The biggest mystery in science | Adam Frank and Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Adam Frank: Alien Civi...
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: lexfridman.com...
See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
GUEST BIO:
Adam Frank is an astrophysicist studying star systems and the search for extraterrestrial life and alien civilizations.
CONTACT LEX:
Feedback - give feedback to Lex: lexfridman.com...
AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: lexfridman.com...
Hiring - join our team: lexfridman.com...
Other - other ways to get in touch: lexfridman.com...
EPISODE LINKS:
Adam's Website: adamfrankscien...
Adam's X: x.com/adamfrank4
Adam's Instagram: / adamfrankscience
Adam's Books:
The Little Book of Aliens: amzn.to/3OTX1rP
Light of the Stars: amzn.to/4iMKC6C
The Blind Spot: amzn.to/4gOCe4K
The Constant Fire: amzn.to/3ZVnxX4
SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Encord: AI tooling for annotation & data management.
Go to lexfridman.com...
Eight Sleep: Temp-controlled smart mattress cover.
Go to lexfridman.com...
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to lexfridman.com...
NetSuite: Business management software.
Go to lexfridman.com...
BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling.
Go to lexfridman.com...
Notion: Note-taking and team collaboration.
Go to lexfridman.com...
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to lexfridman.com...
AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.
Go to lexfridman.com...
PODCAST LINKS:
Podcast Website: lexfridman.com...
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: lexfridman.com...
Podcast Playlist: • Lex Fridman Podcast
Clips Channel: / lexclips
SOCIAL LINKS:
X: x.com/lexfridman
Instagram: / lexfridman
TikTok: / lexfridman
LinkedIn: / lexfridman
Facebook: / lexfridman
Patreon: / lexfridman
Telegram: t.me/lexfridman
Reddit: / lexfridman

[@LexClips]

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5m9couOfp1mY5Y Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: lexfridman.com/sponsors/cv8361-sa See below for guest bio, links, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *GUEST BIO:* Adam Frank is an astrophysicist studying star systems and the search for extraterrestrial life and alien civilizations. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Adam's Website: adamfrankscience.com Adam's X: x.com/adamfrank4 Adam's Instagram: instagram.com/adamfrankscience Adam's Books: The Little Book of Aliens: amzn.to/3OTX1rP Light of the Stars: amzn.to/4iMKC6C The Blind Spot: amzn.to/4gOCe4K The Constant Fire: amzn.to/3ZVnxX4 *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *Encord:* AI tooling for annotation & data management. Go to lexfridman.com/s/encord-cv8361-sa *Eight Sleep:* Temp-controlled smart mattress cover. Go to lexfridman.com/s/eight_sleep-cv8361-sa *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to lexfridman.com/s/shopify-cv8361-sa *NetSuite:* Business management software. Go to lexfridman.com/s/netsuite-cv8361-sa *BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling. Go to lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-cv8361-sa *Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to lexfridman.com/s/notion-cv8361-sa *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-cv8361-sa *AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to lexfridman.com/s/ag1-cv8361-sa *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: kzbin.info *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: reddit.com/r/lexfridman

[@Interstellar00.00]

Slove humanity last invasion or achieved digital singularity

[@MagnusGalactusOG]

Do you believe in love after love?

[@Nestosix]

Lex I can see you don't believe this sh*t . Our body temp was used as a marker and explore/space and know where cold and hot areas are, because our bodies die... he is right to question, but he is a 2D box trying to explain how a 3D cube looks in the 5th dimension. Anything that is conscious is actively being... and experiencing time, we use clocks to tell time as a tool for our consciousness. how tf are you going to make time into a math equation . carbon x time + a pinch of experience = hawk tuah . You must be in a body like mine to have human experience. the equation for dog experience: dog body +... you get the idea. LLMs will never know all, just needs to be smarter than the programmers to fool everyone. If this guy is right, our vocabulary might be the problem.

[@Interstellar00.00]

@@MagnusGalactusOG love is the thing that aways 1 st love 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 its the same bro

[@MagnusGalactusOG]

@@Interstellar00.00 What's your source?

[@LRRYFSHRMN]

Lex doesn’t get enough credit for being able to “hang” in convo with the greatest minds of our generation

[@MRK-t4x]

I'm a long time listener and he's always struck me as having extremely versatile intelligence and understanding of people and ideas. It is why he is so good at this.

[@paulward2333]

I strongly agree. I've been a fan from first exposure. Not only is Lex an intellectual heavyweight in his own right, but he appears to be a sincere and decent (and funny) human being. The world is better for his participation in it.

[@DBLxDxMONEY]

Because he will be one of the greatest .inds of a future generation

[@BillStrathearn]

True but this really isn't an example of a great mind, difficult to converse with. The main difficulty in navigating this conversation is trying to unpack the idiocy of someone saying that math doesn't describe the universe b/c math was discovered by humans, after we experienced the world (without math) first. Lex is great and he's doing what he can with this conversation but it's a giant nothingburger and the author's book premise is a fallacy

[@rokess5053]

I don't get him. He sounds so dopey I can't ever even get into one of his interviews.

[@laney1975able]

I remember my late father, a man of science, on his death bed relying on a technical device to measure his oxygen level. He panicked at seeing the number. I asked him to forget about the device a tell me how he was really feeling. But this wasn't on his radar. Relying on the devise made him worst as he was OK before looking at it. A life of relying on science made him ignore his bodily sensations . I learned a great lesson that day.

[@LouieLandsCandyTreat]

Perfect comment and example. Thanks

[@cosmicHalArizona]

Wow

[@vegardlandmark1869]

Oh you! 😉 NPCs are not born to parents

[@DannPassoja]

Well, let’s put it this way. We’ve never been able to make life from a test tube and maybe that’s the problem with everybody especially this guy.

