In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: SKILLSHARE: Two months of unlimited access to more than 20 thousand classes for just 99 cents Inversion Is a Thinking Technique Used By Billionaires Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? That's a Heated Debate This Nonprofit is Using Old Cell Phones to Save the Rainforest To read more from the man who popularized the simulation hypothesis, check out "Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies" by Nick Bostrom, which is all about what might happen when the robots surpass us in intelligence. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase, Curiosity will get a share of the sale. Want to support our show? Register for the 2018 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. Just register at the link and select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2018 Learn more about these topics and more onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
To read more from the man who popularized the simulation hypothesis, check out "Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies" by Nick Bostrom, which is all about what might happen when the robots surpass us in intelligence. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase, Curiosity will get a share of the sale.
Want to support our show? Register for the 2018 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. Just register at the link and select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2018
Learn more about these topics and more on Curiosity.com, and download our 5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable our Alexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day!
Full episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/living-in-a-computer-simulation-billionaire-success-trick-and-phones-saving-the-rainforest
[MUSIC PLAYING] CODY GOUGH: Hi. We've got three stories from curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today, you'll learn about the heated debate over whether we're living in a computer simulation, how a nonprofit is using old cell phones to save the rainforest, and a thinking technique used by billionaires.
CODY GOUGH: Let's satisfy some curiosity. Ashley, have you ever wondered what it's like to be a billionaire?
ASHLEY HAMER: Well, I've been watching the show Billions, and there are a lot of billionaires in that show.
CODY GOUGH: Is that literally what the show is about?
ASHLEY HAMER: That's literally what the show is about. It's very good.
CODY GOUGH: Well, if you're ready to get rich, today we've got a billionaire tactic for setting yourself up for success. Charlie Munger is the vise chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and his business partner happens to be Warren Buffett, a guy who knows something about money. And Munger uses a tactic called inversion. You can try it right now. Think about your dream accomplishment, got it? All right.
Now, focus on its opposite. Think about all the things you do not want to happen, everything that might go wrong on the way to reaching your goal. Now, you can take action to avoid those things. You can use this for little goals, like day-to-day problems too. Maybe you want to get stronger and start weightlifting. OK. Well, so what might go wrong? You could drop a weight on yourself or hurt a muscle by using bad form or get really hungry or thirsty after your workout for just a few examples.
Well, you can not drop a weight by keeping a log of how much weight you're lifting or making sure you start small and work your way up, so you know your limits. So there, you're turning a negative into a positive. You can also work on your form using lighter weights, watch YouTube videos or even work with a trainer or ask somebody at the gym to spot you, so you know your form is good.
And if you're trying to really bulk up, then make sure you've got a budget for extra food. I eat three times as much when I'm on a gym kick. So the next time you've got a problem try, inverting it and let us know if it helps. We'd love to hear from you.
One thing I've inverted is the problem of getting a new gaming PC. So I'm a gamer, and I would absolutely love a brand new gaming rig. But I don't want to overspend. I don't know if you knew this, actually, but you can actually save a ton of money by building your own computer instead of buying a pre-built one from a major brand.
ASHLEY HAMER: That makes sense.
CODY GOUGH: Well, I've been messing with my PCs at home for 20 years, but I've never really sat down and learned what every piece of equipment does and what types of memory there are any of that stuff. So when I invert and think what could go wrong, I think about stuff like, how I might put it together wrong because I'm not familiar with the parts. Or I'll get halfway into building it and then realize that I'm using the wrong size case or something.
So when I invert that, I think-- well, if I learned about heat sinks, and fans, and motherboards, and PSU, then I'd be able to customize my own dream machine and actually be able to afford it and know what I'm doing. Well, guess who offers a class called Intro to Computer Hardware? Today's sponsor is Skillshare.
ASHLEY HAMER: Skillshare is an online learning platform with more than 20,000 classes in business, marketing, design, technology, and more.
CODY GOUGH: And Skillshare's classes are all taught by real experts in their field or public motivational speakers. So I'm taking the intro to Computer Hardware course from a certified computer expert, with more than 10 years of experience in the IT field and 15 years of experience putting together custom PCs. So this isn't just some random person online that I don't know what their expertise is. And this course is broken into 16 different sections, so it's super easy to skip around and save time.
ASHLEY HAMER: You can take classes for everything you're curious about, like computer hardware and coding, photo and video editing, photography, productivity, mobile development, cooking, and fine art. I've taken parts of some classes on vocal recording just to make sure we're doing everything we can to make this podcast sound as good as possible for you. There are more than 150 classes on vocal recording alone. I mean you've got to remember. Skillshare offers more than 20,000 classes.
