Author Archives: Lex Fridman

#228 – RZA: Wu-Tang Clan, Kung Fu, Chess, God, Life, and Death

RZA is a rapper, record producer, filmmaker, actor, writer, philosopher, and the mastermind of the legendary hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– ROKA: https://roka.com/ and use code LEX to get 20% off your first order
– Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil
– SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX to get a free security camera
– Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings
– BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off

EPISODE LINKS:
RZA’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/RZA
RZA’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rza
Wu-Tang Clan Website: https://wutangclan.net

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(06:57) – Life and death
(14:16) – Quincy Jones
(19:39) – Quentin Tarantino
(23:05) – Kung Fu
(28:01) – Biggie
(29:48) – Tupac
(32:45) – Nas
(35:48) – Favorite verse
(39:46) – Who is God?
(44:56) – Wu-Tang Clan
(48:49) – Bruce Lee
(55:40) – Godfather
(1:01:36) – Veganism
(1:06:27) – AI
(1:10:41) – Chess
(1:14:00) – American Gangster
(1:19:55) – Creativity
(1:26:24) – Advice for young people
(1:29:47) – Meaning of life

#227 – Sean Kelly: Existentialism, Nihilism, and the Search for Meaning

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Sean Kelly is a philosopher at Harvard specializing in existentialism and the philosophy of mind. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Coinbase: https://coinbase.com/lex to get $5 in free Bitcoin
– InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/lex and use code Lex25 to get 25% off
– NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour
– Ladder: https://ladderlife.com/lex
– Sunbasket: https://sunbasket.com/lex and use code LEX to get $35 off

EPISODE LINKS:
Sean’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/sean_d_kelly
Sean’s Website: https://scholar.harvard.edu/sdkelly
Sean’s Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Dorrance_Kelly

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(06:50) – Existentialism
(26:58) – Nietzsche and nihilism
(44:35) – Dostoevsky
(1:00:02) – Camus and suicide
(1:18:31) – The Big Lebowski
(1:26:20) – Ayn Rand
(1:36:28) – Evil
(1:47:03) – Heidegger
(1:58:43) – Hubert Dreyfus
(2:04:35) – Moby Dick
(2:15:51) – David Foster Wallace
(2:36:03) – Can AI make art?
(2:55:46) – Meaning of life

#226 – Jo Boaler: How to Learn Math

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Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford and the co-founder of youcubed. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Truebill: https://truebill.com/lex
– Fundrise: https://fundrise.com/lex
– ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free
– Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit
– Stamps.com: https://stamps.com and use code LEX to get free postage & scale

EPISODE LINKS:
Jo’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/joboaler
youcubed: https://www.youcubed.org/
Jo’s Books: https://amzn.to/2Y3S2xW
Elastic by Leonard Mlodinow: https://amz.run/4tCk
Deep Work by Cal Newport: https://amz.run/4tCl
3Blue1Brown: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw
Manim: https://github.com/3b1b/manim

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(06:48) – What is beautiful about mathematics?
(15:37) – How difficult should math really be?
(23:56) – Students giving up on math
(35:17) – Improving math education in schools
(45:14) – Inspiring mathematical creativity
(1:03:00) – youcubed
(1:07:20) – Best methods for studying math
(1:27:54) – Advice for young people

#225 – Jeffrey Shainline: Neuromorphic Computing and Optoelectronic Intelligence

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Jeffrey Shainline is a physicist at NIST working on. Note: Opinions expressed by Jeff do not represent NIST. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Stripe: https://stripe.com
– Codecademy: https://codecademy.com and use code LEX to get 15% off
– Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit
– BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off

EPISODE LINKS:
Jeff’s Website: http://www.shainline.net
Jeff’s Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rnHpY3YAAAAJ
Jeff’s NIST Page: https://www.nist.gov/people/jeff-shainline

