DEDICATIONS, QUOTES, REFERENCES, INSPIRATIONS & MORE…
EF37 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF13 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why this question? Where does creativity come from?! Are the story and Eric modeled after anyone? Is this autobiographical? I didn’t really get the cryptomnesia part the doctor mentions, can you explain it? Where did the bloody fingerprint metaphor concept come from? There was a comment from the episode saying that the Questions are Hidden by the answers. Can you explain this? And more…
EF36 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF12 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why does failure build up the thrill of success? Is this chip implant thing possible? Can humans merging with technology help to define ourselves? Do you have a plan to transfer your content to different media? When I do the thought experiment, I can’t figure out what my 10% is… what does that mean about me? Are there categories/tips that can help me define myself? How did Koji help ppl if there was no coin? What is the history of Pyrrhic victory? And more…
EF35 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF12 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why this question (what defines us)? Who is Koji modeled after? You go back to explaining Mule. Is the patient Koji and Isaac are discussing, Lisa from Episode EF7? Is this an actual game? Could cryptocurrencies be used for a game like this, besides the implant part? What is Koji’s REAL 10% answer if he lied the first time? Where is the Old Man fable fable from? And more…
EF34 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF11 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why haven’t humans ever made quantum leaps in creativity? Is it possible for AI to create art like music? What are your thoughts on the AI alignment problem? What is perfection? Does it exist? Is there an objective perfection? Is human intelligence like a light bulb to the AI’s sun? Are we on the brink of what you call the next evolution? You have a couple of funny trolley scenarios like the Woody Allen one. Are these trolley scenarios real/possible? Is Hebbian learning the same as machine learning? And more…
EF33 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF11 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why the question (Can machines think, be creative or fall in love)? Is Aldford the same guy from A1? What does his title “when the lights go out” mean? How/why is Sid connected to all these people? What does Aldford know? What does Cynthia know? Who is Cynthia modeled after? Who is Cynthia talking to in the beginning and what is the “dangerous” project? And more…
EF32 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF10 to dissect the following submitted questions: Is there a moment where we are happy enough? Or, is there a point when sadness and suffering are less of a problem? Do you have a tattoo that makes you look at it, or where did this idea come from? Should I get a tattoo? And if so, what should it say? Is technology the reason we’re getting less happy? What if I don’t have real suffering in my life? Could this yin-yang be off for me, making happiness elusive? Does the Seneca quote mean people who I think are happy really aren’t, and the other way around? This memorizing quotes to try and force yourself to become wise (by trying them out) is interesting, does it really work? And more…
EF31 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF10 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why the question “does happiness define the good?” Does this happen to people who are very rich? What is dharma? What did you learn writing this episode? Is Alex Sid from one of the previous episodes? Why does he reappear so many times? Who is Mr. Wright supposed to be? Who is the nameless, tattoo shop guy? And more…
EF30 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF9 to dissect the following submitted questions: Are emotions and instincts the same thing? How do we know when our emotions are being manipulated? Why does society cause us to go down these rat holes of tribal splits and hating groups? Does meditation serve the same purposes as like what CBT does? Why do you think it’s so hard to do something that matters? Is it tied to our emotions? What makes us happy? And more…
EF29 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF9 to dissect the following submitted questions: Does it really just venting all our emotions to get control of them? Why this question (Can rationality and emotions coexist)? What would have happened if Elliot did take the Mule? Did Edward know about the Mule, or was he only in the dark about the governor’s involvement with the anti-immigrant groups? What does Edward do at the end? Does he send the letter? Should he? What does Elliot choose at the fork? Should Elliot kill himself considering he now has learned to face his emotions? Did Elliot call the cops on himself? Why? And more…
EF28 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF8 to dissect the following submitted questions: Are there any identity-changing drugs planned? Could a drug really change your identity? The metaphor seems to be that if you have a compass (a plan for your life) then you can navigate the rough emotional waters of life, is what the episode is implying? Who originally posed the Theseus Ship thought experiment? Hasn’t the Theseus paradox been “solved” and/or re-posed as a more important paradox? How does the insanity defense work in the context of Locke’s theory? Characters talk about research that says the more intelligent a being is, the more choices it has, but that also comes with more problems. So does this imply that being intelligent is worse or just hard? If I’m swayed by my emotions, how can I get some control? And more…
What defines our identity? John Locke thought it is our consciousness and the daily actions that shape who we are. Similarly, Erik and Joan Erickson created an entire step-by-step description of the phases each individual goes through. Finally, recent neuroscientific research manages to make a hard connection between various emotions we experience and our brain. Is there anything we can actually do to navigate the rough emotional waters of life any more effectively?
EF27 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF8 to dissect the following submitted questions: Why this question (who are you)? Are Lisa and Isaac modeled after anyone? Lisa changes an awful lot between this and the next episode… is this level of transformation really possible? Why did you decide to have CBT be a part of the drug test? Is the Mule a reference to Asimov’s Foundation? In a previous question you say she was in the placebo group … so the drug did work, but she didn’t take it? And more…
EF26 peeks behind the curtain of Episode EF7 to dissect the following submitted questions: Is this really what happens in politics? Are there any honest politicians anymore? Does just knowing about conformism help you to not allow it to happen? What do we do about the problem of fake news? Was there fake news before the Internet? If rhetoric was once honorable, what happened? Is this really what happens in politics? Are elections really won more on misdirection and fallacy than on a platform of truth, say, in the USA? Who can I trust? Who is most at risk and how can I help keep my kids away from shit like this? And more…
But what are the real cornerstones of these dark arts of mental wordplay? And it possible to recognize—or even to fight back—when someone tries to sway you using mental magic tricks filled with lies?
