Thoughtforms Life

This is a ~1 hour conversation with Frank Putnam (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KLGgJg4AAAAJ&hl=en) and Alexey Tolchinsky (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tiBKmrsAAAAJ&hl=en) about dissociative disorders, clinical psychology, and their applications to the cell biology of regenerative medicine and cancer. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~50 minute conversation with Michael Johnson (https://t.co/YxAOZif0V2) on vasocomputation, stress as cognitive glue, and more generally computation and cognition in unconventional substrates. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~1 hour talk on the field of developmental bioelectricity from a perspective of cognitive science and the homology between mechanisms of self-assembly of somatic and brain-based intelligence. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~1 hour talk by Jack Tuszynski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tuszy%C5%84ski, https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/jackt) on electrical and electromagnetic properties of microtubules. CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

This is a ~1 hour conversation with Alexey Tolchinsky (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexey-Tolchinsky), a clinical psychologist and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University, Center for Professional Psychology, and Thomas Pollak (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6171-0810), a neuropsychiatrist and researcher working at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, on the topic of extending concepts from neuroscience to understand cellular behav... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

Lauren Ross, a philosopher of science specializing in biology and neuroscience, engages in a fascinating discussion about the nature of scientific explanations. She emphasizes the importance of distinguishing good explanations from mere correlations and critiques the reductionist tendencies in scientific practices. Ross explores the evolving interpretations of mechanisms and non-causal mathematical explanations, advocating for pluralism in scientific inquiry. Additionally, she highlights the interplay between philosophy and practical scientific applications, urging a focus on explanations that facilitate discovery and control.

This is a ~1 hour conversation of Aastha Jain Simes (https://www.livelongerworld.com/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/aasthajs) and Azra Raza on her unique and passionate journey in oncology and her ideas for cancer therapy. Azra is an amazing person, clinician, and scientist; see more of her work at: Columbia web page: https://www.cancer.columbia.edu/profile/azra-raza-md Personal site with poetry and much more: https://azraraza.com/video-category/poetry-and-ghalib/ Her youtube channel: https://... CONNECT WITH ME: Podcast Website YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Blog The Levin Lab

Dive into the fascinating intersection of biology, computation, and consciousness. Discover how living systems creatively solve problems and adapt over time. Learn about biobots like anthrobots and xenobots, which blur the lines between biology and technology. Explore anatomical attractors and their roles in species diversity beyond evolution. Plus, ponder the emergent behaviors of these novel entities as we rethink intelligence and adaptability in the natural world.

Willem Nielsen, a researcher at the Wolfram Institute, shares his insights on cellular automata models of disease. He explains how single-cell perturbations can mimic diseases and discusses the limitations of traditional disease classification. The conversation explores the predictive power of simple metrics, emphasizing how data transparency can enhance disease modeling. Nielsen illustrates how evolving organisms under stress leads to robustness, paralleling biological processes, and highlights the fascinating concept of planaria as a model for understanding morphological competency and adaptability.

Iain McGilchrist, a psychiatrist and philosopher renowned for his work on the brain's lateralization, joins Michael Levin for a thought-provoking discussion. They explore the notion of intelligence permeating the cosmos and delve into panpsychism. Their conversation spans the fascinating intersection of biology and philosophy, including rapid adaptations of planaria and the implications of cellular decision-making. They also ponder the creativity constraints of the mind, Turing-like mechanisms in pattern formation, and the ethics surrounding emerging synthetic minds.