The Phantasmagorical Think Tank: Recent Episodes
Scott & Matt
Scott and Matt put on their thinking caps and discuss the vast array of obscure, wondrous, and intellectual topics which the world has to offer. Did you know that some human languages are entirely whistled? Can an AI successfully masquerade as a human? Is morality objective or subjective? Join us as we dive deep into these questions and many more in The Phantasmagorical Think Tank.
How have different movies depicted time travel? How do they differ? Which is more plausible? Find out in this episode of The Phantasmagorical Think Tank.
Time Travel in Doctor Who: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkmiefoRcfU&ab_channel=BBC
Space and Time Flips in a Black Hole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KePNhUJ2reI&ab_channel=PBSSpaceTime
The most terrifying thought experiment ever made! (Unless there's a flaw in the reasoning.)
Slate: https://slate.com/technology/2014/07/rokos-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.html
Kyle Hill : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut-zGHLAVLI&ab_channel=KyleHill
Less Wrong Wiki: https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Roko's_basilisk
Rational Wiki: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk
Silicon Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUSt1d3M9NY&ab_channel=FunFuse
How did the legend of Bigfoot come to be? Is he real? Why do we love him so much?
Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C8iiW--uX81YXsFcs0xmYl8bnZLU4GASgKbpWcDwkeA/edit?usp=sharing
How did the legend of Bigfoot come to be? Is he real? Why do we love him so much?
Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C8iiW--uX81YXsFcs0xmYl8bnZLU4GASgKbpWcDwkeA/edit?usp=sharing
Is a perfect democracy mathematically possible?
Bibliography
TED-Ed on different voting systems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaxVCsnox_4&ab_channel=TED-Ed
PBS on Arrow's Impossibility Theorem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhVR7gFMKNg&ab_channel=PBSInfiniteSeries
PBS on the Condorcet paradox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoAnYQZrNrQ&ab_channel=PBSInfiniteSeries
CGP Grey on problems with plurality voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo
CGP Grey on single transferrable vote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8XOZJkozfI
The Guardian on political dissatisfaction: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/25/american-political-parties-democrats-republicans-representation-survey
CNN on political dissatisfaction: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/04/politics/two-party-system-poll/index.html
Exploratorium on voting paradoxes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJag3vuG834&ab_channel=Exploratorium
Lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, REM, biphasic sleep, and dream interpretation. How somniferous!
Additional Resources
Sleep Cycles: https://www.sleep.org/articles/what-happens-during-sleep/
Why Do We Need Sleep? https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/why-do-we-need-sleep
Biphasic Sleep: https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/2/343/64370?redirectedFrom=fulltext
World's Most Relaxing Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXgqDlrqmzo
Night School: Wake Up To The Power of Sleep: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1447248406/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1447248406&linkCode=as2&tag=httpricharcom-21
Why Do We Dream? https://www.healthline.com/health/why-do-we-dream#why-do-we-have-nightmares
9 Common Dreams And What They Supposedly Mean: https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-your-dreams-2795935
Dream Dictionary: https://www.psychologistworld.com/dreams/dictionary/
The Science Behind Sleep Paralysis: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120711131030.htm
What Is Sleep Paralysis? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295039#what_is_sleep_paralysis
Koalas Sleep 17 Hours Per Day: https://www.livescience.com/27401-koalas-facts.html
Are video games an art form? What makes the art of video games unique?
Folding Ideas presents LND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04zaTjuV60A
ChronoThoughts misunderstands LND (in our opinion): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqQ-mD1LlAs
Errant Signal criticizes LND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBN3R0m31bA
Game Revo defends LND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lluvrus0QY0
SolePorpoise specifies LND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8PAWO4Y_rY
Games as Literature inverts LND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9fm7gtgW8U
Clint Hocking with the article that started it all: https://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing/2007/10/ludonarrative-d.html
Folding Ideas discusses intended play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHmivGmkjJw
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=jz4eZ9fWTE6F-Wrdl7rb9A
A totally safe, drug-free way to hallucinate in the comfort of your own home! Spooky, but enjoyable!
Additional Resources
How to Hallucinate with Ping Pong Balls (BBC): https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180124-how-to-hallucinate-with-ping-pong-balls
Ganzfeld Reactions (Mulattolee Videography): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-loHQ0RfQqM
More Ganzfeld Reactions (Spartan G695) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9qtI6lTwgo
Changing Your Brain State Through the Ganzfeld Effect (PsychReg): https://www.psychreg.org/ganzfeld-effect/
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=jz4eZ9fWTE6F-Wrdl7rb9A
A bizarre, complex, and beautiful world created by simple math.
