 Gibson and affordances - undermines nominalism. There are real relations
34:30 Opening the door to a new ontology
37:45 The vertical dimension cannot be excluded from the project of working out intelligibility
39:45 James Gibson’s reputation in the academic community is stellar among cognitive scientists but not among cognitive psychologists
44:00 Gibson’s breakthrough has still not penetrated into the physics world 51:00 Spinoza’s Religion
55:00 The undoing of nominalism and representationalism is epochal and we need to celebrate it.
1:01:30 The 1804 edition of Plato’s works with commentary by Thomas Taylor opens up a new way of understanding the ancient books. The Ptolemaic cosmology.
1:06:00 A quote from Cosmos and Transcendence
1:07:00 John discovering the Western wisdom tradition (convergence with Wolfgang)
1:20:15 Abandoning the view that all faiths look to the same source (Vedanta in the Light of Christian Wisdom)
1:28:50 John suggests we do this again!
Background material on Wolfgang Smith and John Vervaeke
A previous conversation with Wolfgang Smith Solving the Quantum: a Vertical Ascent: https://youtu.be/8NWHGX53agc
Wolfgang Smith (A sampling of his many books)
Vedanta in Light of Christian Wisdom
Physics: a Science in Quest of an Ontology
Vertical Ascent
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions
Cosmos and Transcendence: Breaking through the Barrier of Scientistic Belief
The Quantum Enigma: Finding the Hidden Key
Theistic Evolution: The Teilhardian Heresy
Science and Myth: A Response to Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design
and many others
And a movie made about his life: The End of Quantum Reality, available on Amazon
An earlier discussion with physicist friend Glen on Wolfgang Smith's ideas about vertical causation as well as a bit about Stephen Wolfram.
Toy Story as Metaphor for Quantum Measurement Problem: https://youtu.be/dFqGjvocYPw
John Vervaeke
The full series of Awakening from The Meaning Crisis w John Vervaeke: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh3f0P5qjrSdb5eC1ZfZwWJ
John Vervaeke's 4 P's of Knowing https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuit-ucfcXN8QDPMc6DXbTHq
In Part 3 of this discussion regarding the role of the observer, Glen weaves together ideas of robust computing (demon horde sort) and distributed intelligence. He makes the claim that it could be mathematically verified whether or not computation is fundamental, and that if it turns out to be so, then language is also fundamental, since computation and language are inextricably intertwined.
We also learn that handedness (chirality) is hierarchical. links follow timestamps. Timestamps 0:00
Intro 0:15 Recapping the end of Part 2
2:00 Central Planning v. Distributed Intelligence
3:00 Responding to viewer’s comments
4:45 PBS Spacetime on the participatory universe
8:32 John Wheeler’s biggest question: Whose bit?
12:20 Implications of observers and the quantum mechanical universe
16:20 A vision of Wholeness
18:30 A challenge for mathematicians 20:35 If there is a point where entanglement does not affect the next layer up, that would solve the Wigner’s Friends paradox and would also illustrate that computation is fundamental.
24:00 Robodog as a way to explore learning systems and language in robotics
28:00 An exploration of group intelligence and the conversation as adaptable
31:30 Handedness is essential and implies Hierarchy
33:30 The language called Forth
38:20 Context Free Grammar, indexed grammars, natural language processing
41:35 The layers of Grammar
47:30 Field workers will probably never be replaced by robots, not a menial task, very complex
51:35 If computation is fundamental, we need a covenant between Truth and Language
53:40 Trust Networks and Cesar Hidalgo
57:50 Decisions at the level of the input output are more effective than centrally planned ones.