[@5625130]

Yeah but, Low oxygen levels WILL make you panic!

[@toasty4754]

This guy holds opens multiple tabs , clears them 1 by 1 and goes back to the original question. I now realize how inferior my brain is

[@robertspringer92]

Training, just keep training, learning is a lifelong process, your brain is plenty for this world!

[@Rosshopkins2006]

Your kidding right. You think thats impressive?!

[@Dragonfire89nd]

Not that impressive... it basically english 101. Open with simple questions, branch out, tie it all together and revisit the opening. Not that hard

[@rileyweaver4136]

@@Dragonfire89nddude he’s right so I’m gonna go as far to say you’re prob wrong.

[@The.Kyle.Scott.]

⁠@@Rosshopkins2006Do you think dismissing OP’s observation is “impressive”? Or that the guests communication acumen is somehow *not* impressive? Because the ability to expand upon the conversation with interesting context that’s relevant while working your way back to make sure you’ve answered the initial question is almost nonexistent in today’s society. It’s a quality you wish all teachers/educators/mentors had, but it’s just as rare in that group. Sad that you seem to not understand the importance.

[@JasonGriffing]

Lex does so many good interviews but for my money, his conversations with scientists, physicists, astrophysicists, cosmologists, and the like are by far the best. More of this please!

[@KiloIndia]

Lex's here dropping 46:58 min long "clips"😂

[@43nduscott]

😂

[@zipperpillow]

It's a single stream of consciousness.

[@cheyenedeweese]

This interview was one of the best that I have seen in a long time.

[@TheTroofSayer]

Amazing interview, struck all the right chords: At 40:19 - "I'm an individual. I'm part of a society" - Keyword is culture. At 44:15 - "You actually have to be in a body" - Semiotic theory of CS Peirce in synthesis with the biosemiotic theory of J von Uexküll. What's it like to be a bat? A bird? A fish? A human in culture? Ask not about the brain, but about the body that wires it. Human bodies with hands and vocal chords wire human brains for language and culture.

[@levous2]

Adam Franks explanations are so intuitive and sensible. He cleanly dismissed numerous weird theories that have irked me since learning them. The many worlds theory (lazy garbage). The block universe (incongruent with experience). Love this so much!

[@erykczajkowski8226]

Seriously? I didn't even understand what is his main thesis is except that science is deviating from subjective experience. But why is that bad? I don't think that he explained. Taking into account how subjective experience has been proven so flawed in so many experiments claim that it is a pivotal thing is ridiculous. It is a pity that there was no Neil deGrasse Tyson or Max Tegmark in this conversation, they would press him in this matter. Lex did not.

[@martiananomaly]

47 minutes clip 👍

[@MagnusGalactusOG]

Great value!

[@stevedwyer8333]

​@@MagnusGalactusOGWe don't always have 3 hours.

[@jays.6804]

Getting to the main point doesn't need to take 15 minutes of common knowledge.

[@hook8535]

Every part of this clip is needed and should be included. Drink it in. Soak it up. It’s exceptional.

[@friendlyone2706]

Speaking of the math used to describe physical theory: We humans tend to ignore a fundamental property of complex numbers: They lack order. 5i is neither larger than nor smaller than -5i. Yes we can do absolute values and other math tricks to impose order (sometimes motivated only by our human desire to impose order on all things), but (-1)^1/2 is neither more nor less than zero. It's just different, with an infinite variety of differences possible, but without order. That means any physical property which needs complex numbers to describe it, the imaginary components lack order. Have no first-last, have no larger-small. Only on the average can they give the illusion order exist. Just looking at the world that way, quantum mechanics becomes an "of course it's all probability waves" and entanglement becomes a necessary consequence. Any lifeform that existed solely in the complex realm would see our universe as a subset of its own -- like we would view a complex maze that a tiny mouse is expected to understand.

[@stevedwyer8333]

i is more than just different from 0. exp(i), exp(0), and exp(-i) all are different magnitudes of rotation around the complex plane. Just try adding them up and get a real number.

[@friendlyone2706]

@@stevedwyer8333 They are different. We think of the complex plane as a plane -- so far doing so seems to never lead us astray -- but human convenience seems the only justification to use that imaging. Since we can directly experience only the "real" expressions of a complex term, there is no way we can "see" what's happening in the purely I realm -- which I often wish had a different identity than imaginary. It's too easy to imagine the "woo-woo" crowd getting excited about a genuine physical realm in which everything is equally close in time and space. A well known example of a physical model always working, except that that the reality is so much more interesting, is thinking of electricity flowing through wire like water through pipes. It seems you'll never go wrong designing stuff if you think that way. The reality, electricity is a field phenomena and the fields interact with wires -- something I never fully believed until watching a brilliant youtube video (can look up if you're curious). When wiring, I still think in terms of water through pipes. Just like back in the ancient past when I did 2nd and 3rd your calc & advanced physics, I thought of the complex plane as looking like the real number plane, even though my math teacher insisted I should always remember where order does and does not exist.

[@liammurphy6576]

Maybe a lifeform in the complex realm wouldnt be able to even comprehend our numbers, the same way we cant comprehend complex numbers. The reason for this is complex numbers are antithetical to normal numbers.

