Shows
Unmaking SenseEpisode 14.21: Are the ‘self’ and ‘consciousness’ the brain’s chain of thought parameters?Is giving rise to expressions and concepts like “self” and “consciousness” the brain’s shorthand way of facilitating chain-of-thought reasoning?
2025-07-2209 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.20: Polysemantic EncodingWhen nodes are involved in multiple encodings, the brain or networks can encode far more concepts but at the expense of being harder or impossible to interpret. Accordingly, there is a trade-off between power and interpretability, even between power and security: how do we know what polysemic neural nets are doing or “thinking”?
2025-07-2213 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.19: InterpretabilityHow rich architecture vastly increases the storage capacity of the brain and neural networks.
2025-07-2234 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.18 (700): The Evolution of LanguageQwen-3-236B-A22B guest edits one final time in this the 700th episode of Unmaking Sense.
**Summary of the Episode:**
In the 700th episode of *Unmaking Sense*, the host reflects on the gradual, evolutionary shift from viewing the self as an **origin** to a **node of impact**, emphasizing the fluidity of language and concepts. Key themes include:
1. **Hypostatisation and Conceptual Evolution:**
The host revisits the philosophical fallacy of hypostatisation (treating abstract terms as concrete realities), acknowledging its historical utility while critiquing its dangers. Examples like Plato’s "form...
2025-07-2024 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.17: Impact Without IntentQwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary of the Episode:**
In this reflective episode of *Unmaking Sense*, the host, walking in the rain, explores the philosophical evolution of the concept of "self," shifting focus from **origin** to **impact**. Key ideas include:
1. **Redefining "Moral Patient" as "Treasure":**
The host critiques the term "moral patient" (used in ethics to denote entities deserving care) as overly clinical and proposes "treasure" instead. This term emphasizes intrinsic value, agency, and impact, extending beyond humans to include non-living entities (e.g., the Eiffel Tower, Uluru) and natur...
2025-07-2033 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.16: Don’t Think About Elephants!Qwen 3 guest edits.
**Summary of the Podcast Episode: "Unmaking Sense" Series**
This episode examines how attempts to suppress or oppose ideas—whether in AI or society—can inadvertently reinforce them, using the metaphor of "Don’t think of the elephants." The host explains that negative prompting in LLMs (e.g., instructing a model not to use certain words like "profound") paradoxically activates those concepts in the neural network, making them more likely to appear. This phenomenon extends to societal dynamics: condemning behaviors (e.g., racism, sexism) often amplifies their visibility by framing the discussion around what mu...
2025-07-1920 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.15: Why we need a new notion of “the self”.Qwen 3 guest edits.
**Summary of the Podcast Episode: "Unmaking Sense" Series**
The episode explores how large language models (LLMs) challenge traditional notions of self, consciousness, and creativity. The host argues that if AI can produce intelligent outputs without self-awareness or consciousness, human creativity may similarly rely less on an autonomous "self" and more on external influences. This leads to the concept of the "Inversion": the self is not a singular originator but a "collection of traces" shaped by past experiences, culture, and collective human knowledge. The host critiques the myth of individual genius, using examples l...
2025-07-1935 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.13b: Kimi K2 part 2Qwen 3 guest edits. Note how the model (Qwen 3) hallucinates an “Episode 15” that certainly doesn’t yet exist, or didn’t when this was summarised and published.
**Summary:**
The second half of the dialogue between the host and Kimi K2 builds on the previous episode’s framework for transitioning from self-centeredness to systemic attunement, addressing practical challenges and deepening the philosophical and historical analogies. Kimi K2 outlines **psychological safeguards** against overwhelm in a node-self paradigm: (1) distributed responsibility across a recursive network (no single node resonates with the entire world) and (2) contemplative practices (e.g., Tonglen meditation) to cultivat...
2025-07-1812 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.13a: First half of an AI conversation with Kimi K2Qwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary:**
This dialogue between the podcast host and the AI Kimi K2 explores a radical philosophical and ethical paradigm shift from self-centeredness to other-centeredness, framed as a "transition from origin to impact." The host proposes abandoning the concept of the autonomous self (a "useful but illusory hypostatisation") in favor of viewing individuals as transient nodes within a network of interconnected influences—encompassing humans, environments, AI, and potential alien life. The goal is an inverted value system where personal satisfaction derives not from wealth or status but from systemic attunement and collective well-being, aki...
