Shows
Doomer OptimismDO 268 - Matt P on DOCan Humanity Keep Pace with the Technologies It Creates?Matthew Pirkowski joins Ashley Fitzgerald to unpack the complicated relationship between technology and humanity. They dive into the worlds of AI and cryptocurrency, exploring how these tools work—and how they shape our minds, societies, and futures.Drawing from his background in evolutionary psychology, Matthew reflects on how our instincts and behaviors interact with fast-moving technologies. He and Ashley wrestle with big questions: How does AI influence our decisions? What risks do we face when innovation outpaces understanding? And how do we walk th...
2025-05-281h 49
The Bitcoin FrontierBitcoin brings chaos to order with Matt PirkowskiIn this episode, Matt Pirkowski dives into the complex relationship between information, money, and technology. He offers thought-provoking insights on the evolving landscape of bitcoin and its impact on the global financial system and humanity. The discussion traverses various topics, including the philosophical aspects of order and chaos in economics and a deep analysis of proof of work and proof of stake. Pirkowski's expertise shines through as he navigates these intricate subjects with a unique perspective and extreme depth.SUPPORT THE PODCAST:→ Subscribe→ Leave a review→ Share the show o...
2023-12-261h 17
The Jim Rutt ShowEP 205 Matthew Pirkowski on Time Preference and CooperationJim talks with Matthew Pirkowski about the ideas in a recent tweet thread on time preference and its relationship with cooperation. They discuss the definition of time preference, defining parasitism, asymmetrical relationships, mutualism, commensalism, the increase in short-term thinking, a decrease in qualitative change, realization & potential, an increase in uncertainty, the interruption of attentional loops, a gossip protocol, the complexity catastrophe, the maximum number of daily interruptions, short-term money-on-money return, disintegration of network statistics, trustless infrastructure & cognitive chunking, coordinating at a higher level, zero-knowledge proofs, social immune systems, structural prerequisites of parasitism, Bitcoin as a metacentralizing attractor, building the modeling...
2023-10-241h 08
Bitcoin Magazine PodcastCosmic Bitcoin - Complexity and Collective Intelligence w/ Matthew PirkowskiMatthew Pirkowski joins Spencer Nichols to discuss complex adaptive systems, thermodynamics and collective intelligence in the context of Bitcoin. Matthew highlights the necessary connection between money and energy and what it means for a money to be “thermodynamically sound”. Tune in for a wide-ranging trip down the Bitcoin rabbit hole.
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2023-07-011h 48The Jim Rutt ShowCurrents 094: Matthew Pirkowski on Blockchain Consensus MechanismsJim talks with Matthew Pirkowski about the kinds of consensus mechanisms that can be used to secure blockchains. They discuss active inference, proof of work vs proof of stake & the relationship between them, auto-catalytic networks, proof of work in emergent nature, what consensus means & why it needs to be protected, integrity of the ledger, an analogy with clocks, accelerating entropy, photosynthesis, exploring vs exploiting tensions in emergent systems, coordinating central points of reference, energetic openness, the relationship between energy & information, resistance to manipulation, postmodernity & symbols untethered to reality, the evolution of evolvability, adaptive drift, a stable foundation for building infrastructure, t...
2023-05-051h 49Doomer OptimismDO 114 - Energy, Emergence, and Adaptation with Matthew Pirkowski and Jason SnyderAn exploration of evolutionary dynamics and potential futures
Matthew Pirkowski experiments at the intersection of software, behavioral / evolutionary psychology, and complex adaptive systems. These interests first took root while observing and modeling the collective behavioral psychology of capuchin monkeys at Yale’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory, with the goal of understanding why–and to what extent–our conceptions of “rational action” fail to describe what we observe beyond the domain of analytic abstraction. Such experiences catalyzed an interest in designing and building the interfaces through which human perception and purpose contacts the computational processes that have thoroughly saturated our lives...
2023-02-031h 40
The Jim Rutt ShowCurrents 066: Matthew Pirkowski on Emergence in Possibility SpaceJim continues his discussion with Matthew Pirkowski on ideas of emergence and how they can be applied to today's meta-crisis...