[@PATRICKDORSEY-l3z]

Postulates of the Theory Postulate 1: Spacetime is a 4D Projection of Higher-Dimensional Nested Klein Bottles Spacetime, as observed at macroscopic scales, is a 4-dimensional projection of a higher-dimensional structure. This structure is topologically similar to a nested series of Klein bottles (non-orientable surfaces), which governs the underlying geometry and dynamics of the universe. Mathematically, we represent this projection by: M_4 = \Pi_{\mu u}(K_4 \to K_n) Postulate 2: Discreteness of Spacetime at the Planck Scale At the Planck scale ( meters), spacetime becomes discrete and quantized, governed by topological rules derived from the higher-dimensional structure. This discreteness eliminates the infinities that arise in classical descriptions of spacetime, such as at black hole singularities or in the infinite precision required at the Planck scale. The quantization can be expressed as: \Delta x = \epsilon_p = \sqrt{\hbar G/c^3} Postulate 3: Quantum Mechanics is Embodied in the Indeterminacy of Spacetime Quantum indeterminacy is an inherent property of spacetime itself, arising from the fluctuation in the topology of the underlying higher-dimensional space. This manifests as the indeterminacy in expressions like and , which allow for multiple possible outcomes: 1, 0, or -1. This can be mathematically represented by a multivalued function: f(x) = \left\{ 0^0, 1 \times 0 ight\} \quad \text{with possible values} \quad \{1, 0, -1\} Postulate 4: Bidirectional Causality Causality is not strictly unidirectional. Events in the future and past can influence each other due to the higher-dimensional topology of spacetime, which allows for causal interactions between past and future states in quantum systems. This postulate explains retrocausal effects and entanglement in quantum mechanics. Mathematically, we describe this relationship with a causal kernel that allows for causality to evolve both forward and backward in time: C(\Delta t) = C_+(\Delta t) + C_-(\Delta t) Postulate 5: Dark Energy as a Stabilizing Quantum Field Dark energy is not a cosmological constant but a field of quantum fluctuations existing in a higher-dimensional structure. It serves to stabilize the spacetime fabric and drives the accelerated expansion of the universe. This dark energy field exists as a potential that has not collapsed into one of the possible outcomes, maintaining the expansion of the universe. Mathematically, we express dark energy as a field in the higher-dimensional topology: \Phi(x) = \Phi_0 + \delta\Phi(x) --- Mathematical Framework Supporting the Theory 1. Klein Bottle Geometry The nested Klein bottle topology can be described by a set of differential forms that govern the dynamics of spacetime within the higher-dimensional structure. These forms allow us to generalize the concept of spacetime curvature to higher-dimensional manifolds. Consider the higher-dimensional spacetime manifold , with a metric : ds^2 = g_{\mu u}(x) dx^\mu dx^ u R_{\mu u\lambda\sigma} = \partial_\mu \Gamma_{ u\lambda\sigma} - \partial_ u \Gamma_{\mu\lambda\sigma} + \Gamma_{\mu\alpha\lambda} \Gamma^\alpha_{ u\sigma} - \Gamma_{ u\alpha\lambda} \Gamma^\alpha_{\mu\sigma} 2. Spacetime Discreteness At the Planck scale, we model the discrete structure using lattice theory and quantum field theory on a lattice: \phi(x) = \sum_{\alpha} \delta(x - x_\alpha) \phi_\alpha 3. Gravitational Waves in Higher-Dimensional Space Gravitational waves propagate through both the observable 4D spacetime and the higher-dimensional structure. The equation governing gravitational waves in this context is a modified version of the Einstein field equations: R_{\mu u} - \frac{1}{2} g_{\mu u} R + \Lambda g_{\mu u} = 8\pi G T_{\mu u} \Box h_{\mu u} = 16 \pi G \left( T_{\mu u} + T_{\mu u}^{\text{higher-dim}} ight) --- Summary This framework introduces a nested Klein bottle topology for spacetime, unifying quantum mechanics, general relativity, and cosmological phenomena within a discrete structure that resolves the Planck scale and event horizon paradoxes. It predicts subtle modifications to gravitational waves, quantum field behavior, and cosmological observables that can be tested by current and future experiments. The mathematical postulates and equations outlined here provide the foundation for further refinement, experimental predictions, and potential verification of this unified theory.

[@stevedwyer8333]

​@friendlyone2706 Yes, i and 0 are different, and without order, but they are more than just different. Square them, and they those squares have order. I'm not sure how a complex world would be different from our world. Our world is mathematically consistent with complex numbers. I fact time can be represented as an imaginary dimension perpendicular to the 3 dimensions of space. The complex plane is a convenience of mathematics rather than a convenience for humans. It is universal.

[@FortYeah]

This guy just keeps making my brain explode! Merci Lex!

[@francisdebriey3609]

Great great interview. The most important question is : indeed why the Universe, nature, is ANIMATED, which literally, epistemologically, means "with an anima" = "with a soul"...

[@zipperpillow]

I thought the most important question was, "What's next?"

[@francisdebriey3609]

@zipperpillow ​ what Next ? Are you talking about death ? To me there is no question there : you die, like any cell of your body dies. In 7 years of your life, almost all the cells of your body have died and have been replaced by new ones, yet you are still there... in a comparable way like your cells, you will die... and will be "replaced", notably by your children... or other human beings. Yet something "bigger/higher" than you continues to be "animated". With this perspective, you can start to foresee that everything animated in the universe, including you, "contributes" to an "animated great organism" called Creation, Universe, Nature... or maybe even God

[@jamesstaggs4160]

For me it's a tie, does the universe go on forever and is there a starting point to time, kinda the same thing as what happened before the big bang. You'd think there would always be a "before" but then that gives you infinite regress and that one will twist your mind into knots trying to imagine.

[@zipperpillow]

Isn't the question, "What is the knot?" AND "Who is the twister?"

[@alexandre3106]

It happened to me bro 😂😂

[@augu_3st613]

What if nothing exists.... matter could be a fogment of consciousness. The only thing that is truly infinite is nothing. Thats it.

[@zipperpillow]

@@augu_3st613 I thought human stupidity was infinite?

