The DemystifySci Podcast

Biology explains how life evolves ... but culture follows different rules. Today we're looking at why human culture requires a separate evolutionary framework. Dr. Liane Gabora (University of British Columbia) traces how culture emerges through self-organizing minds, not genes, unfolding like a long riff that finds its meaning only while being played. Language, memory, and creativity arise through a sudden inner shift, where symbols begin talking to each other and thought turns inward on itself. What follows is an account of human origins that feels less like machinery and more like confession: culture as a conscious system, restless, cumulative, and unfinished.Part 2: https://youtu.be/nVpXwd9ke1APATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/demystifysciPARADIGM DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-showHOMEBREW MUSIC - Check out our new album!Hard Copies (Vinyl): FREE SHIPPING https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/products/vinyl-lp-secretary-of-nature-everything-is-so-good-hereStreaming:https://secretaryofnature.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-so-good-here00:00 Go! Evolution Beyond Darwin00:02:17 Humans as Uniquely Cultural Beings00:05:05 Evolution as a Creative, Systemic Process00:08:08 Modeling Cultural Evolution in Artificial Life00:11:13 Autocatalytic Networks and the Origin of Life00:14:00 From Pre-Darwinian to Darwinian Evolution00:17:08 Epigenetics and the Limits of Darwin’s Model00:20:17 Autocatalysis vs Autopoiesis00:23:20 Molecular Cooperation and Phase Transitions00:26:20 Culture as a Cognitive Autocatalytic Network00:27:55 From Chemical Chaos to Genetic Fidelity00:30:09 Memory, Accuracy, and Cumulative Complexity00:32:43 What Culture Is (and Is Not)00:37:00 Cumulative Culture and Human Uniqueness00:38:56 Language as a Cultural Catalyst00:42:12 Pre-Language Symbols and Shared Meaning00:43:07 The Cultural Big Bang00:44:57 Minds as Autocatalytic Webs00:49:04 Time, Memory, and Abstract Thought00:53:26 Cognitive Integration and Creative Thinking00:56:28 Triggers for the Cultural Phase Shift01:00:00 Culture as a Phase Transition in the Mind01:02:18 Why Phase Transitions Feel So Strange #culturalevolution, #humanorigins, #creativity, #consciousness, #evolutionarytheory, #origins, #philosophyofmind, #humanbehavior, #language, #emergence, #complexity, #futureofhumanity, #deepconversations #philosophypodcast MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaDSUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rssMAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySciMUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

Today we sit with the old questions and let them breathe again, tracing the places where life begins to feel like a presence rather than a computer. Turner walks through the fault lines of modern biology, pointing to the quiet mind-like shimmer in organisms shaping their worlds. The conversation moves slowly, deliberately, as if the universe itself were leaning in to listen. By the end, the idea of agency feels less like a taboo and more like something we’ve sensed all along.Part 1: https://youtu.be/MOr-FZ_ogTIPATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/demystifysciPARADIGM DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-showHOMEBREW MUSIC - Check out our new album!Hard Copies (Vinyl): FREE SHIPPING https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/products/vinyl-lp-secretary-of-nature-everything-is-so-good-hereStreaming:https://secretaryofnature.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-so-good-here00:00 Go! 00:08:43 – Gene-Centered Evolution Takes Over00:11:10 – McClintock’s Discovery Breaks the Mold00:14:19 – Genes as Interpreted Signals, Not Dictators00:18:11 – From Mutationism to Epigenetics00:20:41 – Dawkins and the Selfish Gene Frame00:24:30 – Life Strives for More Than Survival00:27:47 – Culture as a Force in Evolution00:30:28 – Termites and Environmental Inheritance00:32:22 – When Literalism Distorts Science and Religion00:35:22 – Beyond Gould’s Magisteria00:39:02 – The Aiming of Organisms00:41:58 – Desire, Agency, and Evolutionary Trajectories00:44:14 – Human Exceptionalism and the Myth of Evolution’s End00:47:46 – Cultural Barriers to Integrative Biology00:49:39 – The Transcendence of Materials00:52:10 – Purposeful Behavior in Termite Societies00:55:35 – Preference and Purpose in Termite Architecture00:59:14 – Human Metaphysics and Cognitive Niches01:04:19 – Cracks in the Evolutionary Consensus01:06:39 – Biology as the Bridge Between Facts and Meaning01:08:58 – The Missing Definition of Life01:10:59 – Biology’s Identity Crisis01:12:36 – Rethinking Life and the Universe01:15:08 – The Origin of Life Problem01:16:28 – From Chemistry to Cognitive Emergence01:20:27 – Life as a Gradual Flame01:23:13 – Agency as the Heart of Biology01:25:42 – The Scientific Struggle With Agency01:27:04 – Turner’s Work on Organisms, Design, and Purpose #consciousness, #agency , #evolution, #originoflife, #emergence, #complexity , #cognition , #purpose , #epigenetics , #philosophy, #meaning, #physicspodcast, #philosophypodcast MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaDSUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rssMAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySciMUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

