In this episode Dr. Nader and Dr. Evan Thompson discuss consciousness and the Self from different spiritual and scientific perspectives. How the sense of self is constructed and changes in different states of consciousness. What is the self in relation to consciousness and the nature of ultimate reality?

Dr. Evan Thompson is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and an Associate Member of both the Department of Asian Studies and the Department of Psychology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and his work combines cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially Asian philosophical traditions. His most recent books include “Why I Am Not A Buddhist” and “Waking, Dreaming, Being”.

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The Self: a Reality or a Concept? Dr. Tony Nader with Dr. Evan Thompson

Don Norman, the Godfather of UX Design and Cognitive Science’s foremost pioneer, joins to discuss his new book “Design for a Better World” and how human behavior can save the world from its dire predicament.

Don Norman

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of issues pertaining to human and animal consciousness raised by Godfrey-Smith's article, "On Being an Octopus."  What do octopi have to do with consciousness?  What are qualia?  What would it be like to taste through your fingers, or to feel the world through your tongue>. How would having a "decentralized" nervous system alter the feeling of being conscious?  If an octopus doesn't have a "self," can it even be considered one thing?  Or is it more accurate to think of "an octopus" as something akin to "a community of things" that we jointly refer to for the sake of simplicity?  

Link to Godfrey-Smith's article: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/peter-godfrey-smith-being-octopus/

Ep. 102: What is it Like to Be an Octopus? (Part I)

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman, and special guest Emma Camp react to the announcement that President Joe Biden will not be prosecuted for mishandling classified documents and parse a fresh batch of speech gaffes underpinning his apparent cognitive decline.

00:29—Quick reactions to last night's Super Bowl LVIII

06:10—Special counsel will not prosecute Joe Biden in classified documents case.

26:06—House Republicans attempt to tie foreign aid spending bill to domestic border crisis.

35:12—Weekly Listener Question

44:48—Congressional Budget Office delivers latest bleak report on future U.S. economic outlook

52:26—This week's cultural recommendations

Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsor:

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Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

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Biden’s Cognitive Shrinkflation

It is easy to get rid of anger, a new study from Japan shows. The researchers found that you just need to write your angry thoughts on a piece of paper, and shred it or throw it away. 
Get all the details on today's "What's right with the world".

Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko via pexels

Radio ARA Programme du 2024-04-15

What's right: Getting rid of anger is easy, study shows

I was recently exploring the intersection of Karl Popper's Falsification theory and the Illusion of Explanatory Depth and discussed these concepts, and their relevance to social media, with Google Gemini (the live audio interface).

The ability to engage in nuanced discussions with Google Gemini is remarkable. To further explore these ideas, I utilized Google's NotebookLM to create an audio interview based on the transcript of my conversation wth Gemini. This format allows for a deeper dive into the topics, while maintaining accessibility for a broader audience.

The audio explores how the ease of information sharing on social media can often lead to a shallow understanding of complex issues, and the importance of critical thinking and falsifiability.

This is the audio interview that was generated.

Episode 1 - Falsification Theory - Illusion of Explanatory Depth - Social Media

Here we explore how the brain doesn’t just record reality—it constructs it. We dive into the science of perception, belief formation, memory distortion, and the shortcuts the mind uses to keep us safe, even when those shortcuts come at a cost.


Lesson 3 - The Mind as Filter – Perception, Belief, and Memory

In this episode of Bit & Being, we present an analysis of research from Harvard and MIT that questions whether AI models, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), genuinely understand the underlying "world models" of the data they process, or if they merely predict patterns. The researchers conducted an experiment training a transformer model on planetary orbital trajectories to see if it could not only predict future positions (Kepler-like ability) but also deduce the gravitational forces (Newton-like understanding). The study concluded that AI models, even advanced commercial ones, fail to learn generalizable physical laws and instead develop brittle, non-physical heuristics that are only sufficient for the specific prediction tasks they were trained on. This suggests that LLMs currently lack deep understanding and emergent intelligence, highlighting a significant limitation in their current capabilities.

Bit & Being - The Kepler Trap: When AI Mimics Understanding

A structured, systems-level exploration of reflection and recursive development in intelligent systems.

This Technical Perspective from Chapter 22 analyses how sustaining intention and growth in AI requires memory mechanisms, calibration thresholds, and recursive self-assessment.

Drawing parallels with biological cognition and metacognitive learning, it explains how loops may decay or evolve depending on system design.

Recorded in a measured technical tone (Audacity, Arty-style), this voice track supports deeper engagement with the conceptual architecture of spiral evolution.

chapter 22 section 4 technical perspective

A soft and thoughtful walkthrough of how memory loops back through our lives — reshaping our perspective as we grow.
In this short audio reflection, we follow the spiral of memory not as repetition, but as transformation.
Each return brings a new view — just like revisiting a childhood memory as an adult.
Narrated in the voice of Rachel via ElevenLabs, this explanation touches on reflection, growth, and how even AI might one day walk the spiral.

Everyday Explanation Chapter 23, Section 2, spoken by Aisling

Professor RJ Starr is an academic psychologist, educator, and author exploring the inner life through the lens of emotional intelligence, regulation, and self-awareness.
This SoundCloud page features original short-form audio recordings—thoughtful reflections designed to help listeners navigate their emotions, relationships, and personal growth with clarity and maturity.

To explore more of my work, visit https://profrjstarr.com

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Founded in 1968, Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Our podcast offerings include:

The Reason Roundtable
Every Monday, the libertarian editors of the magazine of “Free Minds and Free Markets”—Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Peter Suderman—discuss and debate the week’s biggest stories and what fresh hell awaits us all.

The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie
Want to know what comes next in politics, culture, and libertarian ideas? Reason’s Nick Gillespie hosts relentlessly interesting interviews with the activists, artists, authors, entrepreneurs, newsmakers, and politicians who are defining the 21st century.

The Soho Forum Debates
Reason presents a libertarian-themed debate series recorded monthly before a live audience in New York City. Moderated by former Barron's Economics Editor Gene Epstein, the Soho Forum features Nobel prize winners, radical thinkers, and other public intellectuals facing off over the future of bitcoin, veganism, sex work, illegal drugs, electric vehicles, abortion, robotics, government debt, and other controversial topics.

Design Matters by Debbie Millman features interviews with designers, artists and cultural leaders, including Lawrence Weiner, Barbara Kruger, Malcolm Gladwell, Eric Kandel, Stefan Sagmeister, John Maeda, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, Michael Arad, Milton Glaser, Massimo Vignelli, Paula Scher, Steven Heller, Jonah Lehrer, among others.

In 2011, Design Matters received the People’s Design Award from the prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

Subscribe to Design Matters for free on iTunes, where new episodes are uploaded weekly: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Welcome to CONSCIOUSNESS IS ALL THERE IS, the podcast hosted by Harvard- and MIT- trained medical doctor, neuroscientist, and globally recognized expert in consciousness, Dr. Tony Nader. On this podcast, you'll find a mix of episodes on Consciousness and how Consciousness pertains to health, relationships, and inner growth. Combining the most modern scientific discoveries and the most ancient fields of knowledge hosted by Dr. Tony Nader with some of the greatest thinkers, philosophers, scientists, and medical doctors in the world today.

A philosophy podcast made by two professors from NJ.  An extension of the Public Philosophy Project -- a community-building and educational organization dedicated to spreading philosophical discussion beyond academia and into everyday life.  For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com.  Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/publicphilosophyproject

New tracks tagged #cognitive science