[@friendlyone2706]

I have come to the conclusion, after living over 70 years and reading many "hard science" books, is that our ancestors were right. Life is a separate force, just as we currently believe gravity wells are a force, electromagnetism is a force and the nuclear force holding an atom's protons & neutron's together is a force. When Michael Creighton wrote "Life finds a way." he was writing about how we can recognize the Life Force. Must every force have an anti-force? Gravity doesn't seem to, but some think it might. Electromagnetism, with positive and negative forces and North and South poles, is a very visible example of a dance of force and anti force. What happens within atom keeps getting more "layered" and complicated, but again it's a dance of different things. Maybe not anti-each other as we macro creatures tend to think of anti forces. Then matter and anti matter -- which again just might be a very slow dance of the universe as a whole swaying between first now, then later one or the other being the predominant form for most of the matter in the universe. Likewise life and not life might dance between the two, continuously, both in the rock you hold and your hand holding the rock. There is something that would eliminate all life if it could. There is something outside this reality that would make all things conscious (alive) if it could, that must work hard to punch through to ignite a life spark. Once through, one spark can ignite another spark, but -- like a forest fire raging -- even a massive life igniting can be extinguished. What is the first igniting? A living consciousness deliberately observing the world and by observing creating it? But does that mean it, too, was created by a greater consciousness? But then that implies the universe is layers of greater and greater igniting wills just like the nucleus seems to be an endless line of "fundamental" force-particles. That the correct translation of "as above so below" should have been "As beyond, so within."

[@bersabersaber]

Damn

[@stevecharron6341]

I'm glad there are places where a person can write, and fully flesh out a beautiful idea like that, and not have to worry about someone commenting "damn bro I ain't readin all that". I once read a sci-fi short story that rang true for me (believe it's called Infinitely Divided) about a man who experiences ever increasing strangeness, until he's the last living human, based around the idea we can't subjectively experience death. It's a quick one, but gets a good idea across. I tend to think that's probably right (kind of terrifying really) but I think when we get there, we kinda, find a way to pull a Klein bottle (is that right?) through the pinhole. Rabbit out of a hat maybe? Maybe this universe is God going crazy because he's alone and we are all aspects of the same. All I know is that I don't have the answers, I'm a drug addicted 8th grade dropout. I'm 43 and still can't find the forest through the trees. Life for sure...is a trip.

[@christophervaughn7522]

Agreed. "Took the words from my 'mouth' seems too cliche, also inadequate. Also hilariously ironic that it 'goes without saying' yet I'm compelled to contribute despite being aware of the redundance. I'm finding it amusing that I began this with urge to hit Like; to one word comment; to joining the continuation of what I think is the point of this commentary thread. I'm curious to know. Will anyone read THIS far. I have just commented on the comment of a comments comment. In fact I lost track of which layer I'm at. Am I wasting my time with this? ( Of course I am LOL) just journaling? Is my justification that I'm sharing my thoughts valid? Only Google's Willow knows.😂 I don't expect any feedback. Honestly. Nor do I desire any validation(LIE) enjoy being caught in/by the force of this spiral.❤ps 5 minutes into this pod in. My intuition telling me there's purpose in my participation.

[@christophervaughn7522]

Kindred spirit , I'd like to say I couldn't agree more..

[@friendlyone2706]

@@christophervaughn7522 "Nor do I desire any validation(LIE)" To live not to be admired by strangers -- but honest enough to admit admiration is pleasant. That's what KZbin commenting is all about. That and the ever present human struggle to become fully human --- whatever that is --- but somehow we know it's connected to communication. Communication --- a very complicated topic that should be simple if only we were just a little smarter, a little more aware and a little more patient.

[@SpeechCheck]

What a great conversation. Thank you.

[@ZippetyZoppetyZop]

Great video Lex, I like the longer clips!! I don’t want to hear a tidbit of how the world started… no way I can be convinced in ~6 minutes

[@papermoonJanuarybloom2002]

Adam Frank did a good job of conveying his ideas into words. It was easy to catch even for non-natives like me. Thank you so much for your enjoyable conversation.

[@BillStrathearn]

He's very good with words. Not so much with thoughts and logical thinking, unfortunately ☹

[@fuatdomanic]

Just this conversation is why Mr. Fridman is my favorite host among so many…🙏🖖 The subject of the conversation is the reason, probably, for why “Phaeudrus” went crazy on “Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”😅🙏🖖

[@zipperpillow]

Love it. Great stuff. I hear the words and recognize the thoughts and I realize that we don't have sufficient language to either describe the phenomena or report about its experience. Could it be beyond language's reach? What an adroit speaker. Great guest. I guess I better buckle up for the full dose, because this sample has my mind watering.

[@detromaniac]

He's correct that there is something big about Agency. There is more than just the physical layer going on. That is a necessity for free will, to break deterministic rule.

[@James-ll3jb]

It's been demonstratrd free will does not exist. Sorry.😊

[@zipperpillow]

@@James-ll3jb He said, with no choice. Still the jury voted "Guilty". Oops.

[@duffer11]

@@James-ll3jb where?

[@jonny-dp2qr]

⁠@@James-ll3jbdoesn’t even make sense 😂

[@James-ll3jb]

@@jonny-dp2qr Check the recent science. The decision is made for your nervous system some time before you consciously "decide." Your "decision" is but illusion. Check out the science. (Sorry.)

[@DugWagner]

Best interview I've seen in a long time.

[@davontee1721]

😂sound delusional asl

[@chillmixradio1804]

@@davontee1721how is it delusional for someone to have a personal opinion about whats the best interview that “they’ve” ever seen

[@zacknusser9755]

​@davontee1721 what a weird comment. You must be miserable 😂

[@stevedwyer8333]

​@@davontee1721If you're an AI, I can see that you wouldn't have consciousness or experience life. From that perspective, the ideas in this talk may sound delusional. But this comment appears to come from someone truly alive.