Additional Resources
Play with it here: https://bitstorm.org/gameoflife/
Stephen Hawking discusses the Game of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgOcEZinQ2I
The Chinese Room Argument: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-room/
Planck Time: https://www.universetoday.com/79418/planck-time/
The Acorn: https://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Acorn
The R-Pentomino: https://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/R-pentomino
Gosper Glider Gun: https://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Gosper_glider_gun
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=jz4eZ9fWTE6F-Wrdl7rb9A
New words to describe our complex emotions
Additional Resources
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/
Sonder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkoML0_FiV4
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=jz4eZ9fWTE6F-Wrdl7rb9A
You can sit there and let five innocent people die, or you can actively cause the death of one innocent person. What do you do?
Additional Resources
The Guardian on the Trolley Problem: https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2016/dec/12/the-trolley-problem-would-you-kill-one-person-to-save-many-others
Philippa Foot: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philippa-foot/
Consequentialism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/#ClaUti
Deontology: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
Human cause more self-driving accidents than humans (proportionately): https://fortune.com/2018/08/29/self-driving-car-accidents/
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=jz4eZ9fWTE6F-Wrdl7rb9A
You could win infinite money from this game. Or could you?
Additional Resources
The Saint Petersburg Paradox: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paradox-stpetersburg/
Pascal's Wager: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=jz4eZ9fWTE6F-Wrdl7rb9A
The science and art of flag-making!
Good Flag, Bad Flag: https://nava.org/digital-library/design/GFBF_English.pdf
Artifexian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXan6Sw_okc
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=3PWC50_oTYaWcKd3O_-i0g
If you've got ninety-nine problems, how does your brain choose what to do first?
CORRECTION! When Scott brings up Plato, he actually meant Epicurus.
Bibliography
Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760
PsycheTruth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM8SwZkvCIY&feature=youtu.be
More about Çatalhöyük: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1405/
Epicurus: https://daily-philosophy.com/daily-seeds/reading-epicurus-pleasure-and-pain/
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1WsP5M7rsE
Did you know that some human languages are entirely whistled?
Bibliography
UNESCO (El Silbo Gomero): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgEmSb0cKBg
Scientific American (Sfyria): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTHzOag8msM
Deutsche Welle (Kus Dili): https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-whistling-instead-of-speaking/av-51108780
BBC (Sfyria): http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170731-greeces-disappearing-whistled-language
UCSD (Tonal vs. Non-Tonal languages): http://idiom.ucsd.edu/~rose/Whistled%20and%20drum%20languages.pdf
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=9_Eoo7T6Q46Gq_S5DUwWaw
You might be wrong about more than you think.
Common Historical Misconceptions: https://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/12-common-historical-misconceptions
Collective False Memories: https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/collective-false-memories-whats-behind-the-mandela-effect
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=HB88xeq1TSahz6M5pBwfEg
The Library of Babel by Jorge Louis Borges: https://maskofreason.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/the-library-of-babel-by-jorge-luis-borges.pdf
The Library of Babel website: https://libraryofbabel.info/
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=TUp5hKerTEm-SpkYnyDtiQ
Can you tell the difference between a human and a computer algorithm? It might be harder than you think!
The Imitation Game (2014): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/
Eliza: https://www.eclecticenergies.com/ego/eliza
A short documentary about Eliza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMK9AphfLco
Mitsuku: https://www.pandorabots.com/mitsuku/
About the Loebner Prize: https://www.aisb.org.uk/events/loebner-prize
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=TUp5hKerTEm-SpkYnyDtiQ
A gameshow!
A huge thank you to Krystal, Selena, and Pei for participating.
Theme Music is "Dimensions" by DJ AG. https://open.spotify.com/track/0xgBWyuDA87TZcjTXIO6UE?si=hCBGUEy5Sg-Rr2wPE-gBVg
Where are all the aliens?
Theme Music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=1JSHYEOoSvSZUH9nI9RTig
Bibliography:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a24826/riddle-of-the-week-12/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhvQGsMEc
It's the end of the world!
