The Armen Show

Our first guest of 2020 is Dr. Scott Grafton, Bedrosian Coyne Presidential Chair in Neuroscience at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is author of the book Physical Intelligence: The Science of How the Body and the Mind Guide Each Other Through Life. It was great to talk with Dr. Grafton because his book connected with some concepts from some authors/researchers in past episodes, and described a way of thinking about the physical element of intelligence, and how our motor function is connected with our layers of brain processing. I also went to UCSB, and that is a nice point of similarity. Dr. Grafton is director of the UCSB Brain Imaging Center and codirector of the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies. He received BA’s in Mathematics and Psychobiology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and his MD degree from the University of Southern California. Show notes: brain scans and positron emission tomography (PET) for understanding of brain functionDr. Grafton’s career, and what led him to brain and motor function researchrunning the brain imaging center, and how imaging has developed in recent yearswhere all the action in the brain is locatedvisual perception, and how the percentage of vision someone gives to an object relates to its importance in a broad perspectivehow it is difficult to maneuver over rocks, and to create robots that would walk across rough rocksbody schema, as it compares with attention schema theory, for physical sensationthe way that practicing something in your mind connects with ability to do the motor actionhow the brain creates synergies of muscle movementshow babies have plasticity, and take risks in order to understand their physical environment from scratchhow nature serves as a medicine to people and their well-beingthe way that entropy is key to a healthy life, and how one does not benefit from distancing from entropic conditions You can check out Dr. Grafton’s faculty page, or check out Physical Intelligence on Amazon.

Hello my fellow podcast listeners, associates, colleagues, individuals, audience members, and personnel. We here at The Armen Show Podcast (known for its consistency, variety, depth, and goal-oriented nature) are glad to walk right into the new year of 2020. The show starts on a noticeably different footing as compared with its presence at the same time last year, and this is a springboard into the forward progression at hand. Show notes: where we are at in the great year of 2020how TikTok is the place where a lot of energy is currently goingsome of the plans or ideas for 2020speaking or some form of speech-providingways I can improve my end of the show throughout the yearemotional awareness and better blending with gueststelling more stories, and including more of my own experiences, along with mentions of past guestshow I will be including more elements without thinking if X or Y or Z is the right thing to add inhow I will be looking at other podcasters/creators to see what I can add in or improve uponwhat the podcast represents and is meant to express Keep up with the show and you are keeping up with the movement. Let’s roll onward.

Long live the year, the decade, and the dynamics that have progressed over time. This episode is me closing out the decade with some descriptions of my content creation over time, what I have noticed of the internet as it shifted over the years, and what changes I have seen in the planet in the past decade. I like to do recaps and compilations to get a broader sense of what has happened. We can only see so much from a smaller view, but I don’t like to stick with that view. The bigger picture is the world I like to inhabit, and at times, I share that with you. Show notes: progression of my social media content over the yearsmy blog Timeless Information and its various contentsYouTube videos with strangers in publicSnapChat themes across different messagesPodcast audios and shared insightsTikTok clips of insights, or shared with strangersthe development of the internet over the past 10 yearswhat people have used and shifted towardsome global dynamics I have noticedwhat cultures have more recently gone online in big numberswhat I have liked to do Glad to have you all on the show in these times. We progress to the next decade in smooth fashion, and there is a world of opportunity for those who seek it out. To more great things~

The year of 2019 is shortly coming to a close, and we start to bring it home with episode 241, featuring guest Dr. Brian Sweis of the University of Minnesota. He was listed as one of the recipients of the Forbes 30-under-30 description in the category of Science for 2019, and his focus is neuroscience. He completed the PhD part of his MD/PhD program in 2018, and continues through his MD at this time. His research exists “…at the intersection of affective, behavioral, and cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychiatry and neurology, particularly focused on neuromodulation interventions.” The work he does “… aims to understand how the brain processes information during decision-making and how lasting changes in the synaptic mechanisms of plasticity, particularly in the context of addiction and other psychiatric disorders, give rise to maladaptive behaviors.” Show notes: how Dr. Sweis got to where he is in the MD/PhD neuroscience program at the University of Minnesotawhy is it relevant that one study the intersection of multiple fields like affective, cognitive, and behavioral science, along with neurology and neuroeconomicswhat some of Dr. Sweis’ work on neuromodulation efforts looks like in terms of description and examplehow there are biomarkers that are more or less reliable than others to inform researchers of an attribute in placewhy decisions are multi-faceted, and can arise from distinct circuit-specific neural computationsthe difference between decisions made from an emotional standpoint, versus from a logical basis, and how each can be beneficial in different scenariosthe kinds of animal and human trials that are done to research how the brain is impacted, and what kinds Dr. Sweis performswhat it means to look at decision-making in a neuroeconomic way, assessing comparative values to choiceshow disorders can alter how stored information is processedsome of the scientists and advisors along the way that have guided or informed Dr. Sweis, along with the reasons why I can see why Dr. Sweis was selected for the Forbes designation, and enjoyed discussing with him while he currently is in a study program. He has long-term goals for research, teaching, and medical work, which is a full-throttle set of items. Some of his research application qualities remind me of Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman from episode 201, who discussed his research on dopamine. Dr. Sweis also mentioned my interview with Dr. Robert Sapolsky in this episode, and I have always liked Dr. Sapolsky’s book Behave. You can check out Dr. Sweis’ material on his University of Minnesota page, follow him on Twitter, or look at some of his publications.