[@plantsir9173]

Check out Alex Oconnors interview with Sam Harris m. Trust me.

[@leolloyd7620]

I love this conversation and think it needs to be expanded and integrated into our general educational curriculum at all levels 😎

[@laney1975able]

Yes but something tells me this perspective wouldn't be efficient or productive for the economy

[@Chezboi30003]

We're trying to get high-schoolers in math class to understand that "doubling" something doesn't just make 2. Maybe you're thinking about a better school district.

[@aryagoes555]

This summarises everything everywhere at once❤

[@hiliemanuel]

He’s basically explaining Husserl… the criticism on science with regards to experience, third person perspective Vs first person perspective etc… It sounds like phenomenology, even relating to Bergson and Whithead

[@BillStrathearn]

It's sad Adam's years of experience in related fields hasn't led to a more sound and original view than this. I personally find it frustrating that he's confounding the measurement problem and QBism with some misguided effort to discount all the sound evidence-based perspectives enumerated @5:12. Just because we have a measurement problem in quantum physics and just because humans experienced the world before they could describe it mathematically doesn't mean that math or other objective views of the universe are somehow dependent on human experience. He is humble enough to admit that he doesn't know the solution to the "problem" his book outlines but that should have prevented him from writing the book and going on a world tour to promote this nonsense.

[@BenevolentBees]

This guy gets it. ; Thanks for hosting such a great discussion !

[@GHOST-FACE594]

I damn near had a panic attack the other night thinking about how we don’t know how everything really started lol. Like the Big Bang, what happened before that and whatever did happen, what happened before that.. we will probably never know, at least not in my lifetime.

[@Ponderingaboutlife]

We will never know. One way to get over stuff like that is to tell yourself it is what it is. I've been ok to this point..knowing or not knowing doesn't change my current experience. The truth is in what it is. And I am ok. I've been ok. Thay kind of thing.

[@MagnusGalactusOG]

Merry Christmas ! 🎄 We can all learn from the practical teachings of *Jesus* ✝ Most scientific theories just end up being scrapped 🚮

[@geraldbutler5484]

@@MagnusGalactusOGMost but not all theories. Anyway I prefer the Buddha.

[@omegaslayer4177]

Thats like being the furthest north on this planet. You can't get farther north past a certain point. . That's what the premise is like when it comes to the question " what came before the big bang " . Hard to guess or go farther in the question than that.

[@falconquest2068]

There was no "big bang".

[@brooksfab]

Love all these discussions, there truly is a great awakening spiritually, so many talking God's name and so many concluding there has to be a Creator

[@bbfoto7248]

@brooksfab Honest question: But who/what created this creator? i.e. "Origin"? Further, IF there was nothing, why was there a need or motivation to "create'?

[@brooksfab]

@@bbfoto7248 That's a great question, one we may never be able to answer. We may simply be a microscopic entity on another microscopic entity, everything interacts with its environment, from soil to the heavens, we are all God, the "human conscious state" of Him (the Creator), whatever that is,. Why?, possibly we are quantum itself, continually evolving based on the collective "human" experience. What's to say, what we call "complex neurons" aren't yet another reduced form of consciousness, everything from the smallest molecule forward operates with the precondition of survival and serving, some in fact everlasting, outside of time itself, meaning, it was here (in existence) prior to our level of observation, this is fact as we continually find new things, operating as if they know what to do outside of our knowledge. These are independent operating entities within another automous entity. The only thing that happens at death is a decomposition of our outter shell while our energy (our soul, the thing inside the physical shell) is transfered back to God, the ether, the universe, whatever you want to call it, which is the very thing that provides life as we currently experience it. This could be Heaven, outside of this and into the collective body of the Creator. Think about this, how many billions of people, i.e, "experiences" have been had collectively, this is quantum, expericening everything at once, searching for the best result. Decay and atrophy are not merely stages in the evolutionary process; they are essential components of entropy, driving the natural progression and transformation of all things.

[@billkeisling2907]

Great discussion. Adam’s placement of the ‘agent’ in the center of things reminds me of the Renaissance’s placement of man at the center.

[@Grim-Crusader]

But are we not ?

[@iemy2949]

Uh no. Odds are there are vastly superior beings.

[@billkeisling2907]

@@iemy2949 his point is that everything, including ourselves, are agents.

[@Roopfert]

Rewatch the video, it's not human-centric. It's the fact that "being" is the foundation for everything else. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear then it doesn't make a sound. The surroundings would resonate, but sound happens in the ear

[@billkeisling2907]

@ No, it’s agent-centric. His point is a human can also be an agent, as can anything on up from the quanta level.

[@TheCrMeth]

this is a great conversation. thx alot!

[@podunkest]

Thank you for asking the observer question! You read my mind.

[@WildcatWarrior15]

It really says a lot when your argument challenges the viewpoints of both religious and non-religious people.

[@justinmallaiz4549]

Good point. Imo it’s because he’s off track and more lost than most. No doubt un heathy for both perspectives and just trying to melt the two

[@eldritchbidoof]

@@justinmallaiz4549 I think OP was trying to compliment the speaker's arguments dude, not insult him lol...

[@FinnAstraeus]

Exactly! Thank you! This topic has been missed my entire life and I think it is what had lead us astray into ideas of importance that has shaped our perception of reality that has lead us down a path of unfulfilling existence and social distortion.

[@muthunatarajans8580]

His articulation of the precise words is amazing!

