Michael Nielsen on Collaboration, Quantum Computing, and Civilization's Fragility
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2024
⏱️ 62 minutes
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Summary
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Michael Nielsen is a scientist who helped pioneer quantum computing and the modern open science movement. He's worked at Y Combinator, co-authored on scientific progress with Patrick Collison, and is a prolific writer, reader, commentator, and mentor.
He joined Tyler to discuss why the universe is so beautiful to human eyes (but not ears), how to find good collaborators, the influence of Simone Weil, where Olaf Stapledon's understand of the social word went wrong, potential applications of quantum computing, the (rising) status of linear algebra, what makes for physicists who age well, finding young mentors, why some scientific fields have pre-print platforms and others don't, how so many crummy journals survive, the threat of cheap nukes, the many unknowns of Mars colonization, techniques for paying closer attention, what you learn when visiting the USS Midway, why he changed his mind about Emergent Ventures, why he didn't join OpenAI in 2015, what he'll learn next, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded March 24th, 2024.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone. This is Tyler. We want to hear from you about the show. In the show |
| 0:09.2 | notes there's a link to a short survey where we want to learn more about you. Why do you listen to the |
| 0:15.2 | podcast? What do you think is under or overrated about the show? Is there someone you would just |
| 0:20.8 | love to hear me interview. Your feedback will help us |
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| 0:29.2 | events and listener meetups. Again, please find the link at the top of the show notes to fill out the survey. |
| 0:36.2 | And thank you. We very much appreciate your feedback. Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercadus Center at George Mason University, |
| 0:49.0 | bridging the gap between academic ideas and real world problems. |
| 0:53.0 | Learn more at Mercadis.org. |
| 0:56.0 | For a full transcript of every conversation, enhanced with helpful links, |
| 1:00.0 | visit Conversations with Tyler.com. Thanks. |
| 1:03.0 | Visit Conversations with Tyler. |
| 1:07.0 | Hello everyone and welcome back to Conversations with Tyler. |
| 1:11.0 | Today I'm here in San Francisco chatting with Michael Nielsen. |
| 1:15.0 | Michael is hard to introduce and also difficult to prepare for because he knows and has done |
| 1:19.6 | so many different things. He's from Australia, has a PhD in physics, has written what is perhaps the best |
| 1:26.4 | known text or co-authored it on quantum computing, is one of the leaders of the Open Science |
| 1:32.2 | Movement has co-authored with Patrick |
| 1:34.2 | Collison on progress in science, has worked at Y Combinator, is an extraordinarily |
| 1:39.7 | prolific writer, reader, commentator, tweeter, mentor to others, mentee, |
| 1:45.0 | and many other things, and currently is thinking about |
| 1:48.0 | the fragility of civilization, and much more. |
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