Roger Penrose: Why The Big Bang Was Not The Beginning

Why do physical laws have their specific form? Host Curt Jaimungal shows this question is a philosophical knot, because any "explanation" must itself stand on a law. Sponsors: - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - Why Physical Laws? - 05:04 - The Justification Problem - 12:14 - The Limits of Explanation Links mentioned: - Wigner’s Classification: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Wigner+classification - Noether’s Theorem: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Noether%27s+theorem - This Is What Energy Actually Is [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hQk9GLZ0Fms - Do Symmetries “Explain” Conservation Laws? [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2010.10909 - Max Tegmark [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-gekVfUAS7c - Lee Smolin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/uOKOodQXjhc - Amanda Gefter [TOE]: https://youtu.be/yABPvDJ6Zgs - John Norton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M - Laws of Physics [Eddy Keming Chen]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03484 - What’s Actually Possible: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-unexamined-in-principle - Eddy Chen & Barry Loewer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/xZnafO__IZ0 - The Package Deal Accounts of Laws and Properties [Paper]: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-020-02765-2 - David Deutsch [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vKeWv-cdWkM - Elan Barenholtz & Will Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ca_RbPXraDE - Münchhausen Trilemma [Wikipedia]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchhausen_trilemma - Jennifer Nagel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/CWZVMZ9Tm7Q - Law Without Law [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.01826 - Schrodinger Equation: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Schr%C3%B6dinger+equation - Born Rule: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Born+rule - Enaction of Qbists [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.04230 - Constructor Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.7439 - The Package Deal Account of Laws and Properties [Paper]: https://sites.rutgers.edu/barry-loewer/wp-content/uploads/sites/195/2020/05/Loewer-2020-The-Package-Deal-Account.pdf - Jonathan Pageau [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X3co_AA6yec - The Most Abused Theorem in Math (Godel’s Incompleteness) [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose dismantles standard cosmology, arguing the Big Bang wasn't the beginning and quantum mechanics is fundamentally wrong. He then connects a real, gravitational wave function collapse to the non-computational nature of consciousness and why today's AI can't truly understand. Sponsors: - Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code, at https://claude.ai/theoriesofeverything - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - The Big Bang Wasn't The Beginning - 02:14 - Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC) - 09:12 - The Collapse Problem - 14:31 - A Feeling of Elation - 24:32 - Gödel and Understanding - 37:32 - Gravitational Collapse - 50:05 - Critique of Modern AI - 57:12 - Black Hole Information "Paradox" - 1:04:15 - Wheeler, Wigner, & Witten - 1:15:04 - Richard Feynman in Poland - 1:20:25 - Libet's Timing of Consciousness - 1:32:49 - Three Worlds, Three Mysteries - 1:44:14 - Why Quantum Mechanics Is Wrong Links mentioned: - Stuart Hameroff [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0_bQwdJir1o - Classical Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/9409195 - Rebecca Goldstein [TOE]: https://youtu.be/VkL3BcKEB6Y - The Emperor’s New Mind [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/Emperors-New-Mind-Concerning-Computers/dp/0192861980 - Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/Fashion-Faith-Fantasy-Physics-Universe/dp/0691178534 - Perturbative Gauge Theory as a String Theory in Twistor Space [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0312171 - What Is Life? [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/What-Life-Matter-Autobiographical-Sketches/dp/1107604664 - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Exdz2HKP7u0 - Why I Don’t Buy the Simulation Hypothesis (Nor Materialism) [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3_lBPMc6JRY - Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics [Book]: https://www.amazon.ca/Consciousness-Quantum-Mechanics-Shan-Gao/dp/0197501664 - Ivette Fuentes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cUj2TcZSlZc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Libet experiment didn't kill free will, says professor of neuroscience Aaron Schurger; the brain's "readiness potential" is simply stochastic neural noise. We then tackle consciousness's role in initiating action, the hard problem, and what it'd take for neuroscience to truly disprove our choices. If you’re interested in the topics above, I think you’ll love this podcast. Sponsors: - Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code, at https://claude.ai/theoriesofeverything - Get your copy of Richard Fain’s Delivering the Wow—available today on Amazon, or wherever you buy your books. - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - The Readiness Potential - 