Best Video Game Rations Podcasts (2024)

Here Bruce reflects on AI researcher Kenneth Stanley’s assertion that setting specific, measurable goals may actually hinder discovery and innovation, which he writes about in his book, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective. How does Stanley’s insight relate to critical rationalism, education, and life in general? We cover topi…

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Fallout 07 – Gettin’ Some Head 51:34

Play Pause

15d ago51:34

51:34

Enjoy the 7th episode of Uranium Fever! Everyone’s always trying to get some head. In this case it’s more literal.By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 07 – Gettin’ Some Head 51:34

15d ago51:34

51:34

Enjoy the 7th episode of Uranium Fever! Everyone’s always trying to get some head. In this case it’s more literal.By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Episode 87: Is the Universal Explainer Hypothesis Falsifiable? 2:06:33

23d ago2:06:33

2:06:33

Is the universal explainer hypothesis falsifiable? How does the concept of universality relate to human minds? Is anything truly beyond human comprehension? And how would you frame universality as an interesting topic at a party? This week we also feature a guest, Dan Gish, a fellow traveler Bruce has connected with on Twitter. Dan (on Twitter) had…

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Fallout 06 – The One-Eyed Monster 1:10:07

29d ago1:10:07

1:10:07

Our heroes get trapped by evil mutants! Plus we get some ghoulishly awesome flashbacks from before the end of the world. Don’t forget to check out AskWho’s awesome Substack. Eneasz recommended this reading of a book review of the Old Testament and it’s awesome.By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 06 – The One-Eyed Monster 1:10:07

29d ago1:10:07

1:10:07

Our heroes get trapped by evil mutants! Plus we get some ghoulishly awesome flashbacks from before the end of the world. Don’t forget to check out AskWho’s awesome Substack. Eneasz recommended this reading of a book review of the Old Testament and it’s awesome.By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 05 – Lying Isn’t Nice 50:37

1M ago50:37

50:37

Eneasz and Steven chat about the fifth episode of the Fallout tv show. Remember when we thought we’d keep these around 15 minutes each? Ha!By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 05 – Lying Isn’t Nice 50:37

1M ago50:37

50:37

Eneasz and Steven chat about the fifth episode of the Fallout tv show. Remember when we thought we’d keep these around 15 minutes each? Ha!By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Episode 86: Fuzzy Categories, Essentialism, and Epistemology (Hofstadter Part 2) 1:42:39

1M ago1:42:39

1:42:39

How do humans form 'fuzzy categories'? How does this all relate to essentialism? Is essentialism false? Or is it partially true? And how does this all relate to Critical Rationalism? Picking up where we left off last week, Bruce getsdeeper into Douglas Hofstadter’s ideas on language and the mind and his assertion that “analogy-making lies at the he…

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Fallout 04 – Golden Rule, Motherfucker 51:53

1M ago51:53

51:53

This episode gets us back into awesome character stuff and we had a blast (bomb pun intended).By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 04 – Golden Rule, Motherfucker 51:53

1M ago51:53

51:53

This episode gets us back into awesome character stuff and we had a blast (bomb pun intended).By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 03 – Getting a Head in Life 40:11

2M ago40:11

40:11

This was more of a plot moving episode and less of a deep diving conversation starter, but we still found some stuff to talk about. I hope you enjoy the transition between the main episode and the last few minutes – the sophisticated among you will get it. ;)By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 03 – Getting a Head in Life 40:11

2M ago40:11

40:11

This was more of a plot moving episode and less of a deep diving conversation starter, but we still found some stuff to talk about. I hope you enjoy the transition between the main episode and the last few minutes – the sophisticated among you will get it. ;)By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Episode 85: Critical Rationalism and Douglas Hofstadter (Part 1) 1:49:52

2M ago1:49:52

1:49:52

This is the first of our two part series (that may or may not be released back-to-back) where Bruce delves into the work Douglas Hofstadter, specifically the book Surfaces and Essences. We consider what is the relationship—if there is any—between critical rationalism and Hofstadter's idea that analogy is a core mechanism of human cognition. Is it f…

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Fallout 02 – Luck of the Draw 1:07:08

2M ago1:07:08

1:07:08

Eneasz and Steven continue the discussion about the Fallout tv show and digress hard about the role of luck in our life circumstances. The outro song is from The Righteous Gemstones sung by Walton Goggins. :)By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 02 – Luck of the Draw 1:07:08

2M ago1:07:08

1:07:08

Eneasz and Steven continue the discussion about the Fallout tv show and digress hard about the role of luck in our life circumstances. The outro song is from The Righteous Gemstones sung by Walton Goggins. :)By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Fallout 01 – Okie Dokie! 35:48

2M ago35:48

35:48

Eneasz and Steven wanted to chat about the new and awesome Fallout tv series. We were under the delusion we could keep this to like 15 minutes but you know us and that was never going to happen.By podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