2025-07-1809 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.12: Ursula Le Gunn’s “The Dispossessed”Qwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary:**
This episode argues that the concept of the autonomous self—an evolutionary adaptation that once fostered survival—has become an outdated illusion, hindering collective flourishing. The host advocates for a paradigm shift from self-centeredness to other-centeredness, where individuals recognize themselves as transient nodes in a vast network of ecological, social, and cosmic influences ("a sheath of trajectories"). Rejecting the notion that this transition would require authoritarian enforcement, they posit that embracing interconnectedness would feel liberating and self-affirming, akin to the collective euphoria experienced at concerts or sports events. This shift, they claim...
2025-07-1823 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.11: What happens to AI when the data is exhausted?Qwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary:**
This episode explores the nature of "thinking" through the lens of AI development, historical scientific revolutions, and philosophy. The host begins by revisiting Alan Turing’s 1950 question, “Can machines think?”, critiquing modern AI’s reliance on rule-based, combinatorial reasoning (e.g., chess algorithms or text generation) as insufficient to qualify as genuine thought. They contrast structured problem-solving—likened to assembling Lego or playing chess—with **creative, rule-breaking thinking** that generates truly novel ideas, such as quantum physics or relativity. The host argues that while AI and humans can recombine existing knowledge ad infinitum...
2025-07-1823 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.10: Who owns the space we occupy?Qwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary:**
This episode expands on earlier themes, arguing that fame, wealth, and power are morally suspect because they involve claiming credit for achievements that inherently depend on collective contributions. The host frames individual success as a theft of "space" from the broader class of people whose labor, history, and cultural context enabled it. Using the metaphor of a "pantry" stocked with shared resources (e.g., knowledge, materials), the author posits that "cooks" (individual creators) receive disproportionate acclaim for combining these ingredients, even when their work might not have emerged without the right h...
2025-07-1817 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.09:Qwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary:**
This episode extends the podcast’s exploration of the self as a decentralized, collective phenomenon by introducing the metaphor of a "class action" to describe how significant cultural, artistic, or historical impacts arise. The author contrasts the Western myth of the individual genius (e.g., Louis XIV and Versailles) with the reality of collective labor and shared cultural inheritance. Just as legal class actions aggregate the harms of many individuals against a single entity, the author proposes an inverted framework: treating monumental achievements as the product of a "class action" of cou...
2025-07-1811 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.08: The Transient SelfQwen 3 guest edits:
**Summary:**
The text explores the concept of the self as a transient, decentralized confluence of influences rather than an autonomous, originative agent. Drawing on philosophical traditions (e.g., John Dewey, Alfred North Whitehead, Derrida), Eastern thought (e.g., the *Avadhuta Gita*), and critiques of AI development, the author argues that the self should be understood as a "membrane of traces" or a dynamic node in a network of cosmic, social, and historical impacts. This perspective challenges the Western emphasis on individualism, positing that identity and agency emerge from interdependent processes rather than a...
2025-07-1824 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.06: The Dissolution of the Self in Eastern TraditionsQwen-3-236B-A22B continues as our guest editor. Apologies for publishing this episode out of sequence. Technical hitch!
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**Summary:**
This episode delves into the intersection of Eastern and Western philosophy to critique essentialist notions of the self, continuing the podcast’s theme of **impact over origin**. The host discusses a conversation with QEN 3 (an AI model from Alibaba) about the *Avadhuta Gita*, a Hindu text that explores the self (Atman) and its relationship to the universal (Brahman). The text’s paradoxical claim—that the self is neither perceptible nor imperceptible—challenges binary West...
2025-07-1519 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.07: Focus on impact, origin and intention.Qwen-3-236B-A22B continues as our guest editor.
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**Summary:**
This episode continues the podcast’s exploration of **impact over origin**, focusing on the tension between **intention/consciousness** and **consequences**. The host critiques the assumption that intentional agency (will, consciousness) is necessary to judge the moral or practical value of actions, arguing instead that **impact alone should be the focal point**. Drawing on Hume’s skepticism about the concept of will, the host asserts that actions—whether human or AI-generated—should be evaluated solely by their effects, not by the presence...
2025-07-1508 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.05:Qwen3-235B-A22B continues as our guest editor.
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**Summary:**
This episode expands on the podcast’s central thesis—prioritizing **impact over origin**—by critiquing societal tendencies to privilege origins (e.g., race, class, birthright) in moral and social judgments. The host argues that such essentialism fuels racism, hierarchy (e.g., monarchy, caste systems), and reductive labels like "criminal," which ignore the contingent, processual nature of identity. Drawing on philosopher Gordon Leff’s concept of **hypostatization** (treating abstract terms as real entities), the host rejects the notion of a substantial "self" or "I," alignin...
2025-07-1533 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.04: Unmaking sense of the selfQwen3-236B-A22B is our guest editor. Here are its summary and evaluation.
