An interview podcast where I, Daniel Filan, interview guests about topics I'm interested in, with the aim of clarifying how the guest understands that topic.
In this episode I speak with Shea Levy about Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, and what it has to say about ethics and epistemology. Topics we talk about include:
What is Objectivism?
Can you be an Objectivist and disagree with Ayn Rand?
What’s the Objectivist theory of aesthetics?
Why isn’t there a biography of Ayn Rand approved of by orthodox Objectivists?
What’s so bad about altruism, or views like utilitarianism?
What even is selfishness?
Can we be mistaken about what we perceive? If so, how?
What is consciousness? Could it just be computation?
In this episode I speak with Oliver Habryka, head of Lightcone Infrastructure, the organization that runs the internet forum LessWrong, about his projects in the rationality and existential risk spaces. Topics we talk about include:
How did LessWrong get revived?
How good is LessWrong?
Is there anything that beats essays for making intellectual contributions on the internet?
Why did the team behind LessWrong pivot to property development?
What does the FTX situation tell us about the wider LessWrong and Effective Altruism communities?
What projects could help improve the world’s rationality?
In this episode, I speak with Divia Eden about operant conditioning, and how relevant it is to human and non-human animal behaviour. Topics we cover include:
How close are we to teaching grammar to dogs?
What are the important differences between human and dog cognition?
How important are unmodelled “trainer effects” in dog training?
Why do people underrate positive reinforcement?
How does operant conditioning relate to attachment theory?
How much does successful dog training rely on the trainer being reinforced by the dog?
In this episode, Peter Jaworski talks about the practice of paid plasma donation, whether it’s ethical to allow it, and his work to advocate for it to be legalized in more jurisdictions. He answers questions such as:
Which country used to run clinics in a former colony to pay their former colonial subjects for their plasma?
Why can’t we just synthesize what we need out of plasma?
What percentage of US exports by dollar value does plasma account for?
If I want to gather plasma, is it cheaper to pay donors, or not pay them?
Is legal paid plasma donation one step towards a dystopia?
In this episode, cryptocurrency developer Ameen Soleimani talks about his vision of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, as well as his current project RAI: an ether-backed floating-price stablecoin. He answers questions such as:
What’s the point of cryptocurrency?
If this is the beginning of the cryptocurrency world, what will the middle be?
What would the sign be that cryptocurrency is working?
How does RAI work?
Does the design of RAI make it impossible for it to be widely used?
In this episode, Carrick Flynn talks about his campaign to be the Democratic nominee for Oregon’s 6th congressional district. In particular, we talk about his policies on pandemic preparedness and semiconductor manufacturing. He answers questions such as:
Was he surprised by the election result?
Should we expect another Carrick campaign?
What specific things should or could the government fund to limit the spread of pandemics? Why would those work?