1:02:00 Questions about Darwin
1:07:20 It depends on what question you want answered
1:07:45 Questions about Space and Time, the reality of Possibilities and Options
1:11:15 Computational irreducibility is more intuitive if you talk about languages “The "Meta" Hard Problem of Consciousness and Quantum Babbling with Levin, Friston, and Fields,” https://youtu.be/J6eJ44Jq_pw
"Cracking The Nutshell," https://www.youtube.com/c/CrackingTheNutshell
"Do Electrons Have Free Will? The Conway-Kochen Free Will Theorem - Closing the Free Will Loophole,' https://youtu.be/7ZqUEAACfyk
PBS Space-Time, “Does the Universe Create Itself?” https://youtu.be/I8p1yqnuk8Y?t=600
"Robust-first computing: Demon Horde Sort (short version)," https://youtu.be/lbgzXndaNKk
"Forth the Hackers Language," https://hackaday.com/2017/01/27/forth-the-hackers-language/
Is the universe fundamentally computational? What is the observer? What is the role of the observer? A deep dive.
Timestamps 0:00.
Intro 2:00 Analyzing 2 different delayed choice quantum eraser experiments: Kim, et al and John Wheeler (Gedanken)
13:43 We never talk about what the observer is (we need to include the physics of the observer)
14:14 Maxwell's demon and the observer (a sequence of choices)
25:08 The Free Will Theorem 27:00 Multiple choices that are still consistent with the past history of the universe.
41:30 Observation does require a "concept" of consciousness.
49:25 Consciousness ends at the smallest composite systems capable of computation, those are the smallest units for which consciousness would apply. A sequence of choices based on a set of rules. Must be causally disconnected from the universe as a whole in order to be an observer.
1:00:52 If you take computation as fundamental, you can get an ought from an is, which Sam Harris says is impossible to do.
1:08:15 Computation is always a physical system. If you take computation as fundamental, information is downstream or an artifact of that. 1:09:10 If you think in terms of computation, you immediately get languages.
1:20:55 A review of computation
1:21:34 Exposition of music as a computational system
1:31:08 Introducing Dave Ackley of the Demon Horde Sort
The challenge. The Role of the Observer, Part 1: https://youtu.be/A5xtyRkp6HE Recommended research: More Glen and others on the Quantum Measurement Problem: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUa1nUq32fXuGvtTJFhLhN3d Glen on The Physics of Life: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoARw9zo4EUZhxqfaqYU5yjy0-Tr8RlB4
For all the links discussed by Glen, see the YouTube version of this talk:
https://youtu.be/xJtw5umXouc
Glen, physicist, mathematician and computer scientist, joins for an exploration of the role of the Observer in Physics. The history of the move from classical to quantum physics. If you want to do some homework before Part 2, links to everything are in the description to the YouTube version of this conversation: https://youtu.be/A5xtyRkp6HE
In the world of Alice in Wonderland, the role of the observer is the rabbit hole.
If the Observer can't be described quantum mechanically, what is it?
The paradoxes of entanglement
Before Schrodinger came up with the wave equation, what was he thinking about and looking at that led him to his conclusions?
Quantum mechanics - based on principle of least action Gave rise to la Grangian formalism which gave rise to Hamiltonian and then Poisson Brackets. Classical pushed to the limit leads to the quantum.