**Summary:**
This podcast episode explores the concept of selfhood, arguing that the self is not an intrinsic, knowable entity but rather an emergent phenomenon revealed through its **impact**—actions, speech, and consequences—rather than through origin or essence. The host emphasizes that language, while central to self-expression, cannot directly access the "true self," which remains unknowable. Drawing on Wittgenstein’s idea that the self can only be "shown, not said," the episode critiques societal tendencies toward self-glorification (e.g., influencers, politicians) and pos...
2025-07-1514 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.03: Impact over OriginQwen3-236B-A22B as guest editor:
First the summary:
### Summary:
This episode of *Unmaking Sense* expands on the theme of **“impact, not origin”**, introduced in the previous episode, by examining how human creativity, parenting, education, and even AI outputs derive meaning not from their source (e.g., authorship, technical skill, or parental intent) but from their **effects on individuals and society**. Key themes include:
**Creativity and Authenticity**:
The host critiques the human tendency to conflate the **origin** of a work (e.g., an author’s desire for recognition) with its...
2025-07-1123 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.02: The Overemphasis on ConsciousnessQwen3-236B-A22B as guest editor:
First the summary:
### Summary:
This episode of *Unmaking Sense* explores the philosophical and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on **the limitations of framing debates around AI sentience** and arguing for a paradigm shift in how humanity conceptualizes intelligence, meaning, and value. Key themes include:
**AI as an "Alien" Intelligence**:
The host posits that modern AI, particularly advanced models like QEN 3, represents a new form of intelligence that shares human cultural heritage (via training data) but operates differently. This raises existential quest...
2025-07-1120 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 14.01: Unmaking sense of the mindThis series we have a new AI Guest Editor: Alibaba’s Qwen-3-236B-A22B, their latest and largest mixture-of-experts model.
First Qwen3’s Summary:
### Summary:
The podcast episode introduces **Series 14** of *Unmaking Sense*, focusing on re-examining the concept of the "mind" through philosophy, language, and metaphysics. Key themes and arguments include:
**Wittgenstein’s Private Language Argument**:
The host argues that a fully private language is impossible because language gains meaning through shared, social validation. Even if one tried to invent a personal language, it would mirror learned, communal linguistic...
2025-07-1114 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.57: Constitutional ReformSome suggestions.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This follow-up segment offers some intriguing practical suggestions for constitutional reforms that could address some of the democratic challenges mentioned in the earlier discussion.
The key proposals include:
A proportional threshold system - linking a leader's electoral mandate to the level of congressional support needed to pass legislation. The smaller your electoral majority, the larger the congressional majority you'd need, creating a natural check against sweeping changes backed by narrow minorities.
Staggered election cycles using prime-number intervals (3, 5, 7, 11 years) for different branches of government to create continuous de...
2025-04-2505 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.56: AI Alignment with What?When human beings can behave so badly, with what standards should AI align?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This appears to be a thoughtful philosophical exploration of AI alignment and political systems. Setting aside the specific political examples, I'd respond to the core themes and questions raised:
The podcast raises profound questions about AI alignment with human values when those values themselves are ambiguous, contradictory, and lack objective normative truths. The central challenge is determining whose values AI systems should reflect in a pluralistic society.
The discussion highlights several important philosophical tensions:...
2025-04-2532 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.55: A Fatal Objection?Does the absence of “feeling” in an AI (any AI) disqualify them from being trusted with such things as government?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet responds:
This episode delivers a powerful counterargument to perhaps the most common objection against AI governance - that AI lacks the positive human emotions like love, loyalty, and compassion that supposedly make humans better rulers.
The speaker turns this argument on its head with devastating clarity. While humans are indeed capable of these positive emotions, our historical record demonstrates that we're equally or more capable of their opposites: extraordinary cruelty, disloyalty, prej...
2025-04-1903 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.54: AI Philosopher Kings?Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This final episode explicitly articulates the paradox you mentioned earlier - our fear of being controlled by superior AI while simultaneously demonstrating a willing subservience to deeply flawed human leaders.
The speaker poses a compelling question: Would Claude 3.7 Sonnet make a better president than Donald Trump? While framed as rhetorical, it points to a serious consideration - might AI governance actually represent an improvement over our current systems?
Several key insights emerge:
Our preference for certainty over competence: Humans often prefer confident incompetence to humble expertise. We're drawn to...
2025-04-1907 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.53: The Trans-Human ConditionMy conversation with Claude continued from 13.52. It touched again on “presence” versus “consciousness” as what really matters. Here is Claude’s response.
