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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

47:57

Neurologist Dr. Richard Cytowic says screens are...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/10/05

In this episode I am interviewing a neuroscientist and a writer who has done a lot of work on synesthesia, or the melding of sense perceptions. His most recent book delves into how we can take back control of our attention from addictive social media. This should be of interest to most of us, and especially to parents of young children and teenagers who don’t know what to do to help their kids put down the devices and engage with life.Dr. Richard E. Cytowic, a pioneering researcher in synesthesia,

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56:37

Dr. Michael Weist provides a crucial piece of...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/09/28

In this episode I’m returning to the mysterious and challenging topic of consciousness and awareness, the elusive theory of mind that philosophers have chased for centuries, and is now coming to heel under the tools of neurobiology and the framework of modern physics. My guest today has performed experiments on rats that lend credence to the intriguing idea that quantum mechanics could play a basic role in the function of the mind. Are our brains quantum computers? This is a question for The

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36:27

Dr. Lindsey Cormack says ignorance of civics damages...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/09/21

In this episode we’re going to chat with someone who understands the value of a good civics education. This comes at a time when observers are rating the US as a flawed democracy, and a current presidential nominee has been indicted for insurrection. Gerrymandering of districts is rampant, voter suppression bills are common, and a significant minority of voters seem to feel this is just fine.Dr. Lindsey Cormack is an associate professor of Political Science and Director of the Diplomacy Lab at

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50:33

Sharon McMahon says moral narcissism is destroying...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/09/14

In this episode we’ll be discussing polarization and the idea of moral narcissism. My guest has published an article in a substack newsletter discussing this idea that people today are taking on absolute moral stancess in polarizing issues because of the status it gives them in their tribe, irrespective of the cost. In her blog she makes an analogy of a group who believes eating blue cheese is immoral so they outlaw it. As a result of their banning blue cheese, people start dying from eating

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01:11:57

Dr. Michael Levin on cellular consciousness (re-release)

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/09/09

In this episode I’m going to be sharing with you an earlier interview with Dr. Micheal Levin that I found to be really mind bending. In it I wanted to explore the cellular basis of consciousness, and we delved into that a little bit, however the part that I found really interesting was his discussion of how cells work together and communicate to build macroscopic structures like bodies and hands, and maintain your shape over long time periods. I find it inspiring to realize how much we have yet to

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33:22

Dr. Michael Walker on the evolution of mind

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/09/01

In this episode I’m continuing to look at consciousness and cognition and the working memory that sets humans apart from all other animals. Human working memory can be roughly quantified to hold about 7 items at once in a sequence and allow conscious manipulation, consideration, and attention to about 4 of them at a time. These numbers are surprisingly consistent across all humans. The size of working memory in humans is much larger than in our nearest relatives the great apes. The ability to

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52:50

Dr. Hector Manrique says a good working memory is...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/08/25

In this episode I’m going back to look at consciousness and cognition, and specifically one aspect of our mental capacity that sets us apart from other animals. It’s our ability to recall items in a sequence, for those of you who are software buffs, basically we have a short term memory buffer that acts like a linked list. We can remember a list of numbers (about 7 or so), or letters, or items in a particular order over a short timespan if we are not too distracted. This capability is called

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18:28

Two days is not enough weekend. A Rational rant about...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/08/17

This episode is a rant about why people don’t have time to become better informed about the issues. It is about why people are rushed. It is about why people feel mistreated by the system. The Rational View is going to rant about inequity and highlight the growing resentment amongst the struggling middle class at the elite robber barons of capitalism.Capitalism is about greed. It is about gloves-off below-the-belt big-stack bullying that pretends it provides a level playing field. I’m no communist

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58:07

Dr. Luca Turin detects quantum clues to consciousness...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/08/11

This episode is one of my favorite interviews. A great chat that was part of my series on consciousness—are we biological robots? 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

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01:02:45

Edgardo Sepulveda gives Ontario wind energy a failing...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/08/03

In this episode I am interviewing a returning guest to the show to examine the economics surrounding Ontario’s foray into renewable energy. As is typical in divisive topics such as this, the government has made it very difficult to track down the actual costs of ideologically driven policies such as Ontario’s 2009 Green Energy Act that brough in juicy Feed In Tarriffs on 20 year contracts for renewable energy to kick start the green economy. The act was brought in by Liberal premiere Dalton

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59:34

Dr. Michael Shermer on conspiracies and the erosion...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/07/27

In this episode I have a special returning guest, the famous Dr. Michael Shermer on the show to discuss the interesting times our neighbours to the south are experiencing. I’m hoping to discuss the polarization and the bias that have catalyzed conspiratorial thinking emerging around the Trump assassination attempt.Dr. Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism

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29:24

Will the next US election be a clash of good vs. evil?