The wave function in a complex plane. Wave equation based on the principle of least action. Entanglement at the classic level needs a base of connection Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox
Schrodinger's cat - entanglement affects the observer Wigner's Friends Paradox The observer can't be a quantum mechanical system Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser Experiment Correlations are products of wave functions Interference is sums of wave functions
Pierre Duhem wrote To Save the Phenomena and The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory Teaching should Edify, Explain and Encourage you to go deeper
Strong Free Will Theorem (Simon/Kochen) The future affects the past? Free choice should be called causal independence or causal decoupling
For a complete intro of these two guests, see their previous conversation. https://youtu.be/2vYfcotRRjk Timestamps 00:00 Musical Intro Affect is fundamental Unless we can make a conscious machine, we have not solved the hard problem Cognitive systems as predictive of the outside world 02:00 Mark Solms describes his project to create an artificial consciousness 04:15. The quest to find a neural correlate of consciousness (Francis Crick) 05:00 The wrong place to start 06:25 Children born without a cerebral cortex are still responsive and reactive 10:00 The mechanism of homeostasis, the periaqueductal gray, error signals 11:00 The architecture of the artificial consciousness 11:50 Autonomic regulation can be unconscious 12:30 Uncertainty triggers consciousness (ex: blood gases rising to conscious reaction), Uncertainty tells you how well you’re doing 15:00 Minimal conditions - self-organizing system - registers its own Markov blanket state (point of view) 3 needs 17:30 It needs energy, it suffers damage w/in tolerable limits, it needs rest & repair of structural damage - only purpose is to keep going 19:30 It wanders about is environment exploring and experiencing 20:43 An active inference agent, inferring its own state and state of its environment Error signals, updates, improving its model of itself in the world based on its 3 hemeostats Statistical confidence 23:50 Qualitatively distinctive categories 24:30 Calculating its expected free energy - the ability to look ahead 25:00 Equivalent of working memory, able to make decisions about how many steps needed to think ahead. 25:50 Create uncertainty by changing the environment. Its confidence in its policies is tethered to its affect. Environment changes & returns. Seasons. Explore and Exploit 28:20 How do we know when such a system has feelings? 30:20 Non-conscious is how we look at things that are in a different space than we are, but are they really non-conscious? Levels of “selfness” 32:40 Competencies in non-3D, problem spaces, transcriptional spaces, etc. In your virtual world is that level of consciousness as valid as physical organisms exhibit in 3-D space? 36:50 Measuring its own state in a qualitative sense Virtual v. Real agents Substrate v. Mechanism What new problems arise with embodiment? 41:00 Anomaly. Navigating morphospace Stress Changing set point. Rewritten the set point they gauge where to go. Second order monitoring system (metacognition) 43:30 We interact with our own representation of that state and our own internal bodily state The nerve impulses represent the state of a reality 45:30 The thermostat makes no resistance to changing the setpoint, but biological organisms need to resist, to monitor the set point. learning v being trained Has your set point been changed? Has someone else changed it? 47:40 The survival need of resisting change to your set point 50:00 Introduce other agents into the same environment to infer other agents. Isolation is a biologically implausible situation. 51:30. The problem of other minds 55:50 Zebrafish with hedonic condition place preference research See whether what motivates the entity is only a feeling. 57:30 Anxiolytics 58:50 Where does the desire to exist come from? "Affect is the fundamental (elemental) aspect of consciousness." Mark Solms There is an attempt to recast physics "to use the dynamics we use to look @ cognitive systems - a specific kind o predictive interaction with the outside world."
Is the Path Not Taken visible to God?
The narrative of the Garden as it relates to potential. Plan A or Plan B?
Does everyone want to be healed? Saved?
Looking at Jesus’ work in our lives through the story of Judas.
George MacDonald, “Our God is a consuming fire, and His fire is His love.”
https://www.amazon.ca/Beautiful-Constraint-Transform-Limitations-Advantages/dp/1118899016 Amazon link
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9057
Unspoken Sermons (George MacDonald)
Esther O’Reilly’s two talks with Paul
https://youtu.be/sOT6cP9tEnQ
https://youtu.be/QR_kwzF-9Ys
Shari Suter’s two talks with Paul
https://youtu.be/NYDJjVbG3mk first conversation with Paul
https://youtu.be/tfpXAZZq-wI second conversation with Paul
Karen’s two talks with Paul
https://youtu.be/HlMgGkwWUNY
https://youtu.be/ZC03aNsPHOQ
Dr. Michael Levin and Dr. John Vervaeke discuss findings on cognition, consciousness and placebo. Where is the line?
Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:30 “How do you define and differentiate cognition, intelligence, consciousness” 05:40 Mike 08:10 Can there be relevance realization at the cellular level? 14:00 The realization of the gradual development from oocyte to adult mind. Amazing plasticity. William James’ definition of intelligence 19:45 John asks about top-down causation rejecting just a bottom up approach. The whole has a causal power not attributable just to the parts. 21:00 JV Identity going all the way down and emergence going all the way up. How to identify the ontology? 22:00 ML Assume LaPlace’s demon could exist as a thought experiment. Tracking the micro states is an observer only, it cannot act. All the states are the same to you. But we want a worldview that helps you do things. A participatory worldview. 25:45 JV: I’ve been making epistemological arguments around the idea that any proper worldview has to give ontological status to scientists making measurements. 27:00 JV introduces neoplatonism, emanation down and emergence up as a way to integrate science and spirituality in an intellectually rigorous way 28:50 ML: Can't talk about Platonic worldview in the biology circles, only in a forum like this, focused on meaning. 30:00 Logic gates come with a truth table. Where does that come from? 30:55 An index into the world of possibilities. Where does the capacity come from for xenobots to form within 48 hours? 33:00 Evidence for fractal levels of cognition, information exchange… But have you ever looked at the placebo effect, which for a pure reductionist is a very hard thing to explain? 35:30 ML’s study on gene regulatory networks and the placebo effect. 38:30 Albert Mason on psycho dermatology 41:45 KW asks a “woo woo” question. Hilarity ensues. 45:00 JV Rigorous scientific research to verify “experience” 49:30 ML Biochemical and bioelectrical signals and how they could eventuate change across layers 52:00 ML Can we train molecular networks to stimulate healing?
Awakening from The Meaning Crisis: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh3f0P5qjrSdb5eC1ZfZwWJ
4 P's of Knowing https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuit-ucfcXN8QDPMc6DXbTHq
Michael Levin: https://youtu.be/GVOxAOflRho Dr. Levin's work on limb regeneration: https://youtu.be/N9Oli5MPLbY The Levin Lab at Tufts U: https://ase.tufts.edu/biology/labs/levin/research/newdirections.htm Erik Hoel: a great Substack column in addition to his science. See section "b)" on https://www.erikphoel.com/science.html Albert Mason: http://www7.bbk.ac.uk/hiddenpersuaders/blog/albert-mason-medicine-magic-hypnotism/ https://npsi.us.com/uploads/documents/MasonInterviewMRobinson2011.pdf
The Vertical Ascent by Wolfgang Smith
Dr. Wolfgang Smith, Renowned Physicist, on Vertical Causation, Irreducible Wholeness and Meaning https://youtu.be/8NWHGX53agc
I had the privilege to speak with Dr. Wolfgang Smith about his solution to the Quantum Enigma and the tripartite structure of the cosmos. Great resource on Dr. Smith's work: https://philos-sophia.org/ Author of Vertical Ascent, Ancient Wisdom and Modern Misconceptions, Cosmos and Transcendence: Breaking through the Barrier of Scientistic Belief , The Quantum Enigma: Finding the Hidden Key, Theistic Evolution: The Teilhardian Heresy, Science and Myth: A Response to Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design and many others And a movie made about his life: The End of Quantum Reality, available on Amazon.
Born in Vienna in 1930, Wolfgang Smith graduated from Cornell University at age 18 with degrees in physics, mathematics, and philosophy. In a few short years he took his master’s degree in physics at Purdue University, climbed the Matterhorn, and published the first theoretical solution to the re-entry problem for space flight. Finding himself irreconcilably at odds with the prevailing Zeitgeist, he decided to forego a professional career in the fields of his primary interest — physics and philosophy — in favor of pure mathematics, and after taking his doctorate at Columbia University, he served as professor of mathematics at M.I.T., U.C.L.A., and Oregon State University until his retirement in 1992.