Jim continues his discussion with Matthew Pirkowski on ideas of emergence and how they can be applied to today's meta-crisis. They discuss the meaning of emergence, treating potential as ontologically real, exaptation & meta-adaptation, path dependency in the history of science, the naivety of closed systems, the apparent tension between energy efficiency & energy production, how GameA status signaling limits solution space, slack in metabolism & civilization, how greater energy inputs could synchronize with regenerative agriculture, carbon tax as a signal, the infosphere s...
2022-07-221h 07
The Jim Rutt ShowEP 157 Terrence Deacon on Mind's Emergence From MatterJim talks to Terrence Deacon about the ideas in his book Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged From Matter...
Jim talks to Terrence Deacon about the ideas in his book Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged From Matter. They discuss the story of zero, integrating absence into physical theories, systems that generate entropy to stave off entropy, the history of emergence & the risk of mysterianism, reframing emergence as removal & constraint, orthograde vs contragrade processes, 3 layers of emergence, the special case of end-directed (teleodynamic) processes, a simple model of autogenesis, contrasting & integrating Shannon, Boltzmann, and Bateson, moving toward sentience, nested teleodynamic processes, feeling as...
2022-05-171h 59The Jim Rutt ShowCurrents 053: Matthew Pirkowski on Grammars of EmergenceJim talks with Matthew Pirkowski about new frameworks in the study of emergence...
Jim talks with Matthew Pirkowski about new frameworks in the study of emergence. They discuss the concept's roots in the work of J.S. Mill, 19th-century tensions between reductionism & vitalism, Terrence Deacon's ententional properties, ententionality as a result of constraints, giving reality status to relations, pruning rules as key to emergence, possibility space as unconstrained, chirality, spin glasses, viewing the Ukraine-Russia conflict in terms of preference regimes, communication speeds & emergence in the French Revolution, viscosity in political systems, Ilya Prigogine's dissipative structures, using waste as energy, emergence...
2022-02-281h 05
VoicecraftE61| Value & Exchange, w/ Matthew PirkowskiThis is a conversation about the nature of value, wealth and exchange in consideration of the paradigm shifting digital communications platforms we’re almost all inexorably tied to. It begins with my asking Matthew how he thinks about the nature of thinking itself, and also about what matters in life.
Support this work on Patreon @ https://patreon.com/voicecraft
Show notes @ https://voicecraft.io/e61-value-exchange-w-matthew-pirkowski
Matthew Pirkowski is a philosopher with keen insight into humanity's relationship to an accelerating digital age.
Connect with Matthew at https://twitter.com/MattPirkowski
A selection of Matthew's publications at https://medium.com/@matthewpirkowski
Co...
2022-02-231h 36
Ideamarket PodcastMatt Pirkowski — Complexity, Crypto and Capitalism | Ideamarket Podcast 16[https://ideamarket.io — Where attention pays you.]Matthew Pirkowski works at the intersection of software, psychology, and complex systems. These interests first took root while studying Evolutionary Psychology and assisting with Behavioral Economic research at Yale's Comparative Cognition Laboratory. From there Matthew began a career in software engineering, where he applied these interests to the development of software interfaces used by millions around the world, most notably as a member of Netflix's Television UI team, where he worked on experimental initiatives conceptualizing and prototyping the future of entertainment software. Presently, Matthew consults on systems ar...
2022-02-212h 00
Hacking State27: Informational Mutually Assured Destruction with Matthew PirkowskiMatthew Pirkowski joins me to discuss crypto, money and the state, sovereignty and global arbitrage, multipolar traps, corporation and defection, information warfare, complexity catastrophe, time preferences, and fitness vs. truth.You can follow Matt on Twitter: @MattPirkowskiIf you enjoy this episode, please consider funding more conversations like these with our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/agorapolitics--You can follow Agora Politics on Twitter: @agora_politicsFollow Alex Murshak: @amurshakAgora Politics is a podcast dedicated to making sense out of our outdated theories of politics.