[@TimothyDavis-xw3mc]

Blind Spot, great choice!!!!! The "conscious" , sub-consciuos, no conscious. Favorite optical illusions; the empty circle & the two parallel lines and the convergence of the two vertical lines horizontally and/or vertical parallel lines into a single continuous line in the EMPTY CIRCLE(imagination). Learned or inate repasentaion of trees & distant horizons.

[@noxtwilight_]

Finally!! Thank God for the long form intellectual podcast.

[@JoeParkerPoe]

Couldn’t put a finger on who this guy sounds like and finally realized it was another one of your amazing guests - Robert Barron. 1:26

[@antonvrb1510]

Very interesting stuff!!!

[@isatousarr7044]

From a physics perspective, the question "What is life?" remains one of the biggest mysteries in science. At its core, life can be seen as a system that maintains order and complexity by harnessing energy from its surroundings to perform work, grow, and reproduce. This is often described through the lens of thermodynamics and information theory. Life defies the natural tendency toward entropy (disorder) by creating localized pockets of order. Physicist Erwin Schrödinger famously addressed this in his book What Is Life?, suggesting that living organisms feed on "negative entropy" to maintain their structure and functionality. This process is enabled by the constant flow of energy, such as sunlight or chemical energy, driving non-equilibrium processes. At a deeper level, life might also be understood as a system that processes and encodes information. The DNA molecule, for example, is a physical repository of information that dictates the structure and function of living organisms. From a quantum mechanics perspective, researchers are exploring whether quantum phenomena, like coherence and tunneling, play a role in biological processes, such as photosynthesis and enzyme activity. Despite these insights, a comprehensive definition of life that bridges physics with biology and chemistry remains elusive. The interplay between matter, energy, and information in living systems continues to challenge our understanding, suggesting that life’s essence might lie at the intersection of physical laws and emergent complexity.

[@DemandAlphabetBeBrokenUp]

Dear Lex's Mom If you ignore Joe & read this. You did a phenomenal job raising Lex! He is a BRIGHT BRIGHT light in a very dark universe & we (all of humanity) owe you a great deal. Thank you.

[@FRESH-36]

I love how science is finally admitting materialism isn’t the endgame.

[@ArnoWalter]

The terms "observer" and "measurement" is the biggest issue in quantum mechanics, because it implies consciousness. That was never the intention and Schrödinger's cat is actually a paradox addressing that issue. It doesn't make any sense to assume, the cat is both, dead and alive, until observed. The full paradox extents it to an assistant, observing the cat in a totally isolated lab. Does the superposition translate to the assistant? Do cat and assistant share a superposition, until Mr. Schrödinger opens the door? What if Mr. Schrödinger uses the intercom from and adjacent isolated lab? Is the wavefront a local phenomenon? What if the assistant is lying? Is the cat dead in one lab and alive in the other?

[@collectYaNeck]

The thing is, is the cat is detached from our perception of “knowing” anything. Life/death is binary. I always thought Schrödingers cat is a lazy and irrelevant subject. It’s like saying when a bear smells a cooking steak, both the experience the bear brain sends has of smelling the steak, the feeling its brain causes, exists equal to the particles the steak gives off as smell and that are the same as the physical steak.

[@ggg-ox3hr]

Schrödinger’s intention was to show exactly that measurement requires an observer. Lex then takes this idea and extends it to the philosophical realm and concludes that simply having an observer implies consciousness. ( he calls it an illusion). Because Yes, the laser is technically the observer but who placed the laser there in the first place?

[@ArnoWalter]

@@ggg-ox3hr Oooh, I know that one. The kinoun akindeton or unmoved mover. A postulate that never evolved beyond circular reasoning.

[@LauraLevensonMusk]

Your intelligence is showing😂

[@PSi-p9i]

Thats why God says "I am" in exodus in relation to " to be"

[@SiZzLePoPPiN]

My dudes got a 47 minute "Clip".... MY DUDE, THATS A WHOLE DAM NORMAL PODCAST😂😂😂😂😂

[@aidanhall6679]

Wonderful discussion, I’m glad experience is finally earning a central place, no pun intended, in serious scientific discourse.

[@602davido]

The ultimate question is simple but infinitely deep: Why is there something instead of nothing?

[@cameronbutton2573]

I’ve thought about this a lot - I think it’s a matter of perspective, we can only see and experience what’s within the boundaries of our capability, our universe. I thought about examples of when something goes from something to nothing and I thought about turning in a computer. When it’s off and powered down it doesn’t even know it exists, when we turn it on it comes to life. So I changed the question slightly, what turned on our universe?

[@starwaving8857]

A dimension we aren’t calculating allows for energy to come together without being a black hole.

[@freshjunkie4392]

@@cameronbutton2573our universe would have to be like a computer for that analogy to work

[@cameronbutton2573]

@@freshjunkie4392 exactly

[@freshjunkie4392]

@@cameronbutton2573 sucks there’s no evidence our universe is like a computer though was ever “turned on” our universe could’ve always been “turned on”

[@DarkSkay]

In a classic perspective, there is a mathematical, a mental, a physical world. At least the first two, perhaps all three of them, are inexhaustible; meaning that there will always be infinitely more to discover and create. Now, it's fascinating that humans can incrementally learn more about how this incredible "theatre" is implemented. But what function is it identical with? The expansion of the roll of "divine dice"? A "theatre" meant to please the Gods, keep them company, as in traditional beliefs? Something much wilder? Somewhat paradoxically, this fundamental question of "non-non-existence" seems to deepen, as science and exploration reveal more and more things we've never seen before.

[@BenHasley]

A true crash course on metaphysics. Only critique is that many assumptions are made to establish the concepts of free will and agency that allow for branching theories. Almost unnoticeable but nonetheless there. Lex does a great job of providing loose resistance to allow him to develop his stance without traditional pushback.

[@samhu7779]

Experience is The Best Teacher 😮

[@Jedi1993]

The Bhagavad Gita and other older scriptures are good to read or listen too

[@kauaidiver2]

I love Adam, even if he's wrong he has ideas. Something new..

[@cheyenedeweese]

Remember two things: that everything has always been the same, and keeps recurring. - Marcus Aurelius

[@cheyenedeweese]

Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

[@jmeden]

This fellow's fundamental critique of both idealism and physicalism is best articulated in Being and Time. Dude is a Heideggerian through and through.

[@stevedwyer8333]

Ðes Cartes said it best: I think; therefore, I am.

[@stfon5]

Have Donald Hoffman on with this him at the same time!

[@VitezslavDuzik]

Great video, i enjoyed it.

[@saadalikhan3031]

Great interview

[@george5464]

This is what you call a proper thinker

[@REDPILL_POLITICS]

20:34 did somebody open a glass door or something? I know I should be paying attention to the discussion, but my ADD saw that flash & completely derailed me... 😂

[@charleswhitford2026]

This man's process of elimination for logical and reasonable processes are outstanding. His perspective vs perception in his thinking is interesting.

[@robstrange129]

Hi Lex. I think the Universe is a frame and a canvas. We are the pictures painted on those canvasses, of which there are an unknown plenty. Happy New Year

[@IDriveAnAudi]

Words are hard!

[@RandyVeraMusic]

Early Heidegger would love this guy.

[@tykjenffs]

Life (so far) is the rarest thing in the universe.

[@D1str1ct]

Only from our perspective. In other parts of the universe there might be life everywhere and they have the opposite position. We are in an isolated bubble afterall. And it all depends on what level of life you mean. But the universe is infinite potentiality. Everything and nothing is waiting out there. But at the end of the day we are just self aware software, experiencing "reality" through electromagnetic frequencies. Are you even in this universe when you sleep and shift waves?

[@tykjenffs]

@@D1str1ct I said life. I wasn't even specific because I don't have to be. How about life as we know it? So tell me: What other planets or moons are there life on? You cant even mention one. You can stuff your "buts" and "ifs" in a sack. My point still stands. Scientists and hippies like to yada yada about life in the universe but the truth is life is only on Earth. So far. Please keep your mumbo jumbo to yourself. You are clearly more asleep than awake. So much for reality. Oh the humanity. Just monkeys on a planet thinking they know so much. Yet they know SO little. Get well soon.

[@D1str1ct]

@ are you well? There are more stars in the sky than there is sand on this planet. As I also said, we are in an isolated area of space. We seem to have a void around us. Also, we are nothing more than software, creating the realities around us. So if people want to experience an abundant universe of aliens, they can. Doesn’t mean you have to or your perspective of reality is dominant. It’s just how it is. We are nothing more than self aware electromagnetic impulses. Have you researched microtubules?

[@PSi-p9i]

If you think God created life on earth, you dont think intelligent life randomly arises on other planets why would you

[@fuckwithsouthy]

Wood is.

[@anthonylawrence5842]

You need to add Prof Michael Levin from Tufts on biophysics and RobertTemple on Plasma Physics and Julian Barbour on time, Denis Noble on evolution, to the mix..

[@joshoowa]

I love that everyone eventually saw you as the joke I’ve always seen you as, Lex :)

[@Ancientalienshistory]

The possibility of machines achieving consciousness or agency through imitation is considered, although they may differ significantly from human experience.

[@stevedwyer8333]

But that's not the same as experiencing.

[@SyIe12]

👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐THANK YOU FOR THE ADEQUATE, THOUGHTFUL ANALYSIS ON THE SUBJECT.

[@badasfunk]

Fabulous talk!

[@dorfmanjones]

Adam is a healthy voice for phenomenology in the today's world. People interested on this subject can read Merleau-Ponty's writings. There is more access to them in today's world than those of Husserl. Merleay-Ponty attended all of Husserl's Paris Lectures in 1929. Science has progressed immeasurably since those days, but the Phenomological critique still has relevance. It's not so only because of the 'measurement problem' but also the persistence of the Anthropic principle, in which theoretical physicists of stature like Leonard Susskind see merit. Consciously avoiding these flies in the ointment don't make them go away.

[@philipsangalang5077]

The great part of this discourse is that it inspired people to think of their experience as having more value, and not simply secondary to algorithms and mathematical formulations and systems. What it SHOULDN'T do is allow pseudoscience and science-skeptics, anti-intellectuals and dictatorship/strong man fans to dismiss science and prioritize experience over everything else

[@tosvarsan5727]

A couple of very smart comments from Lex which (I think) Adam underestimated

[@fringetimex8021]

My claim is that our definition of time actually is all about some steps of entropy in one system relative to entropy of another system. Not about dimensjon. We experience it as dimension only because we remember earlier states that entropy wiped out, step by step. My claim is that clocks in satelites doesn’t really experience time slowing down, because it’s the clocks entropy slowing down «particles travel routes grows longer the faster the object travels». Easier said: Because speed of light is the maximum speed, it’s also the maximum speed for entropy - so that anything travels in the speed of light won’t experience entropy, or what we call ageing. So traveling at speed of light won’t result in time traveling, but it would stop ageing. If you travel at speed of light from point A to pont B, and was thinking about an apple at point A you will still think about an apple when you arrive at point B, even billion years later - because entropy in your body and brain was paused.

[@718jairo]

Question: What is life? Answer: Life is Life, aaaah ahhh aaah ahhh aaah, Life is Life.

[@MagnusGalactusOG]

What is life? Life is like a big obstacle In front of your optical to slow you down And every time you think you've gotten past it It's gonna come back around to tackle you to the damn ground

[@cody1390]

​​@@MagnusGalactusOG what is life?? I'm tired of life..I'm tired of backstabbing ass friends with friendly grins...

[@grantshuff2458]

He’s just out here yapping for 45 minutes

[@stevedwyer8333]

​@@cody1390 Better than the alternative.

[@zipperpillow]

@@cody1390 Get different friends.

[@thequantumtemple]

Good Stuff!

[@ryanhellander1619]

It seems pretty obvious that once the universe obtained a state where energy slowed to a point where particles/time emerged consciousness also emerged. I see it as remnants of excess or absorbed/entangled/shared energy or the lack of acceleration or even lack of expansion that governs all of these descriptions which are all the same thing. The cosmos has the original consciousness and local consciousness is becoming more complex but ultimately has a feedback loop to base universal consciousness that is not static. I think most people know this to be true just all language limits us by not being able to share this feeling outside conventional reality coherently. It probably doesn’t need to be explained but shared through stories and experiences.

[@zipperpillow]

Nicely summed up.Thumbs up.

[@stephensemp8634]

Consciousness / Life… exactly 👏👏👏

[@Jcs57]

What I get from science is that we are but a small piece of a whole that has the fortunate capacity to study this within the realm of the senses we have. I find that very uplifting and spiritual in the sense that it gives me goosebumps. Science makes the universe far more wondrous and mystifying than the bald assertions and assumptions attributed with the empty god claims.

[@LRRYFSHRMN]

I really identify with the idea of pushing meaning outside of ourselves to equations or religion. When the entire time THIS is the real magic, the experience. Don’t miss the terrain for the map.

[@francisbegbie1008]

For lucid dreaming and Astral travel , you are conscious and able to see without eyes .

[@mike7652]

Yes, and when I imagined things I also see those things without using my eyes. It's not some deep enigmatic, esoteric knowledge possessed by only a select few 😂

[@zipperpillow]

@@mike7652 I watch my girlfriend's cat chasing mice in her sleep, with her eyes closed. And sometimes I see my girlfriend as another woman with my eyes closed.

[@zak2659]

@@mike7652and yet the thought does not occur to most people.

[@seremetvlad]

Hey Lex, thanks for this video. Wanted to ask when will you release the interviews from Ukraine? Thanks

[@TurdFerguson456]

I still want to know, if possible, what the world is like without our experience, or from any possible experience.

[@TheTroofSayer]

Engineer here, not physicist. The so-called "measurement problem" - 18:19 - makes me uncomfortable, with its associations with Schrodinger's Cat, Copenhagen Interpretation and the various unlikely spinoffs like Multiverse/MW - these I call the "subatomic billiard-ball" model of physics. Quantum Contextuality (Kochen & Specker, 1967 and Bell's theorem), however, provides a much more likely interpretation, imho, by incorporating nuance over the dumb luck of stochastic arbitrariness. But what do I know? I'm just an engineer (problem-solver).

[@bobinthewest8559]

“Experience is not just ‘a thing you have’, but it’s a thing you do…” I would go further to say that in some ways… experience is a component of “what you ARE.”

[@Tomee66666]

"The internal self" was a psych intro that started this thinking for me.

[@bhushankaduful]

Observer is a part of the observed. Map is not the terrain ~Krishnamurti Also the other part where the experience of sunset as both scientific and as subjective human are both right is the central idea of Advaita Vedanta. Not to say it has all the answers but science is taking it's sweet time to reach at some concepts.

[@TedCampbell-s1x]

Thank you. Please read Frederico Faggin.

[@Chris-gm4hk]

Agency is just part of the inherent structure of reality. Measurement is just agency applied to reality.

[@lllPlatinumlll]

The biggest question in science is, 'bro, dude, like, what even is life maaaaan?' *draws from bong, exhales and bursts into a fit of coughing.*

[@avengemybreath3084]

Another very smart guy, much smarter than me, who doesn’t seem to understand the “measurement problem” in quantum mechanics.

[@yoanante]

I wish Lex would interview Stuart Hamerof

[@Misho73bg]

About mathematical model of our reality: Does the archer calculate the trajectory of his arrow with ballistic equations? Absolutely no. What that tell us? There is alternative way to predict the trajectory and our brains "know" how to do it. The "scientific" way is basically pure formal math, relaying on the belief that our world always could be described mathematically (formally). But what if this is a just a good approximation, as we found that Newtonian physics is just an approximation of relativistic physics? Straight materialism has many flaws and this is just an ordinary example of questioning our picture of the world. I agree my example is far away of academic formalism, it's just a comment :-) I will appreciate to have discussion with people who are interested in this topic. Thanks for the video! Keep going!

[@Cheifez21]

Cheers!!!!

[@olemundoaguilar1224]

Why is the green dot always on on my phone ?

[@HugoPurple]

Couch Quarterbacks Rock

[@TheMothang]

I would like this guy to be the narrator of my brain.

[@laney1975able]

Science comes between the experiencing person and the cosmos. Although science can be benificial, if we rely on in heavily we can lose the true essence of who we are. This guy sees the illusion

[@familyshare3724]

Dhamma is phenomena and phenomenology

[@goldwold]

Adam Frank I'll buy you a beer anytime my man!

[@rawrisimo]

I think idealism is precisely the way to not establish a third person narrative, but also depends on what type of idealism we stick to.

[@gokhankavasoglu8223]

So what did we learn? How should we pursue science from now on? What was the point of this talk?

[@DrJanpha]

Not quite sure what he is talking about, but it sounds cool

[@erawanpencil]

It's simpler than this. The biggest mystery is what is a measurement, what is a detector.