51. Max Tegmark on Why Treating Humanity Like a Child Will Save Us All

People I (Mostly) Admire

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2021

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How likely is it that this conversation is happening in more than one universe? Should we worry more about Covid or about nuclear war? Is economics a form of “intellectual prostitution?” Steve discusses these questions, and more, with Max, an M.I.T cosmologist, physicist, and machine-learning expert — who was once almost an economist. He also tells Steve why we should be optimistic about the future of humanity (assuming we move Earth to a larger orbit before the sun evaporates our oceans).

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Max Tegmark is a physicist at MIT whose areas of expertise range all the way from the
0:11.7	origin of the universe to the ways in which humankind is likely to destroy the world
0:16.3	we live in.
0:17.3	He's creative, iconoclast, outspoken, and a genius.
0:22.0	In other words, the perfect guest for this show.
0:26.1	The ultimate nature of reality, whatever it is, is way weirder than we thought.
0:33.9	We humans are developing ever more powerful tech, and that gives us the opportunity to cure
0:39.3	cancer and eliminate poverty.
0:41.7	Also to commit collective suicide should we choose.
0:49.6	Welcome to People I mostly admire with Steve Levin.
0:55.6	There's even a little extra bonus with Max.
0:58.3	He was initially training to be an economist, but he became disenchanted only then turning
1:03.2	to physics.
1:04.2	Hopefully, I can get him talking about that topic as well.
1:07.2	I'm always interested to hear what upsets people about economics.
1:11.2	Maybe the same things bothered him, that bothered me.
1:22.7	Max, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me.
1:25.4	I have a deep curiosity about the topics you study, but as we'll soon become apparent,
1:31.1	I know very little about them.
1:33.2	It's a great honor to be here.
1:35.5	If you feel that you don't fully understand everything about our multiverse and about artificial
1:41.2	intelligence, nobody else does either.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.