CODY GOUGH: I've also taken those classes, and they are great. And you can join the millions of students already learning on Skillshare with a special offer just for Curiosity listeners. Get two months of Skillshare for just $0.99. To sign up, visit skillshare.com/curious.
ASHLEY HAMER: Again, that's skillshare.com/curious for two months of unlimited access to more than 20,000 classes for just $0.99. You'd loved Curiosity because that lifelong learning is important, so get to it. Start your two month trial today.
CODY GOUGH: One more time, that's skillshare.com/curious. Ashley, we've briefly mentioned this theory before. And I want to say I am legitimately really happy you wrote about it because I want to know the full story behind this.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah. I think on a previous episode, I actually was very sure. I was like, oh, no, we're definitely living in a computer simulation. And like, I was joking, but I wasn't really joking. Because at the time, everything I had read really was pointing in the direction of yeah, most experts think that we really are living in one, that it's overwhelmingly likely that we are. But then I realized that all of these experts were tech experts, and they weren't Physics experts. They weren't people who actually study what our universe really is right now. Like, the way that things behave and whether those things could be simulated.
CODY GOUGH: But there's philosophers that get on this debate, too, right?
ASHLEY HAMER: Sure. Oh, yeah. All sorts of people get in on this debate. But I was really interested to see one specific physicist's argument against us living in a computer simulation. So to back up, there is actually a heated debate in the scientific community about whether we're all living in a computer simulation.
The most popular argument is known as the simulation hypothesis from philosopher Nick Bostrom. In a 2003 paper, he wrote, quote "if there were a substantial chance that our civilization will ever get to the post-human stage and run many ancestor simulations, then how come you're not living in such a simulation?" unquote. He also created a formula, laying out how many civilizations survive to reach a post-human stage, how big they would be, and how many civilizations they'd run. And fans of this theory point out that the laws of physics are similar to programming code.
For example, MIT cosmologist Max Tegmark said in a debate that the way quarks move around is totally mathematical as far as we can tell, but there's some pushback. Theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder says that quantum mechanics and classical physics don't really get along too well. Computer programs are all made of bits, right? Well, she says that you wouldn't be able to use classical bits to make your simulation. You'd have to use quantum bits or qubits.
But a physicist tried to model the universe using qubits, and the models didn't line up with Einstein's theory of relativity. But the biggest problem with the hypothesis is that it's not actually possible to prove it wrong. That means it's technically outside the realm of science. But it's still fun to think about, and it really gets people going. You can see what other scientists and philosophers have to say about this today on curiosity.com and on the Curiosity app for Android and iOS.
CODY GOUGH: We've talked about how much travel you've done in the past.
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah, which is not much.
CODY GOUGH: Right. How high is the rainforest on your list of places you want to see?
ASHLEY HAMER: Oh, I would love to go to the rainforest.
CODY GOUGH: Really?
ASHLEY HAMER: Yeah.
CODY GOUGH: But they're so humid.
ASHLEY HAMER: Sure. Yeah. There are bugs that can crawl under your scalp and lay eggs, and it's all very scary. But I would still go.
CODY GOUGH: Insects and humidity, it's just--
[LAUGHTER]
I guess.
ASHLEY HAMER: It's understandable.
CODY GOUGH: I'm just lame like that. Well, our rainforests are in trouble, so that sucks. But we're wrapping up today by telling you that there's hope for the future, so you should hopefully be able to visit rainforest for a very long time. When we talked about losing rainforests, we're talking the Amazon lost almost one fifth of its rainforest in the last four decades. That's a lot of rainforest.
Well, there's a startup called Rainforest Connection, and they're dedicated to protecting rainforests using recycled smartphones. So this is a cool story. Here's how it works. Topher White is the founder of the company, and he invented a system where smartphones are placed in trees and charge using solar power. But he also installs an extra microphone in the phones. They use an algorithm, which he also invented, to listen for sounds of chainsaws from nearly a mile away. When those get picked up, the program sends a text alert to park rangers who can catch criminals in the act.
These devices have proved to be really successful in catching illegal activity and regulating logging activities. You can read all about it today in our full write-up with a link in the show notes. But it's just super ingenious. I think, Topher White deserves to be a billionaire, whether he uses inversion or not.
ASHLEY HAMER: Read about all of today's stories and more on curiosity.com.
CODY GOUGH: Join us again tomorrow for the Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.
ASHLEY HAMER: And I'm Ashley Hamer. Stay curious.
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