Economists Bob Murphy & Steve Keen come from very different camps. Today they sit together and pull back the curtain on how money really comes into being, piece by piece. Their exchange moves with a quiet intensity, uncovering the places where theory drifts from the world we live in. They trace the fault lines between stability and collapse, each from his own hard-won perspective. By the end, the familiar landscape of banking feels slightly altered, as if something hidden has stepped into view.Part 1: https://youtu.be/fKgiKFfnPqEPATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/demystifysciPARADIGM DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-showHOMEBREW MUSIC - Check out our new album!Hard Copies (Vinyl): FREE SHIPPING https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/products/vinyl-lp-secretary-of-nature-everything-is-so-good-hereStreaming:https://secretaryofnature.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-so-good-here00:00 Go! 00:02:01 – How Banks Really Create Money00:03:39 – Support & Merch Break00:07:34 – What Is Fractional Reserve Banking?00:10:06 – The 100% Reserve Ideal00:12:27 – Why the Textbook Model Fails00:15:00 – Base Money vs Bank-Created Money00:18:46 – The Textbook Story Falls Apart00:21:07 – Loans Create Deposits: The Core Mechanism00:22:44 – Why Economists Get This Wrong00:25:56 – Public Confidence as the Real Constraint00:29:07 – Reserves Are Lubricant, Not Fuel00:35:09 – Policy & Logic Undermine the Multiplier00:36:46 – Who’s Actually to Blame for Crises?00:39:18 – The Real Issue: Loan Quality & Targets00:41:00 – Diverging Philosophies on Ideal Systems00:44:12 – Modeling Real-World Lending Mechanics00:48:53 – The Austrian Full-Reserve Vision00:53:03 – Commodity-Backed Private Currency00:54:37 – Ending Centralized Monetary Control00:56:58 – A Regulated Credit Framework01:01:12 – Elastic vs Fixed Money Supply01:02:22 – Political Obstacles to Reform01:03:16 – Market Discipline vs Regulation01:05:08 – Limited Liability as a Core Distortion01:08:23 – Asset Purchases, Bailouts, and Moral Hazard01:11:26 – Policy Mistakes from Bad Models01:13:16 – Productive Credit vs Asset Inflation01:15:05 – Is Elastic Credit Even Necessary?01:17:35 – Fixed Money Supply Lending Mechanics01:19:15 – Closing Reflections#economics, #banking , #moneycreation , #macroeconomics , #financepodcast , #credit , #monetarypolicy , #austrianeconomics , #complexity , #capitalism , #inflation , #recession , #centralbanking , #goldstandard #physicspodcast, #philosophypodcast MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaDSUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rssMAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySciMUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