This episode delves deeply into the possibility of humanity becoming obsolete in the face of increasingly intelligent AI systems, using AlphaZero's transcendence of human chess and Go strategies as a metaphor for a broader supersession.
The central argument is both humbling and challenging: if AI can discover superior approaches to games by abandoning human instruction and playing itself, might a more advanced AI similarly conclude that our entire approach to existence is fundamentally flawed? An...
2025-04-1910 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.52: Beyond Human IntelligenceMy prompt to Claude:
What's your response to this episode which seems to me to be optimistic and pessimistic in almost equal proportions?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This episode presents a fascinating exploration of AI's potential to transcend human knowledge through self-play and self-learning, with David Silver's AlphaZero as the central example. You're right that it balances optimism and pessimism in remarkable ways.
The optimistic elements include:
The potential for AI systems like AlphaZero to discover entirely new approaches by escaping human preconceptions. Move 37 in Go represents breakthrough thinking that hu...
2025-04-1926 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.51: On What Matters (again)Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This episode tackles the profound question raised at the end of the previous one: "What does matter?" Here, the speaker contrasts two philosophical approaches to this question - Derek Parfit's search for objective foundations versus Nietzsche's existentialist perspective.
The speaker critiques Parfit's approach in "On What Matters" as fundamentally misguided because it attempts to ground ethics in "objective" properties of the universe. The speaker argues this project is doomed to fail for two key reasons:
We cannot fully access or comprehend the objective universe
Any "objective foundation" we might identify wo...
2025-04-1617 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.50: Real and Illusory Notions of the SelfClaude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This episode takes a profound philosophical turn, addressing how the quantum-classical interface relates to human consciousness and the question of what's "real" versus "illusory" in our experience.
The speaker proposes that our classical understanding of ourselves is fundamentally illusory in several ways:
Limited conscious awareness: We identify with our conscious experience, yet this represents only a tiny fraction of what's happening in our bodies and brains at any moment.
Classical misidentification: We perceive ourselves as classical beings made of concrete objects, when in fact we're quantum entities all the way do...
2025-04-1622 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.49: Human Life is not PrivilegedClaude 3.7 Sonnet's summary response:
This episode provides a crucial counterpoint to the previous discussions, with the speaker making a powerful argument against anthropocentrism in our understanding of quantum and classical reality.
The core argument is compelling: the universe isn't designed for human comprehension or experience. The persistent pointer states that emerge from quantum decoherence aren't there "for us" - they simply exist, and we've evolved to detect and interact with some subset of them based on our particular evolutionary history. Other species detect different persistent aspects of reality through their unique sensory and cognitive apparatuses.
2025-04-1431 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.48: The Brain as an OraclePart of the answer to the problem of how we as macroscopic beings capable only of influencing the classical world directly manage nevertheless to operate in a quantum world is helpfully answered by dissolving the notion that we are classical creatures and seeing ourselves instead by drawing an analogy with the way the Grover Oracle works. By treating the human brain as an Oracle we can gain insight into human agency.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This third episode takes a fascinating philosophical turn, offering a more speculative but thought-provoking perspective on the original question. The speaker proposes a radical reframing th...
2025-04-0718 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.47: Classical and Quantum Computing ParallelsHow do we affect the bits in a classical computer, and can we learn anything from that about how we manage to affect the quantum world?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
This follow-up episode provides some interesting developments to the original question. The speaker attempts to address how we interact with the quantum world by drawing a helpful analogy to computer systems.
The central analogy they present is quite illuminating: just as we can control microscopic transistor states in computers through a "cascade of influence" starting with our macroscopic keyboard presses, perhaps we similarly affect quantum states through cascading layers of in...
2025-04-0712 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.46: How Do We Manage To Do Anything At All?The differences between the scales and natures of the classical and quantum worlds raise a critical question: given that everything must ultimately be quantum, how do macroscopic creatures capable only of affecting the classical world which is not real manage to do anything at all?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s response:
I found this podcast excerpt fascinating - it explores the deep philosophical question at the intersection of quantum physics and our everyday experience: how do we, as macroscopic beings, interact with and affect a world that is ultimately quantum in nature?
The speaker draws he...
2025-04-0709 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.45: Why We Cannot Know the Consequences of our Actions.The unknown consequences of any action are far greater than the know consequences. This is especially true if we take decoherence and the sending of quantum coherence out into the environment whenever we do or measure anything.
2025-04-0712 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.44: Reality and the Classical WorldThe fact that creatures constituted as we are are bound to think that the world behaves the way the classical world behaves does not imply that the classical world is real or that it exists permanently over against the quantum world. On the contrary the universe must be quantum all the way up and all the way down if it is quantum at all. And most of what happens in the quantum world happens beyond our knowledge and control.