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(05:56) – How are processors made?
(25:15) – Are engineers or physicists more important
(27:43) – Super-conductivity
(43:31) – Computation
(48:07) – Computation vs communication
(51:48) – Electrons for computation and light for communication
(1:02:32) – Neuromorphic computing
(1:27:23) – What is NIST?
(1:30:41) – Implementing super-conductivity
(1:38:20) – The future of neuromorphic computing
(1:57:54) – Loop neurons
(2:04:09) – Machine learning
(2:18:36) – Cosmological evolution
(2:25:44) – Cosmological natural selection
(2:43:05) – Life in the universe
(2:50:52) – The rare Earth hypothesis

#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming

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Travis Oliphant is a data scientist, entrepreneur, and creator of NumPy, SciPy, and Anaconda. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Novo: https://banknovo.com/lex
– Allform: https://allform.com/lex to get 20% off
– Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off
– Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil
– Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex and use code LEX to get 25% off premium

EPISODE LINKS:
Travis’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/teoliphant
Travis’s Wiki Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Oliphant
NumPy: https://numpy.org/
SciPy: https://scipy.org/about.html
Anaconda: https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual
Quansight: https://www.quansight.com

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:06) – Early programming
(28:47) – SciPy
(45:41) – Open source
(57:23) – NumPy
(1:34:39) – Guido van Rossum
(1:46:57) – Efficiency
(1:55:49) – Objects
(2:02:47) – Numba
(2:11:53) – Anaconda
(2:16:20) – Conda
(2:31:56) – Quansight Labs
(2:35:32) – OpenTeams
(2:43:05) – GitHub
(2:48:35) – Marketing
(2:53:13) – Great programming
(3:04:03) – Hiring
(3:08:01) – Advice for young people

#223 – Travis Stevens: Judo, Olympics, and Mental Toughness

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Travis Stevens is the 2016 Olympic Judo silver medalist and BJJ black belt. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Justworks: https://justworks.com
– Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit
– MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lex to get 15% off
– Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings

EPISODE LINKS:
Travis’s Website: https://www.travisstevensgrappling.com/
Travis’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/judosilencer
Travis’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TravisStevensgrappling
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judosilencer

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:08) – What is Judo?
(17:55) – Travis’s signature throw
(23:20) – Fundamentals
(25:12) – Throws
(38:04) – Gripping
(46:37) – Weight cutting
(1:15:50) – Injuries
(1:19:50) – Jiu-Jitsu
(1:23:33) – Lex on his judo competition experience
(1:26:58) – Levels of mastery
(1:40:09) – Matches
(1:54:10) – Travis inspired Lex to practice judo
(2:00:24) – London 2012 Olympic games
(2:42:01) – 2016 Olympic games
(3:16:24) – Mixed team competition
(3:23:50) – The value of epic throws
(3:27:17) – Shohei Ono
(3:33:39) – Chess
(3:38:42) – The coach
(3:45:18) – Advice for young people

#222 – Jay McClelland: Neural Networks and the Emergence of Cognition

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Jay McClelland is a cognitive scientist at Stanford. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Paperspace: https://gradient.run/lex to get $15 credit
– Skiff: https://skiff.org/lex to get early access
– Uprising Food: https://uprisingfood.com/lex to get $10 off 1st starter bundle
– Four Sigmatic: https://foursigmatic.com/lex and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off
– Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off

EPISODE LINKS:
Jay’s Website: https://stanford.edu/~jlmcc/

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:12) – Beauty in neural networks
(11:31) – Darwin and evolution
(17:16) – The origin of intelligence
(23:58) – Explorations in cognition
(30:02) – Learning representations by back-propagating errors
(36:27) – Dave Rumelhart and cognitive modeling
(49:30) – Connectionism
(1:12:23) – Geoffrey Hinton
(1:14:19) – Learning in a neural network
(1:31:11) – Mathematics & reality
(1:38:19) – Modeling intelligence
(1:48:57) – Noam Chomsky and linguistic cognition
(2:03:18) – Advice for young people
(2:14:26) – Psychiatry and exploring the mind
(2:27:04) – Legacy
(2:32:53) – Meaning of life