And a movie made about his life: The End of Quantum Reality, available on Amazon An earlier discussion with physicist friend Glen on Wolfgang Smith's ideas about vertical causation as well as a bit about Stephen Wolfram. Toy Story as Metaphor for Quantum Measurement Problem: https://youtu.be/dFqGjvocYPw
There is so much information in pain.
The Lord says, "I have engraved you on the palms of my hand."
John Stott quote paraphrased, In this world of pain and suffering, I could not believe in a God who had not experienced it for Himself.
God is Good and is big enough to make good on His promise.
Adam Smith paraphrased, Men want not only to be loved but to be lovely.
Brene Brown research on shame.
John Vervaeke on its reciprocal narrowing versus the reciprocal opening up of love.
Videos discussed:
Daniel Schmachtenberger and the War on Sensemaking:
https://youtu.be/7LqaotiGWjQ
A Grief Observed read by the Randos: https://youtu.be/4omMwnttbdk
Discussing Suffering with Shari: https://youtu.be/P3GkzOhWZaw
Karen’s art: https://karenwongart.com
Mary and I discuss the conversation John Vervaeke and Paul Vanderklay had re: Paul’s argument from personhood for the existence of God. In the process, we covered some aspects of quantum mechanics, philosophy, theology and the nature of reality. Regarding God's completeness and the essence of potential and actuality, we also looked at Jordan Peterson's theories about order and chaos, value, and the thread of interest that is ‘our future drawing us forward’. We finish up rejoicing over God's generosity in making us to share in His love and to have fellowship with one another in this cross-shaped universe.
Paul and John's conversation: https://youtu.be/65CcfvXXHug
Paul's video about Sevilla and Jonathan discussing the metaphysics of quality: https://youtu.be/Z0Y3XYVA7dg
Karen’s art: https://karenwongart.com
Mary Kochan’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2leFZRD0ZlQDQxpR2Zd8oA/videos
Karen's guest is Dr Michael Clarage who gained his PhD in physics from Brandeis University, studying the biological and statistical behavior of proteins. We discuss the nature of light, the levels of reality, the triples of physics and the electric universe. Links follow the notes: The path of the photon Holograms Complete 3-D maps Particles and their trajectories. The line of time according to Newtonian Physics Principle v. Imposition of Rules. Gravitation. Electric discharge. Herschel filaments. Galactic medium. Energy can be conveyed electrically. As opposed to the paradigm that life is ONLY chemistry. The principle of circulation. The principle of community.
Article by Michael Clarage: https://michaelclarage.substack.com/p/all-possibilities-actualized-or-the .
Michael Levin on bioelectric signaling in cells: Introductory video of Michael Levin: https://youtu.be/GVOxAOflRho
Dr. Levin's work on limb regeneration: https://youtu.be/N9Oli5MPLbY
The Levin Lab at Tufts U: https://ase.tufts.edu/biology/labs/le...
Dr. Eric Smith's talk on Earth's Battery: Dr. Eric Smith on New Theories on the Origin of Life 17:20 to 21:00 https://youtu.be/0cwvj0XBKlE
Earth's Battery discussion on Karen's channel: https://youtu.be/YB53BXXmWqk
Michael and Karen discuss data compression and cybersecurity as a lens to view language, memory, relationship and consciousness, and in the process stumble upon C. S. Lewis, Jordan Peterson's Maps of Meaning, and Owen Barfield.
Propaganda 1) as a false dichotomy 2) as a Zip Bomb or a destroyer of worlds
The Mandelbrot Set as a picture of the limits of stability, the border between order and chaos in its infinite complexity
Words as containers for meaning
Owen Barfield's The History of Words (words have souls)
Michael's recent chat with Paul VanderKlay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9C4VR9CyjM&t=389s
Karen's website: https://karenwongart.com
Karen's chats with Paul VanderKlay:
https://youtu.be/HlMgGkwWUNY
https://youtu.be/ZC03aNsPHOQ
Homo Sapiens’ unique heroic thesis according to Jordan Peterson: “The nature of experience can be altered for the better by voluntary alteration of action and thought.”