07:14 - Reinterpreting Libet's Results - 24:18 - Autocorrelated Neural Noise - 36:06 - Noise vs. Conscious Imperative - 43:46 - Resolving Libet's Paradox - 50:55 - The Point of No Return - 56:11 - Attention Schema Theory - 01:03:47 - Explaining "What It's Like" - 01:17:00 - Consciousness & Action Initiation - 01:24:54 - Testing Consciousness Thresholds Links mentioned: - Aaron Schurger’s Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lBSjfagAAAAJ&hl=en - Daniel Dennett [TOE]: https://youtu.be/bH553zzjQlI - Determined: A Science Of Life Without Free Will [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Science-Life-without-Free/dp/B0BVNSX4CQ/ref=sr_1_1 - Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8 - An Accumulator Model For Spontaneous Neuralactivity Prior To Self-Initiated Movement [Paper]: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1210467109 - Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk - Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 - Awareness As A Perceptual Model Of Attention [Paper]: https://grazianolab.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf3411/files/graziano/files/cog_neurosci_2011b.pdf - Cortical Activity Is More Stable When Sensory Stimuliare Consciously Perceived [Paper]: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1418730112 - Propofol Anesthesia Destabilizes Neural Dynamics Across Cortex [Paper]: https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0896-6273%2824%2900446-X - Jenann Ismael [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7kvXihDAOi0 SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe One week ago, I (Curt Jaimungal) was invited to Niagara University to give the Peggy and John Day University Honors Endowed Lecture, which was quite the privilege and honor. The lecture focuses on metaphysics. I explain extremely simply the arguments for you being a “simulation,” the arguments against it, and where I personally land. Then I do the same for “materialism.” Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: - 00:00 - Simulation vs. Materialism - 05:04 - Mistakes Intellectuals Make - 10:12 - The Simulation Mythology - 16:46 - Bayesian Errors & Glitches - 23:22 - Principle of Indifference Flaws - 29:07 - The Case Against Materialism / Physicalism - 35:28 - Nested Consciousness Problem - 42:36 - Q&A: Modern Dualism? - 50:51 - Debating Indifference Principle Links mentioned: - Niagara University’s 2025 Fall Speaker Series: https://www.niagara.edu/academics/initiatives-and-institutes/fall-speaker-series/ - Michael Barnwell [Site]: https://www.philosophy4business.com/ - David Deutsch [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vKeWv-cdWkM - Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - David Chalmers [TOE]: https://youtu.be/RH5qjdHhtBk - The Most Abused Theorem in Math [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo - The Mandela Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory#Mandela_effect - Efron’s Dice: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/EfronsDice.html - String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY - Emily Adlam & Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/rw1ewLJUgOg - Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Physicist Yakir Aharonov argues that the standard story of quantum mechanics is wrong, proposing a time-symmetric “two-state vector” view in which reality is defined by wavefunctions from both past and future. He explains weak measurements (information without collapse), nonlocal dynamics behind interference, and phenomena like the “quantum Cheshire Cat.” Aharonov recounts the birth of the Aharonov–Bohm effect, why gauge potentials mislead about locality, and how pre and post-selection restore causal insight without determinism. He shares memories of Bohm, Heisenberg, and Feynman, touches on gravitational and non-Abelian AB analogs, and lays out why a clear narrative—not just math—is essential to understanding quantum theory. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Links mentioned: - Yakir’s Papers: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1023512 - Jenann Ismael [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7kvXihDAOi0 - Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - Shift Of An Electron Interference Pattern By Enclosed Magnetic Flux [Paper]: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.5.3 SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Deutsch argues that Einstein would struggle to secure modern research grants, exposing how funding systems favor incremental work over bold, fundamental ideas. He connects this bias to quantum computing, constructor theory, free will, and the role of creativity in scientific breakthroughs.- 00:00 - Einstein's Grant Application- 07:00 - Funding People, Not Projects- 12:35 - Is Physics Stagnant?