Theme Music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ
Selected Bibliography:
Heaven's Gate: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/heavens-gate-cult-members-found-dead
Hilarious apocalypse predictions: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessmom/2018/06/14-hilarious-apocalypse-predictions/
Why we're obsessed with doomsday: https://www.newsweek.com/doomsday-postpone-again-heres-why-were-obsessed-end-world-according-psychology-670860
The Big Bang: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/09/21/the-big-bang-wasnt-the-beginning-after-all/#7767e91d55df
The Heat Death and Big Rip: https://phys.org/news/2015-09-fate-universeheat-death-big-rip.html
Hello there!
Scott and Matt share their compliments and criticisms of Star Wars IX.
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ
Matt's monologue, followed by a post-monologue discussion.
Penn and Teller clear cups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8osRaFTtgHo
Penn and Teller Saturday Night Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwkmgqbYXdE
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ
Scott monologues about the nature of morality, revisiting some of the ideas discussed in Episode 5.
Check out this visualization: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bTyvorrhUP8VpIroHV_WDtBEun59prrl/view?usp=sharing
Theme music is Levitation by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ
Back to basics. In this episode, Scott and Matt discuss free will and urban legends.
Follow along the urban legends segment with this optional slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ExeRiEaWH0M1odkvQLe48fD4Kao6oiy08dC-9_B2JIU/edit?usp=sharing
Use of copyrighted music falls under the Fair Use policy, as per Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act. Music Credit: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, Revolution 9 by The Beatles, and Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles
Theme music is Levitation by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ
Matt and Scott have constructed interactive, bifurcating stories for each other, which the other gets to experience. Which path will kill you? Which path will win?
Theme music is "Levitation" by Mabeha. Listen to the track here:https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=VtkCb7VjR_-Q2D_6g-d7QQ
Five friends conduct a quirky exercise in creative writing.
Bibliography and Additional Resources
Our Exquisite Corpse Project in paper form: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W1_i78P6el40Kd7FqtyiB3ZITE6gNA-J/view?usp=sharing
Full movie of Olde English’s Exquisite Corpse Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3fXT63Zs8M
Trailer for Olde English’s Exquisite Corpse Project: https://vimeo.com/41669721
Theme music is ‘Levitation’ by Mabeha. Listen to the track here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=VtkCb7VjR_-Q2D_6g-d7QQ
The stone colossi of Rapa Nui. The Fermi Paradox. An Idiolect Test. Boy, is it good to be back!
Bibliography and Additional Resources
Rapa Nui (1:07)
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/el-gigante-and-the-stone-moai-of-easter-island
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/the-pacific/a/easter-island-moai
https://www.easterisland.travel/easter-island-facts-and-info/moai-statues/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/the-pacific/v/voyage-moai
NOTE: The story Scott told about ecological disaster on Rapa Nui might actually not true. Check it out:
https://www.livescience.com/616-view-easter-island-disaster-wrong-researchers.html
Fermi Paradox (18:09)
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a24826/riddle-of-the-week-12/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhvQGsMEc
Idiolect Test (40:29)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/idiolect
Music Credit
'Levitation' by Mabeha. Listen to the track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0YS8xR9oPMtUvQj3C4wKHZ?si=VtkCb7VjR_-Q2D_6g-d7QQ
'Seasons' by DJ AG: https://open.spotify.com/track/7Ag8UznbBqMBS5Hl4GwNrD
Is morality objective, subjective, or somewhere in between? What makes a story fantastic? Just how unreliable is the human mind? Matt and Scott welcome you back to The Phantasmagoria Think Tank.
A huge thank-you to Yasmin, Tray, and Selena for guest-starring in this episode.
Additional Resources
Sam Harris' Moral Landscape: https://samharris.org/books/the-moral-landscape/
Kantian Philosophy (Crash Course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bIys6JoEDw
Contractarianism (Crash Course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Co6pNvd9mc&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNgK6MZucdYldNkMybYIHKR&index=38
Pixar's 22 Rules of Phenomenal Storytelling: https://www.slideshare.net/powerfulpoint/pixar-22rulestophenomenalstorytellingpowerfulpointslideshare/1
Rewrite of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSQJ9W4SxiQ
Sir Frederic Bartlett and The War of the Ghosts: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00f8n47
The Plight of Roger Newman: https://www.tes.com/lessons/QIuxYy2U9ZCWpw/introduction-to-early-american-history
Theme music is "Seasons" by DJ AG: https://open.spotify.com/album/6KF0kxLurhP9eRF94fB2cP
Can a computer convince Matt and Scott that it’s a human? What should a fantasy author know before writing his or her tale? Can you be 100% certain about something and still be wrong? Matt and Scott investigate these cognitively salubrious quandaries in the fourth installment of their quirkily euphonious podcast.