Blockchain currency unfurls here like a hidden root system, threading through the cracks of the old order with a quiet, stubborn intelligence. Brandon Quittem walks us into that underground, where mycelial networks and decentralized ledgers start to align in unexpected ways. In his telling, money is something that grows, adapts, and remembers, shaped by the hands and hopes of the people who hold it. Ultimately, the boundary between ecology and economy feels thin enough to step through.Part 1: https://youtu.be/CG7msC0Rv5MPATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/demystifysciPARADIGM DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-showHOMEBREW MUSIC - Check out our new album!Hard Copies (Vinyl): FREE SHIPPING https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/products/vinyl-lp-secretary-of-nature-everything-is-so-good-hereStreaming:https://secretaryofnature.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-so-good-here00:00 Go! 00:03:53 Why Can't I Spend Bitcoin at the Grocery Store?00:10:03 Bitcoin in Developing Nations vs. The West00:13:26 The "Criminal Use" Argument & Drug Laws00:15:56 Anonymity, Scams, and Lack of Recourse00:20:20 Exchange Risks & Custody (Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins)00:22:50 How to Start: "Get Off Zero" & Multisig Security00:26:18 The $800 Million Hard Drive in a Landfill00:28:22 Bitcoin vs. "Shitcoins" & Altcoins00:29:13 Handling Volatility & Dollar Cost Averaging00:32:27 Why Bitcoin is Unique: Outsourcing Trust to Math00:35:21 Is Bitcoin Just a "Faith-Based" Asset?00:40:49 Why Are Bitcoiners So Intense? (The Evangelism Problem)00:45:10 How Brandon Manages His Personal Finances00:49:40 Introduction to the Mycelium Analogy00:54:38 Fungi 101: Mycelial Networks & Tree Communication01:05:04 Ancient Human Use of Fungi (Ötzi the Iceman)01:07:56 The Beer Theory of Civilization01:10:46 Slime Molds & Decentralized Decision Making01:14:34 Bitcoin's Anti-Fragility & "Immune System"01:16:12 Monocrops (Fiat) vs. Old Growth Forests (Bitcoin)01:24:01 Is Bitcoin a Living Organism? ("Bits Move Atoms")01:35:15 Consilience: When Multiple Disciplines Agree01:39:03 Crowd Health & Alternative Systems01:41:03 The Social Impact of a Bitcoin Standard01:43:13 Closing Thoughts & Future Episodes #mycology #cryptocurrency , #blockchaintechnology , #decentralization , #economics , #futureofmoney , #digitalcurrency , #physicspodcast #philosophypodcast MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaDSUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rssMAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySciMUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671

The Darwin-Wallace framework stands tall, but there are places where the seams show, where life presses back with its own kind of intention. Scott Turner guides us through those overlooked corners, tracing the ideas that slipped between theory and experience. We find organisms not as passive machines, but as players in a deeper, older rhythm. And in that recognition, the story of evolution widens into something more awake, more alive.PATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/demystifysciPARADIGM DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-showHOMEBREW MUSIC - Check out our new album!Hard Copies (Vinyl): FREE SHIPPING https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/products/vinyl-lp-secretary-of-nature-everything-is-so-good-hereStreaming:https://secretaryofnature.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-so-good-here00:00 Go! 00:09:00 Evolution’s Philosophical Foundations 00:12:00 Linnaeus and Early Taxonomy 00:18:00 Idealism vs. Darwinian Thought 00:23:27 Ideological Divide in Evolutionary Theory 00:25:03 Early Evolutionary Inquiry and Natural Theology 00:29:00 Darwin’s Voyage and Observations 00:33:57 Intelligence, Purpose, and Evolution 00:37:30 Geological and Evolutionary Gradualism vs. Catastrophism 00:41:40 Darwin & Wallace: Collaboration and Legacy 00:46:34 Mutationism vs. Natural Selection 00:49:44 Reconciling Mutationism and Darwinism 00:53:00 The Eclipse of Darwinism and Rediscovery of Mendel 00:56:14 Evolution, Loss of Purpose and Agency 01:00:30 Darwin’s Pangenesis Theory 01:09:06 Biology, Culture, and Evolution 01:11:07 Evolutionary Theories and Future Directions #history, #consciousness, #evolution, #criticalthinking,#physicspodcast, #philosophypodcast MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaDSUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rssMAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySciMUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671