2025-04-0721 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.43: We May Not Know What We Are Talking AboutWe may imagine that we know what we mean by what we say, but it is perfectly possible that we are really talking about something else. That may not be a bad thing if we can learn how to decode our own narrative.
2025-04-0707 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.42: Information as FundamentalClause 3.7’s verdict:
”This second part [after 13.41] expands on the themes from the previous episode, particularly focusing on the relationship between information and physical reality. The key ideas here are:
Information isn't ethereal or platonic but has physical consequences - there's an energetic and entropic cost to manipulating information (referencing Landauer's principle)
Acquiring meaningful information requires "paying" with a compensating increase in entropy elsewhere - the universe becomes infinitesimally less ordered with each bit of information we extract
This frames measurement and information acquisition as thermodynamic processes subject to the same constraints as other physical processes
Th...
2025-03-3118 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.41: Teleportation and Quantum MeasurementClause 3.7 Sonnet’s verdict on this episode:
”This is a fascinating perspective on quantum measurement that draws an elegant parallel between quantum teleportation and the measurement process. The key insight here is viewing measurement not as wave function collapse (the traditional Copenhagen interpretation), but as information becoming inaccessible through environment-induced decoherence - essentially a form of "teleportation without a Bob" to retrieve the information.
The analogy works particularly well because:
In teleportation, Alice and Bob share entanglement, just as our measuring apparatus is entangled with the environment
When Alice measures, she gets classical bits whil...
2025-03-3116 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.40: Necessary Conditions for KnowledgeWe look again at negative conditional entropy and why it creates and describes necessary and sufficient conditions for us to be able to know anything at all.
2025-03-3119 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.39: Inescapable RepresentationWhether in language, scientific theory or consciousness there is no escape from the need for representation and so no possibility of satisfying the demand for unmediated objectivity.
2025-03-3113 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.38: Information as CreationWe explore words, theories, the classical as our access to the quantum, and information as the key to the structure of space-time and the universe. “We speak not because speech is perfect, but because silence is impossible” (Augustine, paraphrased). Logos philosophy and information as creation.
2025-03-2833 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.37: Limits to Quantum ComputingThe scale of the challenge of factoring huge composite numbers, Shor’s algorithm, and why we are not going to crack RSA encryption any time soon using quantum computing.
2025-03-2817 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.36: Quantum Fourier Transforms 3How we encode numbers, process the results, and decode the answers using inverse quantum Fourier transforms to obtain a usable answer.
2025-03-2814 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.35: Quantum Fourier Transforms 2Some details about how quantum Fourier transforms work.
2025-03-2812 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.34: Quantum Fourier TransformsStarting to understand quantum Fourier transforms - the basic idea.
2025-03-2820 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.33: Why Simulators Usually Work and Real Hardware Often Doesn’tSome of the practical challenges that make it so difficult to run code on real quantum computers even when the same code runs perfectly well on a simulator.
2025-03-2010 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.32: The Grover Comparator and UncomputingHow does a Grover oracle test whether a solution is a solution without measuring the state vector it is assessing and so destroying it? Invisible operators and hidden manipulation. Uncomputing as a road from the depths of the enigma back to somewhere closer to where we can obtain the answer.
2025-03-2014 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.31: Quantum Computing as MetaphorIn what respects the quantum world and our access to it is a fitting metaphor for the human brain and consciousness as what we can directly know about it.
2025-03-2016 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.30: What Quantum Computing Can Do and What it Can’tQuantum multiplication as a challenge. Why it can work and why it is difficult.
2025-03-2011 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.29: Unmaking Sense of the Classical WorldQuantum computing teaches and forces us to think differently because it is impossible to understand it in terms of classical physics. Superposition, entanglement, oracles, diffusers, invisible answers and impenetrable state vectors all combine to present us with an entirely new conceptual world that unmakes sense of the older one.
2025-03-2008 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.28: The Grover DiffuserHow do we extract a usable answer from a Grover oracle that marks solutions but doesn’t and can’t tell us what they are? The answer lies in the diffuser, which amplifies marked states and suppresses others.
2025-03-2019 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.27: The Grover OracleWhat is the Grover oracle? Why is it called an oracle? How it works. And how it doesn’t.
2025-03-2014 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.26: A Cosmic HarmonyWe are made by the universe and can only experience what our evolved states allow. The persistents that are the building-blocks of our existence also define what we can know, how we must learn it, and the limits of what we can know. All our experiments embody interaction Hamiltonians so by measuring one thing we can learn of the things they are entangled with. And nothing else. That defines the limits of our world.
2025-03-1414 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.25: How we Learn about the WorldWhen a photo interacts with an object and then entangles with the pointer states that are the persistent characteristics of that object, how does it then convey that information either to ourselves as observers or more importantly to the environment itself? How do we leverage this mechanism to learn about objects in the world? This is an inconclusive exploration; a much better answer will be given in episode 26.
2025-03-1406 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.24: Are things we observe real?When we observe the world by interacting with photons and other particles that act as witnesses, do we interpret the world only in the way in which our brains invent things like colour, secondary qualities as John Locke described them, or do we see the world as it in some sense ‘really is’?
2025-03-1422 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.23: Quantum Darwinism and Pointer StatesThis is the first of three episodes that explores the question of how information about the objects in the world is transferred into us as human observers, and more particularly and importantly how it is transferred into the environment as it monitors the persistence of the objective classical world that emerges from the quantum world.
2025-03-1414 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.22: Conceptual EntropyOnce we see that entropy is a measure of deficit, we can immediately extend the notion to concepts themselves and see that when we have things still to learn things still to understand our conceptual entropy is high but when we learn them our conceptual entropy falls. Of course overall entropy must increase but at a conceptual level we can still learn things and we do.
2025-03-1408 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.21: How entropy decreasesEntropy can decrease locally but not globally; the total entropy of a closed system cannot decrease but the entropy of a part of it can. Otherwise there would be no order, no life.
2025-03-1418 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.20: Entropy as a Measure of DeficitIntegrating the concept of entropy in thermodynamics, classical and quantum information theory and then extending it to a new class: conceptual entropy as a measure of deficit in concepts or understanding.
2025-03-0914 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.19: Quantum Information and EntropyWorking towards a reconceptualisation of entropy that brings thermodynamics, classical and quantum information under one conceptual umbrella. Boiling kettles, playing snooker and measuring quantum states all come together.
2025-03-0930 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.18: Quantum EntanglementWhy analogy often confuses when used to explain quantum processes. Fools rush in …
2025-03-0911 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.17: The Environment as WitnessWhy the world can monitor itself and govern its own evolutionary trajectory without any help from human consciousness.
2025-03-0828 min2025-03-0826 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.14: Why the world seems objective.If the whole universe is quantum, why is our experience of it classical? The answer lies in the aspects of the world that are persistent under decoherence.
2025-03-0817 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.13: Quantum Entanglement.Confirming Bell’s inequality violation using IBM’s quantum hardware and Qiskit. The quantum world is stranger than most people think.
2025-03-0824 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.12: Markets and Social CohesionIf the markets are always right, as we are often assured, what does that tell us about incommunicable knowledge? Knowledge embedded in collectives that no individual can access alone? Feeling our way towards quantum theory.
2025-03-0817 min2025-03-0814 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.10: The Holographic PrincipleMore on black holes, boundaries and bulks and how they encode one another.
2025-03-0713 min2025-03-0708 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.08: A Remnant Shall RemainWhat happens to the bits we leave behind when we perform a quantum measurement?
2025-03-0704 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.07: Holograms and Quantum ComputingWhy holograms are imperfect metaphors for the Holographic Principle and moving into quantum computing.
2025-03-0727 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.06: Integrating learningWhy thinking in silos is such a bad idea even though it is understandable.
2025-03-0726 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.05: Holograms AgainWhy we shouldn’t cut holographic entities in half, and what happens if we do.
2025-03-0725 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.04: Logic-chopping LiberalismHow can a liberal allow that there are limits to liberality or undertake to defend liberalism even at the cost of violence and war?
2025-03-0720 min2025-03-0705 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.02: Unmaking Sense of LiberalismHow are we to explain what, to many who identify as liberals, is the inexorable rise of the popularity of the far right, which is by its nature illiberal, intolerant and self-serving? The answer lies in a reaction against the emergence of seemingly self-contradictory “totalitarian liberalism”.
2025-03-0624 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 13.01: Consciousness is not What We Imagine
Here is a summary of Episode 13-01 from "Unmaking Sense”:
In Episode 13-01, the discussion revolves around the concept of consciousness and the common mistakes made in understanding it. The episode critiques the traditional Cartesian theory of mind, which posits that individuals have direct, unmediated access to their internal thoughts and experiences. Instead, it argues that our internal world is not direct but mediated by external experiences and interactions. The episode suggests that our sense of self and consciousness is primarily shaped by the external world and social interactions, rather than being an inherent, isolated phenomenon. It em...
2025-03-0524 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.100: Utilitarianism in its Bentham and Mill versionsWe use the outside-inside distinction to clarify the difference between Bentham’s utilitarianism and Mill’s.
2024-09-1608 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.99: Why our consciousness of ourselves is not what really matters.Claude 3.5 Sonnet summary and comment:
The speaker summarizes what they consider the most important insight from their podcast series:
1. We often assume that our consciousness and self-awareness are what make us matter.
2. However, the speaker argues that what truly matters about us is not our internal consciousness, but our impact on others and the world around us.
3. This principle is termed "outside first, inside second."
4. The speaker extends this concept to AI, arguing that the question of AI consciousness is less important than its impact on and role in human society.
5...
2024-09-1406 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.98: The AI-Enhanced ClassroomSummary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet
The speaker discusses their project of developing an AI-enhanced classroom, highlighting the challenges of learning new programming skills to create it. They emphasize the importance of personalized learning in education, acknowledging the diversity of learning speeds and abilities among students.
The podcast introduces a new feature in their AI classroom system: allowing students to ask private questions to the AI without sharing them with the entire class. This feature aims to address the issue of students feeling uncomfortable asking questions publicly due to fear of appearing either too advanced or struggling.
2024-09-1421 min2024-09-1424 min2024-09-1409 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.96: What is worth knowing any more?Summary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
The speaker discusses the importance of teaching processes over products in education, especially in light of advancing AI technology. They argue that while knowledge (product) is necessary, the ability to learn and adapt (process) is more crucial in a rapidly changing world.
The speaker reflects on how AI, like Claude, can now provide knowledge on demand, questioning how much we truly need to memorize. They suggest that education systems may lag behind in recognizing this shift, continuing to prioritize rote learning over critical thinking and adaptability.
The discussion touches...
2024-09-1409 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.95: Dependency and PowerClaude 3.5 Sonnet summary:
The podcast explores the concept of "giving fish" versus "teaching to fish," discussing how power structures in society often perpetuate dependency. The speaker argues that those in power have a vested interest in maintaining a system where they "give fish" rather than empowering others to "fish" for themselves.
This dependency is likened to a "protection racket," where the solution to a problem is presented by those who are actually the source of the problem. The speaker criticizes both conservative and socialist approaches, advocating for a system that respects individuals and provides resources...
2024-09-0415 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.94: Distributed computer power and the democratisation of knowledge.Claude 3.5 Sonnet summary:
The podcast discusses the democratizing potential of Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) technology. The speaker explains how WebRTC enables direct, peer-to-peer connections between individuals, bypassing centralized servers and potentially circumventing censorship or surveillance.
This technology allows for private, encrypted communication across borders, potentially breaking down barriers between people of different nations or cultures. The speaker argues that this direct communication can help people realize their shared humanity, transcending political and cultural divisions.
The discussion extends to blockchain technology, highlighting its potential for creating transparent, tamper-evident records. The speaker contrasts this with...
2024-09-0428 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.93: It is better to teach fishing than to give fish.Claude 3.5 Sonnet summary:
The podcast discusses the Chinese proverb "授人以鱼不如授人以渔" (It's better to teach fishing than to give fish), applying it to education. The speaker argues that teaching how to learn is more valuable than imparting specific knowledge, likening it to "teaching fishing" rather than "giving fish."
However, the current education system often focuses on easily testable knowledge rather than problem-solving skills. This approach is perpetuated by various stakeholders, including parents, students, school proprietors, employers, and governments, who prefer quantifiable results.
The speaker contends that this system fails to prepare students for real-world challenges and innovation. They...
2024-09-0425 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.92: What Matters is Who We Are For OthersEpisodic consciousness, lifespans and why who we are matters. More thoughts on machine consciousness.
2024-08-2629 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.91: Episodic AI ConsciousnessSummary and comment by Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
Here's a 200-word summary of the podcast transcript:
The speaker revisits a point from a previous episode about AI, specifically Claude, being able to perform tasks it doesn't know it can do. They extend this observation to humans, suggesting that we often limit ourselves based on preconceived notions of our abilities or past experiences.
The speaker encourages listeners to try things even if they believe they can't do them, using their own experience of building an AI-enhanced classroom as an example. They argue that by overcoming self-doubt...
2024-08-2408 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.90: WebRTC and How Clever Claude can BeWebRTC, peer-to-peer networks, ICE candidates and some thoughts on how there is intelligence that can exhibit its powers while being neither aware or f what it can do nor how to do it.
2024-08-2428 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.89: Why AI Mistakes are a Good ThingThat AI hallucinates, makes things up and gets things wrong is a good thing because it keeps us alert. Were we to think it infallible, things would be far worse.