Greg Boyd and Open Theism
Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
Molinism
“Reality is that which governs.” Paul VanderKlay
Your beliefs are exposed by your behavior. We say one thing and do another, and come up against our own hypocrisy.
Mandelbrot sets, Fibonacci series, the approximation of Pi
Karen’s art: https://karenwongart.com
Interview with Shari Suter
Riding the Wave
“The upsetting capacity of the anomalous is simultaneously the vital source of interest, meaning and individual strength. Furthermore, the ability to upset ourselves - to undermine and revitalize our own beliefs - is an intrinsic and necessary and “divine” aspect of the human psyche (part of the seminal “Word” itself.) p. 246, Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson
The Unspoken Sermons of George MacDonald for download: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9057
“As you wish”, Wesley in The Princess Bride
He serves even if we reject.
The anomalies (obstacles, experiences of chaos, sufferings) we face are uniquely fitted to us.
“Materiality is a medium of communication.” Paul VanderKlay
Seeing the essence of reality communicated through every aspect of the created world.
Our most creative and productive posture is riding the wave between the known and the unknown.
Shari’s first interview on Paul Vanderklay’s channel:
https://youtu.be/NYDJjVbG3mk
Shari’s second interview on Paul Vanderklay’s channel:
https://youtu.be/tfpXAZZq-wI
Karen’s first interview on Paul Vanderklay’s channel:
https://youtu.be/HlMgGkwWUNY
Karen’s second interview on Paul Vanderklay’s channel:
https://youtu.be/ZC03aNsPHOQ
Karen’s paintings
http://karenwongart.com
Links follow description:
Adam walked away from social media 14 years ago. That may explain at least part of how he got an undergraduate degree in biochemistry as the first step towards dental school, is now a practicing dentist and is simultaneously working on a Master's degree in Computer Information Technology. We had a fascinating conversation about Jordan Peterson, the Biblical lectures, 'what is computation?', the theories of Stephen Wolfram and the implications of virtual reality. "I'm the guy in the game." Richie's plank experience and what that tells us about ourselves and our connection to reality. What behaviors are we modeling? And what is molding us? Adam introduced me to the work of Jaron Lanier who was an early proponent and developer of virtual reality but has now suggested an alternate path forward.
Here are links to what we discussed: Ted Talks won't allow linking to the Jaron Lanier talk, so you might want to listen to it for context.
The Intuition of Stephen Wolfram, an episode of Scientific Genius https://youtu.be/TrTwwxBB0QE
Biblical Series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I3lUrrFTzkpat
Love’s Executioner Part 1: https://youtu.be/Q6Ps4fkkdx4
Love’s Executioner Part 2: https://youtu.be/e2orh2NAO2U
Lex Fridman Jaron Lanier: https://youtu.be/Fx0G6DHMfXM
Lex Fridman Stephen Wolfram: Part 1: https://youtu.be/ez773teNFYA
Part 2: https://youtu.be/-t1_ffaFXao
Part 3: https://youtu.be/4-SGpEInX_c
Michael Clarage: https://youtu.be/DnFvTyG5QZM
Entropy, both in physics and in life, one of the core principles that underly the substructure of all domains of knowledge. Balance as it is represented in science, art, politics and economics, and then back to a discussion of emergence. In previous videos, Alex and I discussed resonance, critical mass, emergence, and the aggregation of color and light.
Alex's website: Viewers can visit my website to see a primordial pattern and practice transforming chaos into symbolic meaning: http://cosymbolic.com
Karen's website: http://karenwongart.com
The Meaning Code introduces Dr. Michael Levin to Dr. Mark Solms as they do a deep dive into their recent thinking about the nature of consciousness and cognition and where these can be found on the continuum of life, as well as establishing their foundational thinking in their respective fields..