Field Note #112. On "Levin + Weekend Contemplation"

Michael Levin [Tufts Univ.]: Biology, Life, Aliens, Evolution, Embryogensis & Xenobots in Lex Fridman Podcast 325, avail. online (Oct. 1, 2022)

The Context.

As one serendipitous consequence of this running Field Note experiment, I have been exposed to cutting edge disciplines that were previously out of my epistemic frame.

One recommendation was to ingest Michael Levin's 3 hour talk with Lex Fridman on the latter's eponymous podcast (see ep. 325).  So I did.

I shall reserve a deeper treatment of Levin's core ideas (encapsulated in an image in the attached from his March 2022 lecture, "Understanding the Collective Intelligence of Cells") after further targeted research.  I tend to experience conversational podcasts as springboards for further independent study, which lies ahead of me.

That said, I was struck by some of the conversation centering on more personalized topics:

1. Advice on advice
2. Death and override of meta-cognitive controls
3. First person / third person science (from an interdisciplinary perspective, an echo of an area of strong personal significance, Advaita Vedanta)

Fodder for weekend reflections...

The Details.