https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34416290/

AI: The article discusses the crisis of democracy and the uncertainty of the future in the modern world.

• White views the future as a political idea that has passed through various historical stages.

• He views rational calculation as a useful case study, but notes its limitations.

• White explains that belief in the stability of people's preferences underestimates the value of the political process to change them.

• It suggests reimagining the future and emphasizes the importance of political imagination.

• White diagnoses Western democracy as a system that has exhausted the political imagination.

• He discusses the cultural factors that have caused the depletion of political imagination.

• The vanishing future is the most important element of the current crisis of democracy, but overcoming it requires not only strengthening democracy, but also asking the right questions.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027322972400008X

AI: The author described his experience using Spotify's new DJ feature, which uses artificial intelligence to create personalized playlists. He noticed that his musical preferences had remained virtually unchanged over the past ten years, and began researching the phenomenon of musical paralysis and the science of sound preferences. Research results have shown that ear openness usually peaks at age 24, and after that age it usually declines. 31 is considered the age when musical tastes begin to stagnate and parents stray from the mainstream faster than other groups in the population. The author admits that he is on the cusp of becoming a musical dinosaur, and his musical preferences are becoming more specialized as he ages.

AI: A new study published in May 2023 claims that the Moon's inner core is actually a solid ball with a density similar to that of iron. The results contradict the traditional idea that the lunar core is made of liquid. The findings also challenge the generally accepted theory of how the Moon's magnetic field formed. Scientists hope that new discoveries will help them better understand the history of the Moon and the solar system as a whole.

AI: Currently, Europa, one of three worlds in our solar system, is thought to have three ingredients for habitability: liquid water, energy, and the chemical building blocks for life. However, it is unclear whether the Moon's ice-covered sea could support life. Some researchers believe that the geological activity of the Moon's seafloor and its ability to support life may be at the heart of the Moon's habitability problem. Computer simulations of Europa's seafloor were carried out, but the results showed that modern seafloor volcanism was unlikely, making Europa's ocean uninhabitable. Although Europe is uninhabitable today, this does not mean that it was not habitable in the past. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, which launched in October, may confirm the existence of an ocean on Europa, although it will not be able to resolve the controversy surrounding seafloor activity.

AI: Evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Hermann Pontzer argues that exercise may not be an effective way to lose weight because the body adapts and reduces energy use in other areas. However, exercise can have health benefits because it diverts excess energy from potentially harmful processes in the body, such as inflammation and stress. Research shows that a person cannot exceed their metabolic budget, and exercise changes the way energy is used, not how much energy is used. Additionally, research from the Hadza group shows that even vigorous movement does not significantly increase calorie burning. This may be because the body strives to maintain the same frame of limited energy, which includes various activities such as immunity and stress response. Thus, exercise can be beneficial to health because it allows the body to expend excess energy, keeping the immune system and stress responses in balance.

https://archive.is/MxU8v

archive: https://archive.ph/jDLhK

https://archive.ph/aeQhP

00:01:14 Conversation about John Kennedy and the CIA

•  Guest, Ray McGovern, served in the CIA from 1963 to 1990, first as a greenhorn and then as an analyst. 

• He claims that the CIA did not know about plans to overthrow Fidel Castro, and Kennedy was deceived.

00:10:12 Conspiracy theory and the book "Kennedy and the Unspeakable"

•  McGovern mentions the book "Kennedy and the Unspeakable", written by James Douglas, who dedicated it to Vince Solandria and Marty Schatz. 

• The book claims that Kennedy was assassinated with the help of the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

• McGovern says that most Americans believe in this theory, but do not want to know the truth because of its horror.

00:14:34 Discussion of books and conspiracy theories

•  Ray McGovern discusses the books he finds credible and their content related to the JFK assassination and the "deep state." 

• He emphasizes that the Warren Commission was a farce and that most Americans believe in conspiracy theories.

00:24:06 The influence of the "deep state" on elections

•  Ray McGovern talks about the influence of the "deep state" on US elections, including election interference and the assassination of the president. 

• He believes that Americans need to better understand their society and the influence of the "deep state."

00:26:41 Hunter Biden's laptop and influence on the election

•  Ray McGovern mentions Hunter Biden's laptop and its impact on the 2020 election. 

• He talks about how Tony Blinken and Mikey Morrell used a laptop to influence the election, and how it was portrayed as a Russian intelligence disinformation operation.

00:28:37 Discussion of election interference

•  Discusses the recent scandal involving Hunter Biden's laptop, which allegedly contains information about Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

• Former US intelligence director says laptop contains no signs of Russian intelligence.

00:36:32 Ukraine and the coup d'etat

•  Discusses the 2014 coup d'etat in Ukraine, in which the US was accused of involvement. 

• Former CIA Director Bill Burns says Russia warned the US about the consequences of Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO, but the US ignored the warning.

00:40:52 The role of the United States in Ukraine

•  Discusses how the US controls the situation in Ukraine and how Putin may have felt the coup attempt failed. 

• The new Ukrainian government has announced its intention to join NATO, which raises concerns among Russia.

00:41:50 Putin and his plans

•  Putin says Russia cannot allow Crimea to come under NATO control. 

• Putin says people in Crimea want to join Russia.

00:44:33 Minsk agreement and negotiations

•  Ukraine, Russia and the United States are negotiating a ceasefire and autonomy for Donetsk and Lugansk. 

• Germany and France admit that the Minsk agreement has not been implemented.