1
Fallout 01 – Okie Dokie! 35:48

2M ago35:48

35:48

Eneasz and Steven wanted to chat about the new and awesome Fallout tv series. We were under the delusion we could keep this to like 15 minutes but you know us and that was never going to happen.By The Methods of Rationality Podcast

1
Episode 84: Are Video Games Harmful to Children? 1:27:46

2M ago1:27:46

1:27:46

Here we discuss a 1992 interview with David Deutsch where he makes the case that video games are inherently educational, not addictive, and that children should not be stopped from playing as much as they want. We contrast the view of humans, science, and knowledge promoted there by David Deutsch with the more pessimistic view of thinkers such as J…

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Episode 83: Popper's Second Axis (aka Bruce's Epistemology?) 2:01:24

3M ago2:01:24

2:01:24

Bruce summarizes his (unique?) understanding of Karl Popper’s epistemology that (possibly?) straddles the line between orthodox and unorthodox and is Influenced both by Deutsch, more old school Popperians, and his own unique interpretation of critical rationalism. Bruce claims that the key difference between regular "folk epistemology" (i.e. how hu…

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Episode 82: Popper's Ratchet 1:53:02

3M ago1:53:02

1:53:02

In an episode that may (or may not) be his magnum opus, Bruce introduces his term for Karl Popper’s idea that you are only allowed to solve problems with your (scientific) theory by making it more empirical, not less empirical. Bruce makes the case that this is one of Karl Popper’s least appreciated ideas, as all of us are tempted by ad hoc saves t…

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Episode 81: Easy to Varyness vs Ad Hocness 2:14:02

4M ago2:14:02

2:14:02

Bruce sympathetically critiques David Deutsch’s concept of “easy to varyness” as a way to judge our explanations. Are our best theories about reality truly hard to vary? Bruce makes the case that Popper’s concept of “ad hocness” may be a strangely interwoven concept. Along the way we get deeper into whether Popperian epistemology is best seen as an…

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Oscar Catch-Up 2023 – Not Everything Bad Is A Satire – The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse 33:38

4M ago33:38

33:38

Is the 2023 winner for animated short a brilliant work of satirical performance art, or just bad, or just good? Eneasz, Matt, and Jen have different opinions, and fortunately we totally decide which one is right. Watch it hereBy podcast – The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Oscar Catch-Up 2023 – Not Everything Bad Is A Satire – The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse 33:38

4M ago33:38

33:38

Is the 2023 winner for animated short a brilliant work of satirical performance art, or just bad, or just good? Eneasz, Matt, and Jen have different opinions, and fortunately we totally decide which one is right. Watch it hereBy The Methods of Rationality Podcast

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Episode 80: Knowledge vs. Simul-Knowledge 1:44:34

4M ago1:44:34

1:44:34

Bruce wraps up his epic 6 part series on knowledge and the 'two sources hypothesis' (i.e. Deutsch's theory that all 'knowledge' comes from only two sources: Biological evolution and human minds). What happens if we take all the non-two sources examples of 'adapted information that cause itself to remain so' (e.g. the walking robot, the immune syste…

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Episode 79: Perspiration vs Inspiration 1:31:33

4M ago1:31:33

1:31:33

Is human creativity algorithmic? What is the difference between an Inspiration and a perspiration algorithm? Can mechanical processes ever create knowledge? What is the relationship between creativity and explanation? If we had the 'inspiration' algorithm today, would it use perspiration? Here Bruce continues his exploration of these issues and mor…

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Episode 78: Are Animal Memes Knowledge In the Genes? 1:11:53

5M ago1:11:53

1:11:53

Do animals create knowledge? Deutsch claims they don't because all their knowledge is in their genes. Yet he admits that animals do have memes! But aren't memes, by definition, knowledge outside the genome? How does Deutsch attempt to deal with these problems with his theory of knowledge? And how well do his arguments hold up? --- Send in a voice m…

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Episode 77: Counter Examples To Deutsch's Theory of Knowledge? 1:35:51

5M ago1:35:51

1:35:51

Bruce continues to consider what our best theories tell us about knowledge. Is there something special (or even physically different) about the knowledge created by nature through biological evolution and human minds (i.e. the 'two sources hypothesis')? How should we think about knowledge created in human minds that could take us to the moon and be…

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Episode 76: The Constructor Theory of Knowledge 1:18:00

5M ago1:18:00

1:18:00

In the previous episode, Bruce pointed out an apparent contradiction between Deutsch's criteria for knowledge as 'adapted information that causes itself to remain so' and his example of the 'walking robot algorithm' which is a case of adapted information causing itself to remain so but that Deutsch doesn't consider to be knowledge. This time we con…

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Episode 75: Deutsch's Theory of Knowledge: The Walking Robot 1:09:47

5M ago1:09:47

1:09:47

What is the “two sources hypothesis,” or the idea that there exist only two sources of knowledge in the known universe: Darwinian natural selection and human minds? Does a “genetic programming algorithm” used to make a robot walk create knowledge? Thus begins our deep dive into Deutsch's Theory of Knowledge and particularly his "Two Source Hypothes…

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Video Game Rations Podcasts

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