From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
A quantum computer is very similar to a classical computer, with one key difference: it takes full advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics. The heart of quantum mechanics is the concept of amplitudes. An amplitude is a new kind of number, related to but distinct from an ordinary probability. Amplitudes can be positive, negative, or even complex numbers.
The way I prefer to think of perception is as a processor of active construction, a controlled hallucination. Sensory signals don't come with labels attached. Everything we perceive is a kind of inference, a burst guess about what's out there.
Cancer cells grow faster, adapt better. They are more perfect versions of ourselves.
The microbiome is taking up space, so it is not letting the viruses and the bad bacteria come, adhere to the tissue and then grow. To conclude these are the two mechanisms. It's very simple.
Similar to the 'use it or lose it' principle that applies to muscles, our brains engage in a nightly routine that stimulates thoughts and ideas not typically relied upon during the day. This built-in process keeps our thinking adaptive and nimble, fostering divergent thoughts and offering an evolutionary advantage.
The brain doesn't make a distinction about whether it's work or home. The key is to practice, practice, practice so that the skills become spontaneous and automatic.
Most astronomers are surprised, but biologists look at the history of life on Earth. Many biologists I speak to would say it's almost incomprehensible that something as complex as us has even appeared at all—we might just be very lucky.
I think of creativity very broadly, for me it's about solving problems. A lot of people put creativity into the narrow bucket of artistic expression; including film-making, creative writing, music and so on- but there are many who understand that if you look at science and engineering, there are many very interesting problems that require creativity and you see a great outpouring of new ideas.
The iron in the haemoglobin in your blood was cooked up in the heart of a massive star that blew up about 8 billion years ago. We understand now in pretty good detail, how intimately connected we are with the cosmos.
The rules of the brain are such that the chimp can freeze our brain, freezing the human out and can make decisions on our behalf.
There is no such thing as a body in the deeper reality, nor is there such thing as a universe – these are simply constructs for species-specific modalities of experience.
Alzheimer's starts its destructive process 30 years prior to its typical diagnosis. If we were to compare this to our approach with heart disease, it's like only making a diagnosis when a coronary bypass is needed.