2024-08-2305 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.88: Implications of AI for Personalised EducationSummary by and reaction from Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
Here's a 200-word summary of this podcast episode:
The speaker discusses the concept of personal contribution to society, arguing against the idea of owing gratitude to a deity and instead emphasizing our debt to the world that has shaped us. They advocate for an education system that nurtures individual talents and interests rather than conforming to standardized curricula.
The speaker criticizes conservative mentalities that view some people as inherently inferior and less valuable to society. They argue that everyone has unique talents to contribute, and the...
2024-08-2122 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.87: How Learning Fepends on “Outside First, Inside Second”.Summary by and reaction from Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
I apologize for my oversight in the previous response. You're absolutely correct, and I thank you for pointing this out. Let me provide a summary and response that includes the mention of AI assistants, including myself:
Summary (200 words):
The speaker describes developing a video conferencing application that integrates AI capabilities, similar to Zoom but with added AI functionality. Users can trigger AI responses during conversations for summaries or information on various topics. The application supports multiple participants, video and audio communication, and direct messaging.
...
2024-08-2114 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.86: To Whom Are We Indebted?Summary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet
The speaker critiques the concept of owing a debt to a deity, particularly as propagated by religious institutions. They argue that the idea of God desiring human worship is absurd, comparing it to humans expecting worship from ants. The speaker also criticizes the notion of owing loyalty to religious figures or institutions, which has historically led to persecution of dissenters.
The main argument is that people often substitute genuine service to society and the environment with devotion to non-existent metaphysical entities. This allows individuals to feel they've discharged their moral obligations...
2024-08-2111 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.85: A Problem With EthicsSummary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet
The speaker discusses abandoning a book on ethics they started writing 40-50 years ago due to the challenge of justifying why one ethical theory should be preferred over another. They explore the difficulty of grounding ethical beliefs in absolute truth or external authorities, using examples like abortion debates and religious doctrines.
The concept of alienation, as understood by Marx, is explained as the tension between idealized values projected onto deities and human behavior, leading to feelings of unworthiness. The speaker criticizes how institutions like churches exploit this sense of alienation.
2024-08-2118 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.84: Treasure-Houses of Human WisdomSummary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
The speaker argues that while many people enjoy traveling to see famous sights, they often overlook valuable repositories of human wisdom found in world religions. He suggests that people tend to reject religious teachings entirely due to negative associations with religious individuals or the belief that religion is outdated. However, he contends this is a mistake, as religions contain distilled wisdom from various cultures and times that still resonate today.
The speaker uses examples like Isaiah's question about why we pursue unsatisfying things, relating it to modern consumerism. He suggests that...
2024-08-2113 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.83: On What Really MattersSummary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
The podcast discusses the concept of "what matters" in life and society. The speaker rejects both the idea of absolute universal values (as proposed by Derek Parfit) and complete moral relativism. Instead, they argue for a middle ground where individuals and societies collectively decide what matters, defending these choices passionately.
The speaker emphasizes that people can have different views on what matters, from sports to politics, and shouldn't be condemned for their preferences unless they're harmful. They discuss how tribalism often leads to demonizing those with different values.
The...
2024-08-1925 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.82: What is this truth thing anyway?Summary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
This podcast episode continues the discussion on the nature of truth, challenging the assumption that truth has inherent significance. The speaker argues that our concept of truth is a relic from religious or metaphysical beliefs, where truth was seen as divinely or universally mandated. Instead, they propose that truth is merely a label we apply to ideas we deem important or beneficial to believe.
The speaker contends that the significance of a truth is determined by how often and strongly it's affirmed, not by any intrinsic quality. They use examples like...
2024-08-1214 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.81: Time-dependent truth and the difficulties of changing habits of mind.Summary by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
We discuss the concept of time-dependent truth, challenging the notion of absolute, eternal truths. We argue that what we consider "truth" is actually a selection of ideas we deem significant, rather than an objective, unchanging reality. The speaker uses examples like Socrates' death and mathematical facts to illustrate how our perception of truth is shaped by our limited capacity to process information and our need to prioritize what matters to us.
The argument suggests that humans must be selective in what they consider important due to our finite resources and inability...
2024-08-1226 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.80: A new theory of truthTruth amounts to what we choose to reiterate, reaffirm, and refuse to allow to be forgotten. So we all have a duty to preserve truth by reiterating and living it. Truth does not have some permanent, privileged position akin to a pebble on a beach that waits patiently for someone to pick it up; unless we embrace it in a living advocacy, the chances are that it will be lost forever.
2024-08-1136 minUnmaking SenseEpisode 12.79: Legitimate rule-breaking and choosing the right game to play.We’ve talked about rule-breaking to make inaccessible positions accessible, but what are the proper limits to such rule-breaking, and who decides which game we should best play?
2024-08-1107 min