2021-04-151h 56
Talk of TodayChaos, Order, and Emergent System Design with Matthew PirkowskiMatthew Pirkowski (@MattPirkoswki) is one of Twitter's most incisive thinkers, offering penetrating insights in things ranging from representations of value, the many problems of social media platforms and how we interact with them, the evolution of society, and designing emergent systems. In our conversation we cover:
- The substance underlying Jordan Peterson's main body of work and its implications for ethics.
- The role money plays in scaling social groups
- Specialisation as epistemic speciation
- Social media and our incoherent information environments
- Emergent system design
Support this podcastSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/talk-of-today/dona...
2020-05-102h 15Talk of TodayChaos, Order, and Emergent System Design with Matthew PirkowskiMatthew Pirkowski (@MattPirkoswki) is one of Twitter's most incisive thinkers, offering penetrating insights in things ranging from representations of value, the many problems of social media platforms and how we interact with them, the evolution of society, and designing emergent systems. In our conversation we cover: - The substance underlying Jordan Peterson's main body of work and its implications for ethics. - The role money plays in scaling social groups - Specialisation as epistemic speciation - Social media and our incoherent information environments - Emergent system design Support this podcast ( https://www.patreon.com/samhbarton )
Support this podcast at — https://redc...
2020-05-102h 15
Catalyzing CoherenceNevin Freeman - Cryptoeconomic Stability & ReserveNevin Freeman, founder of the Reserve stablecoin, joins me in this episode to discuss the challenges beset stablecoin creators, and how Reserve plans to outmaneuver the issues that have plagued currency pegs since time immemorial.
We also speak about the great responsibility that comes along with introducing financial technologies to some of the world's least stable communities, and how Reserve plans to improve the crypto community at large.
2018-10-1000 min
Catalyzing CoherenceOri Brafman - Decentralization in PracticeWhat are the limits of decentralization?
How can we conceptualize inclusion in a manner that transcends the partisan divide?
Is Burning Man a modern church?
Ori Brafman and I discuss these questions and more in this episode.
Video:
https://youtu.be/yBE_9Xm_jIs
Support C2 on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/catcoherence
2018-09-0600 min
Catalyzing CoherenceBen HuntBen Hunt joins me to discuss a wide range of topics, from the game theory of farm life to the dangers of financial innovation, extending to the emerging world of the decentralized economy.
Support the show:
patreon.com/catcoherence
Here are a few of the relevant Epsilon Theory pieces, for background context:
Too Clever By Half:
https://www.epsilontheory.com/too-cle...
When Does the Story Break:
https://www.epsilontheory.com/when-do...
The Arborist:
https://www.epsilontheory.com/the-arb...
2018-08-3100 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE12 - Synthesizing Our Genetic Future, with Andrew HesselIn this episode, we sit down with Andrew Hessel to discuss the future of synthetic biology.
Andrew Hessel is the CEO of Humane Genomics Inc., a seed-stage company developing virus-based therapies for cancer, starting with dogs. He is a co-founder of the Genome Project-write, the international scientific effort working to engineer large genomes, including the human genome. From 2012-2017 Andrew was the Distinguished Researcher at Autodesk Life Sciences. He has been Singularity University faculty since 2009. His goal is to help people better understand and use living systems to meet the needs of society.
To support the podcast, consider donating at:
...
2018-08-1600 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE11 - God is in the Rain, with Jason SilvaJason Silva dropped in to discuss the human capacity to transcend our fears and tap into the deep meaning of existence through submission to one's own transformational psychological potential.
We also touch upon the poetic aspect of the natural world as a mechanism for channeling peak experiences, and the human desire for immortality through technological means.
Support the podcast:
patreon.com/catcoherence
Find Jason's work at his Facebook fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/jasonlsilva/
And his Shots of Awe YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/ShotsOfAwe
Photograph by Josh Moore:
https://www.facebook.com/jtmoore71
2018-08-0100 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE10 - Storytelling in the Decentralized Age, with Melissa LafskyThis week, Melissa Lafsky joins us to discuss the role of storytelling as it applies to the emerging space of decentralization. We cover the role of storytelling with respect to shaping human behavior, current narratives around crypto, and how our cultural stories inform what's possible technologically and economically.