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/07/20

In this episode I’m responding to the political tension we are witnessing in the US with a historic election looming on the horizon. Many see this as some sort of battle royale between good and evil. But for some reason the options on the table for our neighbours to the south are four more years of increasing inequity in a reasonably well-off country vs. a wrecking ball to the heart of the institutions that keep us all safe. How did we get here? Why are these the only options available? The

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34:25

Divisive politics and Project 2025

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/07/06

Today I’m taking a step back from science and addressing politics. I know certain of my listeners do not like to hear my opinions on this topic and I respect that, so if you need to stay in a silo to protect your political narratives please stop listening. This is your trigger warning. It was recently announced that the Supreme Court has ruled that it is inadmissible to use evidence from a president’s actions to prosecute them. The founding fathers of our friends to the south are spinning in their

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42:50

Dr. Bonnie Steinbock on the ethics of abortion

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/06/29

In this episode I will be discussing the topic of abortion with a philosopher who has studied the moral arguments on both sides of the issue. I am interested in rational bases of moral decision making. I’d like to be able to work out moral rules from a set of socially acceptable first principles, but often I find that my moral intuition conflicts with what I derive as a rational morality. Is our morality wrong if it is not totally consistent, or is morality not derivable from precepts? I’d like to

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48:24

Clayton Swope discusses weaponization of space

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/06/22

In this episode I’m delving into the weaponization of space. The space race was originally a military flexing competition between the US and the Soviet Union. Since that time space has been consistently used for surveillance, similar to early airborne operations, but weaponization of space has been off limits through treaties. Now the space race seems to be evolving. China, Russia and the US have all tested weapons that can blow up satellites. I will be interviewing an expert who can tell us about

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46:40

Al and Kevin address manifestation LIVE

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/06/15

This episode is a recording of a live social media broadcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Riverside.fm where the Scott brothers revisit their previous disagreements over manifestation and magical thinking. Will they come to an agreement or will it come to fisticuffs? Manifestation is the idea that by aligning our thoughts and expectations with our goals we can better achieve success. Many people take this idea to a magical extreme whereby the proper series of mental gymnastics will change

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35:33

Taking a rational view on the ethics of abortion

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/06/01

In this episode I’ve decided to wade into another highly polarized topic, the morality of abortion. This has become a hot political topic with the Republicans stacking the supreme court to overturn Roe v Wade. In many people’s opinion this is a large step on the way to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale where women’s rights to self determination are overridden by making them subservient to the greater rights of their unborn progeny.The debate over this topic is a question of ethics. Is this a job

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37:45

Mike Conley says Earth is a Nuclear Planet

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/05/25

In this episode I will be talking to an author and screenwriter who has taken up the potentially poisoned chalice of popularizing nuclear energy for the world. Let’s see what he is planning to share with the world.The son of a career naval officer, Mike Conley has lived in Japan, Hawaii, and all over the US and has backpacked through Thailand and Cambodia. Out for Blood is his first solo effort as a novelist. His screenplay Wicked Wonderland is based on the novel and has been optioned for feature

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48:55

Mr. Anderson shares secrets on how to effectively...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/05/18

In this episode I will be talking more about how to debate Creationists. I have taken this topic on in the past, in my original episode on how to debate Creationists, and I have also interviewed well known evolutionary scientist Dr. Niles Eldredge who was one of the founders of the Punctuated Equilibrium theory of evolution alongside Stephen J. Gould. Today I will be interviewing someone who I saw debating Kent Hovind a leading Young Earth Creationist. The debate was not what one comes to expect

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57:17

Dr. David Green says we don't need UBI for a more...

The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott ·

2024/05/11

In this episode I’m continuing my investigation into Universal Basic Income as the natural solution to the AI and robotics revolution. One day we should be able to work because we want to improve the world and our situations, and not do it because we are under risk of death. The problem is that the intermediate period between having all of our needs taken care of by our robotic assistants, and having to compete with them for wages to put food on the table is not at all a clear path. My guest today

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255 results

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