EF28 SHOW NOTES
Looking to play or download the episode? Click here… (AMA-EF28): Drugs, Consciousness Manipulation and Cheating Your Way To a Better You — Ask Me Anything for Episode EF8
EPISODE EF28 SUMMARY
Spoiler alert: You’re about to listen to an Ask Me Anything (AMA) of Episode EF8, which was Season 1, Episode 6 of the Evolve Faster Podcast titled Without a Compass: All Who Sail the Seas of Identity Are Not Lost. The driving question of this episode (and this AMA) for you to think through is … Who Am I? It’s a fascinating question that actually has surprisingly little research or philosophical investigation.
As a reminder about Episode EF8: You’re the sailor of the ship called you, and yet most people let their boats go into great disrepair and neglect. Feeling moored in the same spot for years with no clear understanding of the direction she needs to go, Lisa gets a unique opportunity to upgrade her identity boat with a chemical compass of sorts—a mysterious drug that will supposedly alter her complete identity—to supposedly better enable her to navigate through life’s rough waters. Could a change in your identity actually turn your entire life around for the better? Or are we destined to live with constant susceptibility to being lost in a sea of meaningless actions and emotions without any sort of compass to steer our ship?
The sixth episode of the first season of the Evolve Faster Podcast Episode is driven by the big question Who Am I. Many people use drugs to make quick “fixes” to their identity. But if there was a drug that could instantly change you once and for all?
To peek behind the curtain of Episode EF8, we’ll 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 like Lisa, how can I get some control?
- And more…
dedication
DEDICATION: Episode EF8 is dedicated to Isaac Asimov, a prolific scientist, and writer known for his dedicated work and the ability to create speculative stories of science fiction which continue to become true to this day. Asimov is known as one big three science fiction writers alongside Arthur Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein.
Asimov’s work kickstarted a whole new fictional genre that explores the future from a present point-of-view. It’s incredible that although his work is more than half a century old, it still leaves a lot of food for the thought. Many ideas born from Asimov’s mind and later put on the paper are only now starting to shape in real life.
Unlike with Orwell’s work, where for most of the ideas we hope they don’t become a reality, Asimov’s work is different. It’s hard to say if we want it to happen or not. He’s one of the true original speculative fiction writers to envision global video calls, self-driving cars, and, of course, artificial intelligence with questionable morality.
HOW ISAAC ASIMOV INSPIRES EF8
Although Isaac Asimov doesn’t inspire a particular character in EF8 as a person, if it weren’t for his work, EF8 might have a less interesting premise and name for the episode’s identity-changing drug.
A broken compass is the worst thing that can happen when trying to navigate through rough emotional waters. And is there a more dangerous open water than the ocean of life itself, where the compass of your identity is likely the only thing keeping your ship’s hull together? For the EF8 Episode protagonist, she’s way off course and the compass doesn’t seem to work at all.
I highly suggest you give Asimov’s fiction a read:
- Foundation Series, (1942).
- I, Robot, (1950).
- The Caves of Steel, (1953).
- The Naked Sun, (1956).
- Video Interview
inspirations
INSPIRATIONS: Erik Erikson and Joan Erikson, a famous couple who developed the theory of psychological development. Also, Mr. Erikson is the man we can thank for the term “identity crisis”. Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis, developers of cognitive behavioral therapy that helped people around the World with their psychological problems. John Locke, a philosopher who kickstarted the idea of identity as a consciousness shower that’s always pumping waves of mental water. Pat Martino, a jazz guitarist who managed to fight a horrific tragedy and come back stronger than before. A prolific musician with an inspiring knowledge of music theory. Episode EF8 was further inspired by Sam Harris, Plutarch, Theseus’ Ship, Max Tegmark, Otto von Bismarck, Oscar Wilde, Eddie Harmon-Jones, Cindy Harmon-Jones. For a full list of data and references please see Episode EF8 Show Notes.
references
Drug Use Changes the Brain Over Time. learn.genetics.utah.edu, https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/brainchange/ (Accessed: Feb 19, 2019).
Gary L. Wenk, How does food affect our brain?. www.psychologytoday.com, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-food/201010/how-does-food-affect-our-brain (Accessed: Feb 19, 2019).
Fabio Bergamin-Eth Zurich, THIS IS THE FIRST COMPUTER-GENERATED GENOME. www.futurity.org. https://www.futurity.org/computer-generated-genome-c-ethensis-2029462-2/ (Accessed: Apr19, 2019).
Evolve Faster Podcast EF7, https://evolvefaster.com/podcast/ef7-s1-e5-sleight-of-mind-the-black-magic-of-rhetoric/
Evolve Faster Podcast EF9, https://evolvefaster.com/podcast/ef9-s1-e7-i-feel-therefore-i-am-capsized-on-the-river-emotion/
episode quotes
Any of these quotes make you think? If so, please support the show by sharing…
Humanity is primarily defined by the challenges we overcome.
Same as your health is under the influence of both external and internal causes, so is your identity.
The core of what it means to be human is mostly based on hardship and difficulty.
Designer babies might become humanity’s biggest heist yet, stealing power that, until now, was exclusively in nature’s control. Will we have the good sense and will power to resist?
Are you the same person if you have different ideas and opinions than before?