- 17:34 - The "Checkbox" Problem- 26:05 - Physics vs. Math Departments- 32:42 - Fundamental vs. Foundational- 40:08 - Physicists and Philosophy- 45:44 - Why Academics Are Silent- 51:20 - The Problem of Quantum Gravity- 58:31 - Qubit Field Theory- 1:03:18 - Problem-Solving in Physics- 1:17:14 - Deutsch's "Impossible" List- 1:24:23 - Meeting Hugh Everett- 1:35:01 - Susskind's MWI Objections- 1:46:44 - Everett and Quantum Computing- 1:56:20 - Constructor Theory- 2:03:01 - Free Will and Knowledge- 2:09:08 - Follow The FunSPONSORS:- The Economist: 20% off - https://www.economist.com/toe- Claude: 50% off Claude Pro - http://claude.ai/theoriesofeverythingRESOURCES:- Beginning Of Infinity [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359- How To Reverse Academia’s Stagnation [YouTube]: https://youtu.be/Em-85baHx0A- Qubit Field Theory [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0401024- Quantum Theory, The Church–Turing Principle And The Universal Quantum Computer [Paper]: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.1985.0070- ArXiv: https://arxiv.org/- Scott Aaronson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/1ZpGCQoL2Rk- Wayne Myrvold [TOE]: https://youtu.be/HIoviZe14pY- Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/zNZCa1pVE20- String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY- Alex Honnold [TOE]: https://youtu.be/D4oXvxqzSyA- Michael Levin Λ Anna Ciaunica: https://youtu.be/2aLhkm6QUgA- Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/FkYer0xP37E- The Heisenberg Picture: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Advanced_Statistical_Mechanics_(Tuckerman)/09%3A_Review_of_the_basic_postulates_of_quantum_mechanics/9.04%3A_The_Heisenberg_Picture- Jacob Barandes Λ Emily Adlam: https://youtu.be/rw1ewLJUgOg- Everett’s Letter To DeWitt: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds/orig-02.html- The Many-Worlds Interpretation Of Quantum Mechanics [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Interpretation-Quantum-Mechanics-Princeton-Library/dp/069161895X- Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok- Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo- David Wallace [TOE]: https://youtu.be/4MjNuJK5RzM- Chiara Marletto [TOE]: https://youtu.be/40CB12cj_aM- Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU- Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8- Yang-Hui He [TOE]: https://youtu.be/spIquD_mBFk- Maria Violaris [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Iya6tYN37ow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wayne Myrvold reinterprets thermodynamics as a resource theory, arguing that the slogan “entropy always increases” follows from the second law rather than defining it. The conversation contrasts Gibbs and Boltzmann entropy, examines Maxwell’s demon, Landauer erasure, statistical bounds on Carnot efficiency, and explores implications for cosmology, ergodicity, and collapse theories, ending with pedagogical reflections and career advice.- 00:00 - Is entropy in the system or in our minds?- 07:12 - Original thermodynamics as a resource theory of heat and power- 18:24 - The second law does not assume entropy; entropy requires the second law- 30:58 - From caloric to molecular motion: historical view- 39:04 - Maxwell's insight: why the second law is not absolute- 48:11 - Information as a resource: knowledge and entropy- 1:00:53 - Boltzmann vs Gibbs: objective vs subjective entropy- 1:10:24 - Maxwell's demon and Landauer's principle- 1:25:02 - The inevitable "heat death" of the universe?- 1:30:19 - Why "disorder" misleads- 1:35:21 - Ergodic hypothesis: relevance and limits- 1:43:52 - Is statistical mechanics on shaky ground (like QFT)?- 1:50:50 - Career advice: do not join bandwagonsRESOURCES:- Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com- Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8- Concerning Several Conveniently Applicable Forms For The Main Equations Of The Mechanical Heat Theory [Paper]: https://web.lemoyne.edu/giunta/Clausius1865.pdf- John Norton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M- On An Absolute Thermometric Scale [Paper]: https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/2559_Therm_Stat_Mech/docs/Thomson_1848.pdf- Carnot Efficiency: https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Carnot_efficiency- Maxwell's Talk On Molecules: https://victorianweb.org/science/maxwell/molecules.html- Helmholtz Free Energy: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/helmholtz-free-energy- Boltzmann Entropy: https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Western_Washington_University/Biophysical_Chemistry_(Smirnov_and_McCarty)/01%3A_Biochemical_Thermodynamics/1.05%3A_The_Boltzmann_Distribution_and_the_Statistical_Definition_of_Entropy- Maxwell's Letter: https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PH-CAVENDISH-P-00092/1- Landauer's Principle: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S135521980300039X- On A Universal Tendency In Nature To The Dissipation Of Mechanical Energy: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786445208647126- Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/zNZCa1pVE20- Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU- Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo- Understanding The Infinite [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Infinite-Shaughan-Lavine/dp/0674921178- Classical Electrodynamics [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Classical_Electrodynamics-John-David-Jackson/dp/1119770769- Why Information Is Entropy [YouTube]: https://youtu.be/8Uilw9t-syQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anil Seth and Michael Levin debate whether brains are computers, how consciousness relates to substrate, and if algorithms can ever capture life and mind. Levin argues machines can access a platonic space of agency via embodied interfaces, xenobots, and compositional agents, while Seth challenges the software-hardware split using information theory, Granger causality, and psychophysics. Together they probe islands of awareness, degeneracy, bubble-sort side quests, LLM surprises, alignment, and how to ask better scientific questions.