2018-07-3000 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE9 - Jeremy LentIn this episode we sit down with Jeremy Lent, author of The Patterning Instinct.
We cover topics ranging from the difference between Eastern and Western perspectives on the essential truths of our universe, to how these differences have led our civilizations down separate cultural paths.
If you're interested in the intersection of Eastern and Western philosophy, and how these paths of development underlie a great deal of what we now take for granted, this is the perfect episode for you.
2018-07-1400 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE8 - Liminal Spaces and the Power of Quietude, with Jenn HirschIn this episode we speak with Jenn Hirsch, Global Technology Trend Scout at Ernst & Young, Futurist, and SciFi author, about a diverse set of topics ranging from the liminality of the present technological landscape, to the value of quiet contemplation and self-reflection within an increasingly interconnected world.
If you enjoyed the podcast, please donate at:
http://patreon.com/catcoherence
2018-07-1000 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE7 - The Geometry of a Unified Physics, Bitcoin, and Beekeeping with Garrett LisiGarrett Lisi is an American theoretical physicist and adventure sports enthusiast. Lisi works as an independent researcher without an academic position. He's a strong proponent of balance in life.
Lisi is known for "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," a paper proposing a unified field theory based on the E8 Lie group, combining particle physics with Einstein's theory of gravitation. The theory is incomplete and not widely accepted by the physics community.
To support our work, consider donating:
https://patreon.com/catcoherence
2018-06-2100 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE6 - New Paradigms and Syntonic Evolution with Alexander LaszloAlexander Laszlo, Ph.D., is the President of the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS).
He was the Founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovationat ITBA, Argentina was the Director of the Doctoral Program in Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration & Leadership (EGADE-ITESM), Mexico.
He was the 57th President and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS).
He serves as President of the Honorary Board of Advisors of the World Complexity Science Academy (WCSA), and has worked for UNESCO, the Italian Electric Power...
2018-06-1900 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE5 - Decentralization vs Centralization: A 21st Century Dialectic ft. Jon ConnorsIn this episode, Jon Connors, Community Development at Starfish Mission, joins us to discuss the tension between centralization and decentralization through the lens of the Hegelian dialectic. Along the way we talk about the Occupy movement, mycelial networks, and self defense.
To support the podcast, visit:
patreon.com/catcoherence
2018-06-1900 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE4 - Deep Time ft. Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz of the Long Now FoundationIn this episode, we visit Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz at the Long Now Foundation's Interval bar to explore the concept of Deep Time and its relevance to our rapidly accelerating world.
As Director of Development, Nicholas advances the mission of The Long Now Foundation by building and fostering relationships with the people and organizations who support the foundation's vision for long-term thinking and responsibility.
Nicholas has a broad academic background that spans systems engineering, design thinking, contemporary philosophy, and depth psychology. He earned a degree in Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 02007 and has...
2018-05-3000 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE3 - Consciousness, Qualia, and Psychedelics with Andres Gomez EmilssonIn episode three we speak with Andres Gomez Emilsson, founder of the Qualia Research Institute.
In Andres' words:
"Once we recognize the computational role of consciousness, and the causal network that links it to behavior, a new era will begin. We will (1) characterize the various values of qualia in terms of their computational properties, and (2) systematically explore the state-space of possible conscious experiences.
(1) will enable us to recruit the new qualia varieties we discover thanks to (2) so as to improve the capabilities of our minds. This increased cognitive power will enable us to do (2) more efficiently. This positive-feedback loop is...
2018-05-2500 min
2018-05-2200 min
Catalyzing CoherenceE1 - Introduction, &c.Intro episode of our new podcast, Catalyzing Coherence.
Find us @CatCoherence on social channels
#CSquared
2018-05-1500 min