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Breaking Math Podcast


Breaking Math Podcast

93. The 10,000 Year Problem (feat. David Gibson of Ray Kitty Creation Workship)

Tue, 23 Apr 2024

Summary:  The episode discusses the 10,000 year dilemma, which is a thought experiment on how to deal with nuclear waste in the future.  Today's episode is hosted by guest host David Gibson, who is the founder of the Ray Kitty Creation Workshop. (Find out more about the Ray Kitty Creation Workshop by clicking here).  

Gabriel and Autumn are out this week, but will be returning in short order with 3 separate interviews with authors of some fantastic popular science and math books including:

  • The Gravity of Math:  How Geometry Rules the Universe by Dr. Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis.    This book is all about the history of our understanding of gravity from the theories of Isaac Newton to Albert Einstein and beyond, including gravitational waves, black holes, as well as some of the current uncertainties regarding a precise definition of mass.  On sale now!  
  • EVERYTHING IS PREDICTABLE: How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World by Tom Chivers.  Published by Simon and Schuster.   This book explains the importance of Baye's Theorem in helping us to understand why  highly accurate screening tests can lead to false positives, a phenomenon we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic; How a failure to account for Bayes’ Theorem has put innocent people in jail; How military strategists using the theorem can predict where an enemy will strike next, and how Baye's Theorem is helping us to understang machine learning processes - a critical skillset to have in the 21st century.
    Available 05/07/2024
  • A CITY ON MARS: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?  by authors Dr. Kelly and Zach Weinersmith.  Zach Weinersmith is the artist and creator of the famous cartoon strip Saturday Morning Breaking Cereal!  

    We've got a lot of great episodes coming up!  Stay tuned.  


92. The Mathematical Heart of Games Explored with Prof. du Sautoy

Tue, 16 Apr 2024

An interview with Prof. Marcus du Sautoy about his book Around the Wold in Eighty Games . . . .a Mathematician Unlocks the Secrets of the World's Greatest Games.  

Topics covered in Today's Episode: 

1. Introduction to Professor Marcus du Sautoy and the Role of Games

- Impact of games on culture, strategy, and learning

- The educational importance of games throughout history

2. Differences in gaming cultures across regions like India and China

3. Creative Aspects of Mathematics

4. The surprising historical elements and banned games by Buddha

5. Historical and geographical narratives of games rather than rules

6. Game Theory and Education

7.  Unknowable questions like thermodynamics and universe's infinity

8. Professor du Sautoy's Former Books and Collections

9.  A preview of his previous books and their themes

10. Gaming Cultures and NFTs in Blockchain

11. Gamification in Education

12. The Role of AI in Gaming

13. Testing machine learning in mastering games like Go

14. Alphago's surprising move and its impact on Go strategies

15 . The future of AI in developing video game characters, plots, and environments

16. Conclusion and Giveaway Announcement

*Free Book Giveaway of Around The World in 88 Games . . .  by Professor Marcus Du Sautory!  Follow us on our socials for details:  

Follow us on X:  @BreakingMathPod

Follow us on Instagram:  @Breaking Math Media

Email us:  BreakingMathPodacst@gmail.com 

91. Brain Organelles, AI, and Other Scary Science - An Interview with GT (Part 2)

Thu, 04 Apr 2024

Summary

Brain Organelles, A.I. and Defining Intelligence in  Nature- 

In this episode, we continue our fascinating interview with GT, a science content creator on TikTok and YouTube known for their captivating - and sometimes disturbing science content.

GT can be found on the handle ‘@bearBaitOfficial’ on most social media channels.  

In this episode, we resume our discussion on Brain Organelles -  which are grown from human stem cells - how they are being used to learn about disease, how they may be integrated in A.I.  as well as eithical concerns with them.

We also ponder what constitutes intelligence in nature, and even touch on the potential risks of AI behaving nefariously.

You won't want to miss this thought-provoking and engaging discussion.

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90. LEAN Theorem Provers used to model Physics and Chemistry

Sat, 16 Mar 2024

This episode is inspired by a correspondence the Breaking Math Podcast had with the editors of Digital Discovery, a journal by the Royal Society of Chemistry.  In this episode the hosts review a paper about how the Lean Interactive Theorem Prover, which is usually used as a tool in creating mathemtics proofs, can be used to create rigorous and robust models in physics and chemistry.  

Also -  we have a brand new member of the Breaking Math Team!  This episode is the debut episode for Autumn, CEO of Cosmo Labs, occasional co-host / host of the Breaking Math Podcast, and overall contributor who has been working behind the scenes on the podcast on branding and content for the last several months. Welcome Autumn!  

Autumn and Gabe discuss how the paper explores the use of interactive theorem provers to ensure the accuracy of scientific theories and make them machine-readable. The episode discusses the limitations and potential of interactive theorem provers and highlights the themes of precision and formal verification in scientific knowledge.  This episode also provide resources (listed below) for listeners interested in learning more about working with the LEAN interactive theorem prover.  

Takeaways

  • Interactive theorem provers can revolutionize the way scientific theories are formulated and verified, ensuring mathematical certainty and minimizing errors.
  • Interactive theorem provers require a high level of mathematical knowledge and may not be accessible to all scientists and engineers.
  • Formal verification using interactive theorem provers can eliminate human error and hidden assumptions, leading to more confident and reliable scientific findings.
  • Interactive theorem provers promote clear communication and collaboration across disciplines by forcing explicit definitions and minimizing ambiguities in scientific language. Lean Theorem Provers enable scientists to construct modular and reusable proofs, accelerating the pace of knowledge acquisition.
  • Formal verification presents challenges in terms of transforming informal proofs into a formal language and bridging the reality gap.
  • Integration of theorem provers and machine learning has the potential to enhance creativity, verification, and usefulness of machine learning models.
  • The limitations and variables in formal verification require rigorous validation against experimental data to ensure real-world accuracy.
  • Lean Theorem Provers have the potential to provide unwavering trust, accelerate innovation, and increase accessibility in scientific research.
  • AI as a scientific partner can automate the formalization of informal theories and suggest new conjectures, revolutionizing scientific exploration.
  • The impact of Lean Theorem Provers on humanity includes a shift in scientific validity, rapid scientific breakthroughs, and democratization of science. 

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89. Brain Organelles, AI, and the Other Scary Science - An Interview with GT (Part I)

Tue, 05 Mar 2024

This conversation explores the topic of brain organoids and their integration with robots. The discussion covers the development and capabilities of brain organoids, the ethical implications of their use, and the differences between sentience and consciousness. The conversation also delves into the efficiency of human neural networks compared to artificial neural networks, the presence of sleep in brain organoids, and the potential for genetic memories in these structures. The episode concludes with an invitation to part two of the interview and a mention of the podcast's Patreon offering a commercial-free version of the episode.


Takeaways

  • Brain organoids are capable of firing neural signals and forming structures similar to those in the human brain during development.
  • The ethical implications of using brain organoids in research and integrating them with robots raise important questions about sentience and consciousness.
  • Human neural networks are more efficient than artificial neural networks, but the reasons for this efficiency are still unknown.
  • Brain organoids exhibit sleep-like patterns and can undergo dendrite growth, potentially indicating learning capabilities.
  • Collaboration between scientists with different thinking skill sets is crucial for advancing research in brain organoids and related fields.

Chapters

  1. 00:00 Introduction: Brain Organoids and Robots
  2. 00:39 Brain Organoids and Development
  3. 01:21 Ethical Implications of Brain Organoids
  4. 03:14 Summary and Introduction to Guest
  5. 03:41 Sentience and Consciousness in Brain Organoids
  6. 04:10 Neuron Count and Pain Receptors in Brain Organoids
  7. 05:00 Unanswered Questions and Discomfort
  8. 05:25 Psychological Discomfort in Brain Organoids
  9. 06:21 Early Videos and Brain Organoid Learning
  10. 07:20 Efficiency of Human Neural Networks
  11. 08:12 Sleep in Brain Organoids
  12. 09:13 Delta Brainwaves and Brain Organoids
  13. 10:11 Creating Brain Organoids with Specific Components
  14. 11:10 Genetic Memories in Brain Organoids
  15. 12:07 Efficiency and Learning in Human Brains
  16. 13:00 Sequential Memory and Chimpanzees
  17. 14:18 Different Thinking Skill Sets and Collaboration
  18. 16:13 ADHD and Hyperfocusing
  19. 18:01 Ethical Considerations in Brain Research
  20. 19:23 Understanding Genetic Mutations
  21. 20:51 Brain Organoids in Rat Bodies
  22. 22:14 Dendrite Growth in Brain Organoids
  23. 23:11 Duration of Dendrite Growth
  24. 24:26 Genetic Memory Transfer in Brain Organoids
  25. 25:19 Social Media Presence of Brain Organoid Companies
  26. 26:15 Brain Organoids Controlling Robot Spiders
  27. 27:14 Conclusion and Invitation to Part 2

References:

Muotri Labs (Brain Organelle piloting Spider Robot)

Cortical Labs (Brain Organelle's trained to play Pong)

*For a copy of the episode transcript, email us at breakingmathpodcast@gmail.com 

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