#221 – Douglas Lenat: Cyc and the Quest to Solve Common Sense Reasoning in AI

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Douglas Lenat is the founder of Cyc, a 37 year project aiming to solve common-sense knowledge and reasoning in AI. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Squarespace: https://lexfridman.com/squarespace and use code LEX to get 10% off
– BiOptimizers: http://www.magbreakthrough.com/lex to get 10% off
– Stamps.com: https://stamps.com and use code LEX to get free postage & scale
– LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack
– ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free

EPISODE LINKS:
Douglas’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/cycorpai
Cyc’s Website: https://cyc.com

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:39) – What is Cyc?
(15:45) – How to form a knowledge base of the universe
(26:11) – How to train an AI knowledge base
(30:32) – Global consistency versus local consistency
(54:53) – Automated reasoning
(1:00:33) – Direct uses of AI and machine learning
(1:13:11) – The semantic web
(1:23:44) – Tools to help Cyc interpret data
(1:32:54) – The most beautiful idea about Cyc
(1:38:53) – Love and consciousness in AI
(1:45:52) – The greatness of Marvin Minsky
(1:50:46) – Is Cyc just a beautiful dream?
(1:55:31) – What is OpenCyc and how was it born?
(2:01:21) – The open source community and OpenCyc
(2:11:48) – The inference problem
(2:13:31) – Cyc’s programming language
(2:21:05) – Ontological engineering
(2:28:30) – Do machines think?
(2:37:15) – Death and consciousness
(2:47:16) – What would you say to AI?
(2:51:52) – Advice to young people
(2:53:48) – Mortality

#220 – Niels Jorgensen: New York Firefighters and the Heroes of 9/11

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Niels Jorgensen is a former New York firefighter for over 21 years, who was there at Ground Zero on September 11th, 2001. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– ROKA: https://roka.com/ and use code LEX to get 20% off your first order
– MUD\WTR: https://mudwtr.com/lex and use code LEX to get 5% off
– Magic Spoon: https://magicspoon.com/lex and use code LEX to get $5 off
– Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex and use code LEX to get 25% off premium

EPISODE LINKS:
Niels’s 20 for 20 Podcast: https://ironlightlabs.org/20-for-20/

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(08:52) – September 11, 2001
(36:48) – Falling man
(40:58) – Ground Zero
(47:17) – 20 for 20
(50:27) – What it means to be a great firefighter
(53:11) – Why did you become a firefighter?
(55:00) – Tally Ho
(57:46) – New view of the world
(1:05:16) – Empathy
(1:09:49) – Leukemia
(1:25:18) – New York City
(1:31:28) – John Feal
(1:44:57) – Conspiracy theories
(1:53:45) – Faith
(1:55:44) – Modern communication
(2:00:11) – Hand written letters
(2:14:02) – Love
(2:25:45) – War in Afghanistan
(2:37:24) – Brave stories from 9/11

#219 – Donald Knuth: Programming, Algorithms, Hard Problems & the Game of Life

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Donald Knuth is a computer scientist, Turing Award winner, father of algorithm analysis, author of The Art of Computer Programming, and creator of TeX. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Coinbase: https://coinbase.com/lex to get $5 in free Bitcoin
– InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/lex and use code Lex25 to get 25% off
– NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour
– ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free
– BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off

EPISODE LINKS:
Donald’s Stanford Page: https://profiles.stanford.edu/donald-knuth
Donald’s Books: https://amzn.to/3heyBsC

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:02) – First programs
(30:26) – Literate programming
(33:35) – Beauty in programming
(39:30) – OpenAI
(48:41) – Optimization
(54:46) – Consciousness
(1:03:29) – Conway’s game of life
(1:16:16) – Stable marriage
(1:19:35) – Richard Feynman
(1:30:29) – Knuth-Morris-Pratt Algorithm
(1:40:02) – Hardest problem
(1:57:41) – Open source
(2:02:54) – Favorite symbols
(2:12:27) – Productivity
(2:20:08) – Meaning of life