Bibliography & Additional Resources
The Turing Test
The Imitation Game (2014): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/
Eliza: https://www.eclecticenergies.com/ego/eliza
A short documentary about Eliza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMK9AphfLco
Mitsuku: https://www.pandorabots.com/mitsuku/
About the Loebner Prize: https://www.aisb.org.uk/events/loebner-prize
Sanderson’s Laws
Sanderson himself explains his laws: https://brandonsanderson.com/sandersons-first-law/
Hello Future Me explains his take on hard magic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJQb5bGu_g
Unexpected Hanging
The Rest of Us explains the Paradox of the Unexpected Hanging: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxlCiV_axQ0
Music
Urban Jungle 2061: https://soundimage.org/sci-fi/
Epic Boss Battle: https://freepd.com/epic.php
La Citadelle: https://freepd.com/romantic.php
Vinylpunk: https://www.freemusicpublicdomain.com/royalty-free-dance-trance-techno-music/
Seasons: https://open.spotify.com/search/results/seasons%20DJ%20AG
What can Dungeons and Dragons tell us about the way humans tell stories? A game you can always win—if you play it right. An obscure monetary system that poses deep questions about the nature of money. Matt and Scott entertain all of these and more in this episode of T.P.T.T.
Bibliography and Additional Resources
Dungeons and Dragons
Episode 1 of The Adventure Zone, an actual-play podcast: www.maximumfun.org/adventure-zone/ep-1-here-there-be-gerblins-chapter-one
Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
Nim and Prisoner’s Dilemma
Standupmaths explains the game of Nim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KABcmczPdg
Yapese Currency
Atlas Obscura, which contains an entry on Rai Stones: https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Obscura-Explorers-Worlds-Wonders/dp/0761169083
NPR shines light onto the Rai Stones: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/02/15/131934618/the-island-of-stone-money
Music
The Ranch by Rafael Krux: fhttps://freepd.com/epic.php
Drum Roll: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/soundeffects
Seasons by DJ AG: https://open.spotify.com/search/results/seasons%20dj%20ag
Buckle up and plunge once more into the analytical wonderland of Phantasmagoria. In this episode, Matt and Scott discuss the spine-tingling science behind the supposedly supernatural Ouija board, reconcile the mind-bending Paradox of the Ravens (so that it will frustrate us… nevermore), and seek to properly categorize the multifaceted political opinions of the world.
Bibliography & Additional Resources
Ouija Boards
Clip from National Geographic’s Brain Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNk8-A1gRMo
Steven Woodford (aka Rationality Rules) debunks the Ouija Board (quick trigger warning: his tone and word choice in this particular video is somewhat condescending, but there’s still some great science in there): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4W5bF7H-1A
Penn & Teller: B.S.! Season 1, Episode 12: Ouija Boards & Near Death Experiences (IMPORTANT NOTE: This episode is not appropriate for children): https://www.sho.com/penn-and-teller-bullshit/season/1/episode/12/ouija-boards-near-death-experiences
The Paradox of the Ravens
Wireless Philosophy explains the paradox of the ravens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SKmqh5Eu4Y&vl=en
Meta-politics
The Political Compass: https://www.politicalcompass.org/
8Values: https://8values.github.io/
Political Typology: http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology/
Theme Music: Seasons by DJ AG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qQWSbSJSo
The President’s March: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_United_States_Army_Old_Guard_Fife_and_Drum_Corps/Celebrating_50_Years/
Scott and Matt put on their thinking caps and discuss the philosophical quandary known as The Ship of Theseus, the blockbuster movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the obscure yet elegant whistled languages found around the globe.
Bibliography
The Ship of Theseus
http://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil1020/Hobbes3.pdf
https://www.utne.com/mind-and-body/ship-of-theseus-identity-ze0z1311zjhar
https://www.philosophy-foundation.org/enquiries/view/the-ship-of-theseus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI
http://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil1020/Hobbes3.pdf
Whistled Languages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTHzOag8msM
http://idiom.ucsd.edu/~rose/Whistled%20and%20drum%20languages.pdf
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170731-greeces-disappearing-whistled-language
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQf38Ybo1IY
Theme Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qQWSbSJSo