2019 has been a fabulous year for the podcast. There will be a couple episodes after this one, but this episode serves to describe and summarize the episodes that were covered this year, along with how they link to one another progressing through them. This year took the show into a different bracket, as far as guests, video, and messages being provided. There was more of authors, researchers, notable individuals, speakers, and stories that resonate. I was glad it went in this direction, and the show is in a good space to start out 2020. There are no show notes in this description, because the episode itself is a review of the past episodes. The podcast went to many different sources this year, including Spotify, iTunes, and Google Play, and was then added to YouTube with the selection of episodes that have the guest on video, either from in-person, or on Skype. May there continue to be more wonderful guests, things learned, and connection. Subscribe, let people know, like on iTunes or other services, leave a review, or do whatever you would like to help the show become more known, reach a larger audience, and lead to greater guest opportunities.

How does our focused attention relate to what we call “consciousness”? What types of attention are out there, and what are the functions of each type? Professor Michael Graziano explores this and more in his book Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience. Author Michael Graziano is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Princeton University, and he has written multiple books on neuroscience, evolution, and human nature. The Graziano Lab at Princeton focuses on the brain basis of consciousness, based on attention schema theory, which was formulated by Professor Graziano. I talked with Professor Graziano about his book and concepts related to consciousness. The mechanistic approach he brings to the topic is something that I am able to relate with. Show notes: what Professor Graziano works on with students in the Graziano labhow the brain basis of consciousness is studied, and ways that we accept consciousness as definedwhat the attention schema theory is, and how the model has two functions for daily livingthe way that signals compete with each other in the computational process of attentionhow a frog’s form of attention differs from that of a person, and the types of awareness that existwhat “biased competition” is, and and the battle for incoming stimuli to the cortexwhy covert and overt attention are both needed, and how they differconsciousness only being present in a few types of organisms/mammalsthe concept of affordance, and how the brain works tirelessly as a prediction machinewhy consciousness is defined as a hard problem, and if that difficulty can be usurped with some research method It was swell to have Professor Graziano on episode 239 of the show. You can check out his lab page at Princeton, see his research publications, or check out his book Rethinking Consciousness on Amazon.

I like people who put their thoughts out there, and furthermore, when they have a “Principles” page on their website that describes the thoughts that guide them. Cameron Porter joins on episode 238 of the show, not only as a former Major League Soccer striker on various teams, but as a current founder and funder for AlleyCorp, an organization that builds transformative companies in New York City. At AlleyCorp, Cameron “…is responsible for new company R&D, due diligence on seed investments, as well the development of internal tools/initiatives.” Regarding his academic experience, he “… studied computer science at Princeton University where he was recognized as an Academic All-American and William Winston Roper Trophy finalist for high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship.” Before the episode, I had checked out his speaking with David Perell on The North Star Podcast, and enjoyed their discussion. My discussion with Cameron ranged from his mindset, to his soccer experiences, to his founding and funding practice. Show notes: how Cameron ended up in the founding/funding category at AlleyCorp, transitioning away from his professional soccer career [2:20]the concept of how greatness is not able to be planned, and the way this message has attached to Cameron’s path [3:40]what a long-term perspective can provide, and an example of a project that took this perspective into account [5:20]some of the takeaways that Cameron got from his time at Princeton, including those related to people [6:55]the way that Cameron sees the soccer portion of his career in relation to what he currently does [10:20]some differences that may have existed between Cameron and some of his fellow soccer players [12:00]what led Cameron to playing in the position of striker on the field [14:00]examples of a fork in life that Cameron had other than the knee injury that impacted his career [14:00]the concept of whether something will matter in 5 years [18:20]creation versus consumption, and Cameron’s principle of looking at output instead of input, personally or in the workplace [22:45]incompetence over malice, and how to look at the feedback or commentary that others send to you [26:45]perspective on fear, alternatively looked at as uncertainty [30:00]whether Cameron thought he might have some sort of large injury before it happened on the field [32:10]entropy in socialization and life, and the way that Cameron would want entropy to be represented in his outputs/projects [34:00]how podcasts are not as constrained in direction as some other mediums that exist [37:30]if Cameron would make a podcast, and what it would be about [39:00]whether audio, video, or text input/output is most preferred by Cameron for content purposes [42:45] I sure enjoyed having Cameron on the episode. His thoughts are clear, and on point, and he has a warm nature. To the potential of a follow-up episode in a year, to compare the deltas from where he and I were at during the time of this episode. To more good things. You can check out his website at incremental.nyc