- 00:00 - Anil Seth & Michael Levin: Islands of Consciousness & Xenobots- 08:24 - Substrate Dependence: Why Biology Isn't Just 'Wetware'- 13:13 - Beyond Algorithms: Do Machines Tap Into a 'Platonic Space'?- 21:46 - The Ghost in the Algorithm: Emergent Agency in Bubble Sort- 29:26 - Degeneracy: The Biological Principle AI is Missing- 36:34 - The Multiplicity of Agency: Are Your Cells Conscious?- 43:24 - Unconscious Processing or Inaccessible Consciousness? The Split-Brain Problem- 49:32 - The Ultimate Experiment to Decode Consciousness- 57:31 - A Counter-Intuitive Discovery: Consciousness is Less Emergent- 1:03:39 - Psychedelics, LLMs, and the Frontiers of SurpriseSPONSORS:- HelloFresh: Get 10 Free Meals + a Free Item for Life. One per box with active subscription; free meals applied as discount on first box; new subscribers only; varies by plan. http://HelloFresh.com/THEORIESOFEVERYTHING10FM- Claude: 50% off Claude Pro, including Claude Code. http://claude.ai/theoriesofeverythingRESOURCES:- Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s- Anil Seth [TOE]: https://youtu.be/_hUEqXhDbVs- Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE- Living Things Are Not Machines [Article]: https://www.noemamag.com/living-things-are-not-machines-also-they-totally-are/- Classical Sorting Algorithms [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.05375- Michael Levin and Anna Ciaunica [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2aLhkm6QUgA- Being You: A New Science of Consciousness [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Being-You-New-Science-Consciousness/dp/1524742872/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0- The Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk- Iain McGilchrist [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Q9sBKCd2HD0- Matt Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM- Andres Gomez-Emilsson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/gi08eVU_-f8- MIT's Augmentation Summit: https://augmentationlab.org/summit- Granger Causality Analysis [Paper]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25716830/- Dynamical Independence [Paper]: https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.99.022143 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Curt Jaimungal talks with Professor Lilian Dindo about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and its use for anxiety, panic attacks, and broader mental‑health challenges. They discuss how ACT can help uncover personal values, differentiate anxiety from excitement, and even boost learning in math and physics.- 00:00:00 - Introduction- 00:04:05 - What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) therapy?- 00:08:12 - Suffering is a part of life- 00:11:06 - ACT is not just for therapy, but for general illness and rejection- 00:14:24 - Lilian's feeling anxiety in this interview *right now*, but ACT is helping- 00:15:57 - Dealing with panic attacks- 00:18:22 - "Anxiety" and "excitement" are physiologically indistinguishable- 00:20:00 - Implementing ACT (specific example)- 00:26:15 - Stop avoiding. The mind works by addition (not subtraction)!- 00:30:00 - Choosing courage vs. "mustering" courage- 00:30:51 - Coping vs. mollifying- 00:33:45 - Goal oriented vs. Value oriented- 00:36:06 - How to uncover your own values?- 00:42:14 - Do values imply a "should"? (specific example)- 00:47:45 - What separates those for whom therapy works for, from those it doesn't?- 00:54:57 - Suicidal ideation / psychosis (there's hope with ACT)- 00:57:14 - Enhancing learning math / physics- 00:59:50 - Acceptance vs Acknowledgement- 01:01:40 - Physical vs Psychology (mind and body connection)- 01:05:53 - A visual example you can employ to abate anxiety- 01:10:39 - The role of belief / hope / faith / trust- 01:11:08 - "Thanking" the negative thought / emotion- 01:11:50 - People don't suffer with just ONE issue, but multipleSPONSORS:- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal- Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE- PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e- Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything- Merch: https://tinyurl.com/TOEmerchRESOURCES:- YouTube link: https://youtu.be/L_hI7JNsbt0- Lilian's links:- http://actfindyourpath.com- https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/lilian-dindo-20557- https://www.bcm.edu/research/faculty-labs/act-on-health-lab- http://contextualscience.org- Links mentioned:- Karl Friston episode: https://youtu.be/SWtFU1Lit3M- A H Almaas episode: https://youtu.be/6JlKf1QAvXA- Curt's Crash Course on Theoretical Physics: https://youtu.be/e8kyvdPP8os Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Curt talks with Andrés Gómez‑Emilsson of the Qualia Research Institute about mathematically modeling consciousness and visualizing psychedelic experiences. They explore how color geometry, GPU‑driven tools, and concepts like psychedelic thermodynamics can map qualia beyond ordinary sensory input.SPONSORS:- Verso Nightcap Elixir: 15% off your first order - https://evening.ver.so/toe - The Economist: 20% off for TOE listeners - https://www.economist.com/toe RESOURCES:- Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com - Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices