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PODCAST

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott

Physicist Dr. Al Scott addresses politically and socially divisive issues with insightful evidence-based analysis of the facts. Learn to apply the tools of science to discover the most rational path to an optimistic vision of the future. https://www.therationalview.ca

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

01:15:01

Andy Vasily with deep thoughts on life and podcasting

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/08/13

This is a fun joint podcast with co-host Andy Vasily of the successful ‘Run your life’ podcast. Andy is a friend from way back. We went to public school together. Andy helped me set up my podcast a couple years ago and get started with a few helpful hints. His Run Your Life podcast is focused on physical fitness and self realization. In this episode we reminisce a bit and share the wisdom we have gathered over the forty or so years since our last meeting. We chat about how we both ended up in

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48:00

Dr. Ellen deLara discusses bullying

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/08/06

In this episode I book-end my two episode investigation on the impacts of bullying with someone who has interviewed victims of bullying to attempt to characterize the impacts. I recently did a podcast that reviewed my experiences with bullying as a child and how it seemed to have impacted my personality and my life. From a high level, Dr. deLara’s results resonated with me. It felt good to identify an external reason for why I found it hard to interact with others. But let’s be careful and

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14:03

Escaping my bully

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/07/30

In this episode I want to share something personal about my life. This episode is about bullying and its lifelong effects. My bully made me who I am today. I hope if you are experiencing bullying that you take the time to listen. I learned a lot in school, and most of it in the schoolyard. I learned to run fast, and dodge. I learned that there is no justice in the world. I learned the world is a harsh place and the good guys lose. I learned to be self sufficient. I learned to escape into fantasy. My

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31:52

What I’ve learned about the hard problem of...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/07/23

In this episode I summarize my investigation of consciousness. I’ve been interviewing several experts and there is a huge diversity of thought on the topic of thought. It is called ‘the hard problem of consciousness’ to explain why we have a subjective experience of existence. What have I learned? The problem is hard because people don’t agree on an objective set of criteria about what consciousness entails. If there is no clear definition, it is no surprise it is hard to explain. Philosophers

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48:12

Angelica Oung says the world needs more CANDU reactors

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/07/16

In this episode I am interviewing a fellow supporter of nuclear energy who, although not a Canadian, she posted an article on Canada Day singing the praises of the CANDU reactor. I think CANDU is an underappreciated technological wonder, similar to the Avro Arrow. It is also at risk of going down that same path unless Canadians rise up and tell their MPs and MPPs that we need more of them. Angelica Oung is a journalist specializing in Asia and energy matters living in Taipei, Taiwan. In her spare

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01:09:34

Dr. Bernardo Kastrup on the Universal Mind

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/07/09

In this episode I return to my investigation of the physical and philosophical bases of consciousness. Today I will be taking on a new perspective from a leading expert in both philosophy and artificial intelligence. Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and another Ph.D. in computer engineering specializing in artificial

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43:08

Dr. Gerfried Jungmeier discusses electric vehicles

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/07/02

In this episode I am returning to one of my favourite topics—the clean energy transition. Today I wanted to explore the life cycle greenhouse gas footprint of the shift to electric vehicles. Many governments are using a transition to electrified transportation as the foundation of their GHG emissions reduction programs. Today I’m going to an expert to find out how effective this transition will be on our society’s GHG emissions profile. Dr. Gerfried Jungmeier holds a Master’s degree in mechanical

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40:08

Communicating science through fiction with Eric Choi

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/06/25

On my episode today I will be exploring a fun topic—science fiction, with a friend an colleague who is also an up and coming science fiction author. We will discuss themes of communicating science and our shared love of science fiction. Eric Choi is a writer, editor, and aerospace engineer in Toronto. He has twice won the Prix Aurora Award – Canada’s national prize for excellence in science fiction and fantasy – for his short story “Crimson Sky” and for the anthology The Dragon and the Stars, and he

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01:01:06

Dr. Scott Aaronson on sentience, AI and quantum...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/06/18

In this episode I am continuing my investigation into the so-called hard problem of consciousness. I’ve spoken to several people who believe that consciousness arose in single celled organisms and is somehow integrated at higher levels through electrical synchronization or intercellular molecular transport into a unified experience. Hindus and Buddhists believe that there is a Universal consciousness of which we all partake. This is similar in some ways to Sir Roger Penrose’ theory of consciousness

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01:09:46

Dr. Michael Levin on cellular cooperation and cognition

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/06/11

In this episode I continue my exploration into the nature of consciousness and awareness. I’ve learned a lot in my exploration to date. I’ve learned about Hindu and Buddhist ideas on awareness, and I’ve delved into the underlying quantum mechanical nature of reality. I’ve discussed ideas of quantum computing and biological links to the mysteries of quantum mechanics. My guest today is an expert on the cellular basis of memory and cognition. Michael Levin received dual B.S. degrees (computer science

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01:01:21

A Buddhist perspective on awareness with Dr. John Dunne

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/06/04

In this episode I continue my exploration of consciousness, exploring a field of enquiry that has focused almost exclusively on consciousness and awareness for hundreds of years. Although it is not science, Buddhism has a uniquely close relation with physics and physicists being oft quoted. 'The Tao of Physics' comes to mind, as well as ‘The Dancing Wu Li Masters’ as examples. I hope you enjoy this foray into the Buddhist mind. Dr. John Dunne serves on the faculty of the University of

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01:01:51

Lemmel and Hofmann experiment with reality

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/05/28

Quantum Mechanics is a strange theory. Richard Feynman said “I think it is safe to say nobody understands quantum mechanics”. So why is it so popular if nobody understands it? How is this the basis for all of our physical knowledge of particles and their interactions? A recent innovative experiment fires neutrons through a double slit and proves that each neutron goes through both slits at the same time. Prof. Holger Hofmann, studied physics in his hometown of Stuttgart, Germany, then went to Tokyo

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53:29

Shorting the Grid with Meredith Angwin

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/05/21

In this episode I am lucky to be able to talk to an expert in the lifeblood of modern civilization, our electrical grid. The grid is the pulse that sustains civilization. It provides us with the energy to run our labour-saving appliances, it provides us with lights, it empowers our computers, it heats our homes, it refrigerates our food. Without it we would be tossed back to 19th century living conditions. It powers all of modern technology and allows us to communicate around the globe. The grid is

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01:03:28

Dr. Ruth Kastner and the transactional interpretation...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/05/14

In this episode I am looking forward to exploring more about alternate interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. In previous episodes exploring consciousness, I’ve encountered several people who believe that Quantum Mechanics is at the root of consciousness. My current thinking is that it replaces one mystery with another one without really providing an explanation for consciousness. We are still stuck with the options of consciousness being a pre-existing property of the universe or some aspect of

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54:31

Dr. Sangeetha Menon with a Hindu perspective on...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/05/07

In this, my 100th episode, I continue to explore consciousness, but I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a little and seeing what I can learn from the religious viewpoint on consciousness. The idea of an eternal soul is central to many religions, and the Hindus especially believe in reincarnation. I want to learn what they think the soul entails, and what are the parallels between religious thought, philosophy, and the findings of neuro-biology. Dr. Sangeetha Menon is Professor and Head of the

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55:33

Professor Jack Tuszynski probes proposed quantum...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/04/30

This episode continues my series on consciousness—are we just biological robots? Following on from my exciting interview last week with quantum biophysicist Dr. Luca Turin, I dig further into competing quantum theories of consciousness. The famous Sir Roger Penrose and his partner Stuart Hameroff have proposed the Orchestrated OR theory. This theory posits a modification of the incomplete theory of quantum mechanics that underlies half of physics. They argue that consciousness arises from moments

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56:31

Dr. Luca Turin detects quantum clues to consciousness

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/04/23

This episode continues my series on consciousness—are we biological robots? Today I’m getting into some real science talking to a biophysicist who brings the esoteric world of quantum mechanics to bear on the topic. His groundbreaking work in the lab provides us with some real measurements that provide tantalizing hints at the previously unknown quantum processes tied to consciousness. Dr. Luca Turin was born in 1953 in Beirut, Lebanon, to Italian-Argentinian parents and was brought up in France,

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49:51

Dr. Andy Norman on how to immunize your mind

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/04/16

This episode continues my series on the Rational art of war on social media. Following on from my great interview a few weeks back with Dr Lee McIntyre, author of Talking to Science Deniers, he suggested I interview his colleague Dr. Andrew Norman who is actively working to inoculate the world against anti-science thinking. Dr. Andy Norman is the award-winning author of Mental Immunity: Infection Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. His work has appeared in Scientific

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59:53

Transhumanist David Pearce discusses consciousness

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/04/09

In this episode I continue my investigation into consciousness interviewing an advocate for artificial intelligence. He advocates for a form of physicalistic idealism that is both highly speculative and incredible, by his own words. He supports the equations of physics as a complete description of reality, and posits that minds arise in quantum superpositions of neurons. A quantum superposition is a non-intuitive situation that arises in the equations of physics where a system can seemingly exist

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58:04

Dr. Arthur Reber claims cells are sentient

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2022/04/02

In this episode I begin my investigation into the topic of consciousness with an interview. The field of consciousness research is broad and interdisciplinary, with active researchers in philosophy, psychology, physics, neuro-biology, computer science, and even theology. My first interview is a psychologist who wrote a book claiming that bacteria are sentient. Dr. Arthur Reber is an American cognitive psychologist, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),

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255 results

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