Boltzmann Brains

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Science, Futurism, Sci Fi, Future, Scifi, Technology, Space, Engineering

4.8 • 739 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2019

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We continue our discussion of the Boltzmann Brain - a hypothetical randomly assembled mind rather than an evolved one - by looking at the Anthropic Principle and the Fine-Tuned Universe Theory, alternative ways of viewing the probability of our existence than the classic Copernican Principle. Watch the video versions: Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UfQb_-XAuY Part 2: https://youtu.be/GrK9EaQRp2I Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/IsaacArthur/ Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Credits: Boltzmann Brains, Part 2: The Anthropic Principle Episode 195b, Season 5 E30b Written by: Isaac Arthur Jade Tan-Holmes Script Editor: Olly Epsom Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Jade Tan-Holmes Music: Markus Junnikkala, "Plotting a Course" & "We Roam the Stars" https://www.markusjunnikkala.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, Big Alien Theory,
0:05.0	we're asked at the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.
0:10.0	To hear it and every episode early and add free, plus hours of bonus content,
0:15.0	check out go.nebola.t.v.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.0	This episode was made possible by Brilliant.
0:23.2	Hi everyone, I'm Jade.
0:24.9	Lovely to meet you or see you again.
0:27.7	In the movie The Matrix, people are plugged into a virtual world without them knowing it.
0:32.5	All of their experiences are completely simulated and don't correspond to the real world around them.
0:40.3	It's a classic piece of science fiction. Or is it?
0:42.3	What if I told you that cosmologists, the people who study the large-scale structure of our universe,
0:48.3	actually argue over whether our universe is really just a simulation?
0:52.3	In the cosmologist version, the idea is that all that really exists is a single brain,
0:58.0	which simulates all of the senses that make up your experiences.
1:02.0	Everything you've ever tasted, smells, touched, all of your memories, your entire life,
1:08.0	from the day you're born until the day you die. This all-simulating brain is called a Boltzmann brain.
1:14.6	This sounds insane when I just say it like that.
1:18.6	So before we get into why this is something legit science even talk about, we need to cover some basic physics.
1:23.6	Before we start, this is part one of a collaboration with Isaac Arthur, who makes
1:29.3	really cool videos about space and philosophy. He'll be popping in and out of this video
1:34.3	and make sure to check out part two on his channel afterwards. All right. In any physical
1:39.3	system, it's often really useful to quantify the amount of ordered structure in that system.
	...

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