Joel David Hamkins is a mathematician and philosopher specializing in set theory, the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of infinity, and he’s the #1 highest-rated user on MathOverflow. He is also the author of several books, including Proof and the Art of Mathematics and Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics. And he has a great blog called Infinitely More.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep488-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/joel-david-hamkins-transcript

CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

EPISODE LINKS:
Joel’s X: https://x.com/JDHamkins
Joel’s Website: https://jdh.hamkins.org
Joel’s Substack: https://www.infinitelymore.xyz
Joel’s MathOverflow: https://mathoverflow.net/users/1946/joel-david-hamkins
Joel’s Papers: https://jdh.hamkins.org/publications
Joel’s Books:
Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics: https://amzn.to/3MThaAt
Proof and the Art of Mathematics: https://amzn.to/3YACc9A

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine.
Go to https://www.perplexity.ai/
Fin: AI agent for customer service.
Go to https://fin.ai/lex
Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform.
Go to https://miro.com/
CodeRabbit: AI-powered code reviews.
Go to https://coderabbit.ai/lex
Chevron: Reliable energy for data centers.
Go to https://chevron.com/power
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://shopify.com/lex
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
MasterClass: Online classes from world-class experts.
Go to https://masterclass.com/lexpod

OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(01:58) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(15:40) – Infinity & paradoxes
(1:02:50) – Russell’s paradox
(1:15:57) – Gödel’s incompleteness theorems
(1:33:28) – Truth vs proof
(1:44:52) – The Halting Problem
(2:00:45) – Does infinity exist?
(2:18:19) – MathOverflow
(2:22:12) – The Continuum Hypothesis
(2:31:58) – Hardest problems in mathematics
(2:41:25) – Mathematical multiverse
(3:00:18) – Surreal numbers
(3:10:55) – Conway’s Game of Life
(3:13:11) – Computability theory
(3:23:04) – P vs NP
(3:26:21) – Greatest mathematicians in history
(3:40:05) – Infinite chess
(3:58:24) – Most beautiful idea in mathematics

Irving Finkel is a scholar of ancient languages and a longtime curator at the British Museum, renowned for his expertise in Mesopotamian history and cuneiform writing. He specializes in reading and interpreting cuneiform inscriptions, including tablets from Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian contexts. He became widely known for studying a tablet with a Mesopotamian flood story that predates the biblical Noah narrative, which he presented in his book “The Ark Before Noah” and in a documentary that involved building a circular ark based on the tablet’s technical instructions.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep487-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/irving-finkel-transcript

CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

EPISODE LINKS:
Irving’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drirvingfinkel/
The Ark Before Noah (book): https://amzn.to/4j2U0DW
Irving Lectures Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYXwZvOwHjVcFUi9iEqirkXRaCUJdXGha
British Museum Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0LQM0SAx603A6p5EJ9DVcESqQReT7QyK
British Museum Website: https://www.britishmuseum.org/
The Great Diary Project: https://thegreatdiaryproject.co.uk/

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://shopify.com/lex
Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform.
Go to https://miro.com/
Chevron: Reliable energy for data centers.
Go to https://chevron.com/power
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink.
Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex

OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(00:43) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(09:53) – Origins of human language
(15:59) – Cuneiform
(23:12) – Controversial theory about Göbekli Tepe
(34:23) – How to write and speak Cuneiform
(39:42) – Primitive human language
(41:26) – Development of writing systems
(42:20) – Decipherment of Cuneiform
(54:51) – Limits of language
(59:51) – Art of translation
(1:05:01) – Gods
(1:10:25) – Ghosts
(1:20:13) – Ancient flood stories
(1:30:21) – Noah’s Ark
(1:41:44) – The Royal Game of Ur
(1:54:43) – British Museum
(2:02:08) – Evolution of human civilization

Michael Levin is a biologist at Tufts University working on novel ways to understand and control complex pattern formation in biological systems.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep486-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/michael-levin-2-transcript

CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

EPISODE LINKS:
Michael Levin’s X: https://x.com/drmichaellevin
Michael Levin’s Website: https://drmichaellevin.org
Michael Levin’s Papers: https://drmichaellevin.org/publications/
– Biological Robots: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.00880
– Classical Sorting Algorithms: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.05375
– Aging as a Morphostasis Defect: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38636560/
– TAME: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.10346
– Synthetic Living Machines: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abf1571

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://shopify.com/lex
CodeRabbit: AI-powered code reviews.
Go to https://coderabbit.ai/lex
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
UPLIFT Desk: Standing desks and office ergonomics.
Go to https://upliftdesk.com/lex
Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform.
Go to https://miro.com/
MasterClass: Online classes from world-class experts.
Go to https://masterclass.com/lexpod

OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(00:29) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(10:09) – Biological intelligence
(18:42) – Living vs non-living organisms
(23:55) – Origin of life
(27:40) – The search for alien life (on Earth)
(1:00:44) – Creating life in the lab – Xenobots and Anthrobots
(1:13:46) – Memories and ideas are living organisms
(1:27:26) – Reality is an illusion: The brain is an interface to a hidden reality
(2:13:13) – Unexpected Intelligence in sorting algorithms
(2:38:51) – Can aging be reversed?
(2:42:41) – Mind uploading
(3:01:22) – Alien intelligence
(3:16:17) – Advice for young people
(3:22:46) – Questions for AGI