00:50:04 Putin and Biden

•  Putin demands a personal commitment from Biden not to station offensive strike missiles in Ukraine. 

• Biden refuses to discuss the issue, leading to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

00:54:19 Implications and conclusions

•  The US could have prevented the conflict, but did not. 

• The US is strengthening the Russia-China alliance, which could lead to disaster in the future.

00:56:07 Discussion of US strategy

•  Discussion of how the US can be blind in its actions and how this can lead to negative consequences. 

• Mention that the US considers itself exceptional and indispensable, which can lead to poor decisions.

01:03:04 Comparison with the past

•  Ray says the situation is worse than in 1963, when the US controlled the media, Congress and other institutions. 

• The example of George W. Bush and his initiation of the Iraq War based on fabricated intelligence is mentioned.

01:06:46 Conclusion

•  Ray expresses gratitude for the invitation to the show and admiration for his efforts to restore sanity to society. 

• A call to restore sanity and responsibility in society.

KEY TAKEAWAYS In a recent study, researchers surveyed 3,000 people living in poor, small-scale societies about their life satisfaction. The results found that these people's life satisfaction is on par with people who live in the wealthiest countries. One potential reason why simple joys such as social interaction and experiencing nature play an outsized role in driving life satisfaction in small-scale communities is that many of these societies aren't heavily monetized.

AI: Astronomers have discovered a Radcliffe wave, the largest coherent structure in our galaxy, made up of star-forming clouds and stretching over 9,000 light-years. A new paper in the journal Nature reports that this structure oscillates as it rises and falls above the plane of the galaxy. This phenomenon is called a traveling wave. It is believed that the solar system went through a Radcliffe wave about 13 million years ago, which may have affected life on Earth due to an increased number of exploding stars in these regions. The research was made possible by data from the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft, which helped create an accurate 3D map of the stars and gas in our sector of the galaxy. The Radcliffe wave may be the basis of the spiral arm of our galaxy closest to the Sun. The cause of the wave's oscillations could be a collision with a dwarf galaxy or a sequence of supernova stellar explosions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS Muons are subatomic particles similar to electrons but heavier and unstable, acting like tiny magnets due to their electric charge and spin. Recent research on muons reveals inconsistencies between observed magnetic behaviors and theoretical predictions, indicating the potential discovery of new physical phenomena or the need to update quantum mechanics theories. Resolving these inconsistencies will likely require several years of detailed theoretical work.

AI: In a previous interview, Tucker Carlson asked Putin to express his opinion on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin responded that his decision was due to the historical unity of Russia and Ukraine, as well as violations of promises made after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also mentioned that NATO's eastward expansion was part of the problem. While many journalists and international relations experts have distorted the interview to eliminate any disagreement with the prevailing view that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was not related to NATO expansion, a detailed analysis of the interviews shows that Putin did talk about NATO expansion and his attitude towards the invasion.

AI: For nearly two years since the start of the war in Yemen, the Houthis have continued their attacks on shipping, leading to restrictions on shipping in the Red Sea. In response, a coalition of countries led by the US and UK launched airstrikes against Houthi targets to stop their attacks. However, these strikes failed to stop the Houthis, who continued their attacks on ships using missiles and drones. As the Houthis escalated their attacks on shipping, support for the Houthis among the Yemeni population increased and they came to be seen as part of Iran's so-called "Axis of Resistance" made up of Hamas, Hezbollah and other militias in Iraq and Syria. Ultimately, the Houthis are unlikely to be stopped by attacks, and their attacks will continue until the war in Gaza ends.

AI: Recently, researchers have turned to the body to study how we subjectively process time. Theories such as Bud Craig's claim that we perceive time through awareness of bodily sensations such as heart rate. These signals are processed by the insular cortex, which is critical for the integration of these sensations. Research suggests that the insular cortex may act as the brain's stopwatch, helping to track the duration of our experiences.

AI: At the heart of superforecasting is a simple but transformative idea: the best forecasters treat their beliefs not as sacred truths, but as hypotheses to be tested. In forecasting, where accuracy and adaptability are of paramount importance, superforecasting has demonstrated superior performance. Superforecasting was a watershed moment in a $20 million research tournament led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to determine whether crowdsourced forecasting methods could provide more accurate forecasts than existing approaches. In forecasting, where accuracy and adaptability are of paramount importance, superforecasting has demonstrated superior results. At the heart of superforecasting is a simple but transformative idea: the best forecasters treat their beliefs not as sacred truths, but as hypotheses to be tested. In forecasting, where accuracy and adaptability are of paramount importance, superforecasting has demonstrated superior performance.

AI: In this episode, Razib discusses the state of artificial intelligence with the introduction of large language models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini with Nick Cassivatis, a former artificial intelligence researcher and current entrepreneur. Cassivatis notes that this is not the first time there has been a stir around artificial intelligence, and expects it to die down in the near future. He also suggests that large language models could quickly reach their limits, and that next year could be far less revolutionary than many expected. While artificial intelligence is having an impact on various fields, including software development, Cassivatis doesn't expect it to revolutionize all of life.

AI: In light of distrust of progress and environmental concerns, the authors call for a revolution in thinking and a positive vision of the future. They argue that science fiction should offer inspiring stories that can inspire the creation of a better world. Instead of constant warnings and descriptions of dark prospects, it is necessary to expand the boundaries of the imagination and imagine alternative scenarios based on cooperation, innovation and progress.