Episode 313: The Spontaneous Eruption of Now

David and Tamler do another tier ranking--this time on philosophical thought experiments, so as not to further alienate our chemistry-adjacent listeners. We hit most of the big ones: Pascal's wager, Pascal's mugging, Mary the color scientist, the Ring of Gyges, Jarvis Thomson's v ...  Show more

David and Tamler talk about Jorge Luis Borges' disorienting short story "The Other." A 70-year-old Borges sits on a bench by the Charles River and who should he encounter but himself as a 19-year-old, by the Rhône River in 1918 Geneva. Is this a dream? Who is dreaming it? What do ...  Show more

A new year, and a new centennial -- 300 (regularly-numbered) episodes of Mindscape! Our tradition is to have a solo episode, and what better topic than the nature of time? Physicists and philosophers have so frequently suggested that time is some kind of illusion that it's become ...  Show more

Why has the concept of consciousness stumped scientists forever? Is there a way of overcoming this impasse?

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes

Join physicist and philosopher Avshalom Elitzur as he fearless ...

Can we free ourselves from stale ideas about consciousness?

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes

Some argue that the ...

Is complexity the new frontier of physics? How should we approach metaphysical uncertainty? What makes a great Physicist? These are just some of the questions covered in this Win-Win episode with the incredible Sean Carroll. Sean is a theoretical physicist and philosopher who ...