Here we are on episode 237 with music producer Bob Varo. He originates out of the European nation of Belgium, and makes music of the rock or metal variation, or it may be alternative. We talked about a lot of his musical experiences, what he aims to do in music production in the future, and how his experience has been coming to Los Angeles a few times from Belgium. Show notes: the country of Belgium that Bob originates from, and places he has been in or around therewhat some of the differences are between his experiences in the music production field in Belgium versus Los Angeleswhere Bob has performed or done musical work over the yearshow Bob looks to add value to artists he works with, whether it be songwriting, recording, or mixing/masteringwhy it is important to flow with the current methods of sound and music generation, with more technological possibilitieschallenges that can come up when working with a certain artisthow I met Bob at a house party in the first placesome bands that Bob has known of, or identifies with, or would be glad to work with if given the opportunitywhy taking classes can create a small-world scenario that leads to memories for your select groupingone of Bob’s studio/travel experiences through parts of northern Europethe difference between those who release music as albums versus “big-hit” singles one after another Glad to have Bob on the show.

Does the mind have less depth to it than is readily assumed? Are we able to multitask at all? Professor Nick Chater joins on episode 236 to discuss the qualities of the brain that give it depth or the illusion of mental depth. Professor Chater is Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School, has over 200 publications, and has been editor for Cognitive Science and Psychological Review journals. His research focuses on the cognitive and behavioral sciences, including reasoning, decision-making, and language. He has done experimental, computational, and mathematical studies of basic mental processes. Show notes: Professor Chater’s research and past content, as well as his educational historyhow the myth of unconscious thought is not applicablewhy multitasking is not the way that the brain is built to handle projects and tasksthe way that the material in Professor Chater’s book connects with the interpreter concept from past episodeshow little we can see with our eyes at any one timerisk-seeking qualities versus risk-averse nature in decision-makinghow feelings are invented in response to physiological base responses and other processes underneaththe way that some are able to have a sense of other’s feelings, like Gary from a past episodeif it is reasonable to look at what we do in a stimulus-response form of maneuvering I was glad to have Professor Chater on the show. You can check out his faculty page to see his breadth of publications.

Episode 235 comes into the forefront with master trainer and fitness coach Kai Boyer. Her coaching style comes with a great sense of the physiology behind movements. She has solutions for how workouts should be adjusted, in order to make up for gaps in muscular fitness building. Kai provides a lot of services through her coaching, including a weight loss program, strength training, high performance sports training, interval training, post-surgical rehabilitation, and mean plan building. The main philosophy of her training is the concept of Kaizen, which is about little improvements over time. I like that concept because we can deconstruct most things in life into little battles to work through, and then the large thing is no longer large. It’s like one of those physics activation energy graphs having a lower required activation energy for the goal you want. Kai uses it for fitness (and her name is in the word Kaizen), but it is able to be applied to various life hurdles. Show notes: how Kai got into the fitness category in the first placethe way that Kai built her current client base, and the types of individuals she has worked with in recent timeswhy nutrition is so important to fitness, even though it doesn’t fit the intuitive thought that the workout is the main componentwhat Kai eats during a normal week, and what a person would want to include in their diet to be able to build fitnesswhat workouts to add in to example workout programs to fill in gaps that may existhow most people don’t like to stretch, and what that can lead towhere certain sports players usually get injuredhow many days of strength and workout training one should have as part of a healthy weekwhether a person should be more focused on calorie reduction or workout increases, based on their current plan Having Kai on the show was neat, and she is a straightforward individual. You can check out her site and what she brings to the table at Kai Boyer Fitness.