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Big Picture Science

You Think; You're So Smart

Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

Science, Technology

4.51K Ratings

🗓️ 28 December 2015

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sure you have a big brain; it’s the hallmark of Homo sapiens. But that doesn’t mean that you’ve cornered the market on intelligence. Admittedly, it’s difficult to say, since the very definition of the term is elusive. Depending on what we mean by intelligence, a certain aquatic mammal is not as smart as we thought (hint: rhymes with “caulpin”) … and your rhododendron may be a photosynthesizing Einstein. And what I.Q. means for A.I. We may be building our brilliant successors. Guests: •  Laurance Doyle – Senior researcher, SETI Institute •  Justin Gregg – Animal behaviorist, The Dolphin Communication Project, author of Are Dolphins Really Smart?: The mammal behind the myth •  Michael Pollan – Journalist, author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. His article, “The Intelligent Plant,” appeared in the December 23rd issue of The New Yorker •  Luke Muehlhauser – Executive Director of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute   First aired March 19, 2014 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:05.0

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or lowercase.

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That's Shopify. co-de-ek slash special offer.

0:32.2

Tech moves fast so keep pace with the daily crunch podcast from Tech

0:38.0

crunch with new episodes every day this podcast will give you a quick overview on everything you need and should

0:44.9

know about startups new tech regulations and more listen to Tech Crunch

0:50.7

Daily Crunch now wherever you get your podcasts that's Tech Crunch Daily Crunch Now, wherever you get your podcasts.

0:54.3

That's Tech Crunch Daily Crunch,

0:56.6

wherever you get your podcasts. You're going to be. It's hard not to think of evolution as a race to a goal, a slow race, but nonetheless

1:25.8

relentless improvement to get to some definite finish line.

1:29.3

Think of those cartoons of the slow ascent out of the murky primordial pool. You have the first animals to

1:35.4

flop their fins on land and haul their bodies along the sand.

1:40.7

Through the lumbering knuckle dragging bipedal primates.

1:45.0

Two Homo sapiens standing proud and marching upright to their desk jobs.

1:52.0

Morning, Jim. Morning, Jim.

1:53.0

Morning, Steve.

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