Speculation Station 189
Reach out to Eric and Ben via the comments section or by sending a message to speculationstationmail@gmail.com. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Over Eight Billion people alive today have never listened to this podcast. Be the change you want to see in the world. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In this podcast, Eric Beasley and Ben Conte strive to offer rare perspectives, arguments, classifications, advice on social, psychological, philosophical concepts. We want to give air to some alternative viewpoints and nuances that usually stay hidden due to confirmation bias, the structure of the knowledge creation industry, relative monetization prospects, etc. Often there are several existing ”acceptable” arguments/opinions one may have on an issue. You may espouse a stance that abortion be legal, safe, and rare OR that terminating a pregnancy with a viable fetus is murder (and different shades of these arguments), but are there more views that don’t fit so-nicely in that dichotomous landscape? How does modern technology (or will future technological progress) affect the different lines-in-the-sand where we tend to assemble? Should we spend more time, thought, design on realizing just how incomplete each of our view of reality is (if there even is such a static concept as objective reality)? What do we do with the knowledge that humans, and especially modern humans are merely a rounding error compared to the deep-time of Earth’s existence and the longer time during which our universe is thought to have been present? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Here’s an example the types of ideas we’d explore on a given topic: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CRIMINAL JUSTICE, TECHNOLOGY, MORALITY: Should we punish people for societally transgressive behavior? What happens when we can detect what exactly in their brain and situation caused this trouble? Can we blame someone when anyone of us with the same brains in the same situation would have done the same? If not, how should ideas of crime and punishment play-out? What goals do people have with the criminal justice system? At what point of certainty that some individual is going to commit a crime, should we step in (and how forcefully) to stop that crime? Do we do similar proactive acts in other fields (like for example, putting a one-loss Alabama team in the College Football Playoff over an undefeated Florida State team onthe basis that Alabama will be much more competitive in the playoff).How might we re-imagine criminal justice? Can ”criminal justice” even really exist in literal terms? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On the pod, we will also explore things like: *How does everyone’s perception of everything vary and why do we possibly tend to ignore or downplay this? *Are single-people (non-married) discirminated against in modern society and should our definition (legally and otherwise) of marriage be so strict? *Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? *Are there any truly objective categories in the world, or are they all constructs created by humans to thrive, dominate others, create order from chaos, etc. *Why so many people feel that their particular career could never be replaced by AI. *How does our enjoyment of music reflect a social process? What music would we like if you were never in society? *How closely does the map match the terrain? *Is putting your money in the stock market early and often in order to get that sweet compound interest later in life really a no-brainer? *Why do we, and should we, pay such disproportionate attention (and attribute causality and responsibility) to the end of things: the exact time left on the clock at the end of professional sports games, the last card in a poker round, the last lotto number, the last choice right before something good or something bad happens, etc. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ We’ll also have fun parody commercials. What’s not to love? (this is rhetorical) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please send any comments, requests, vitriol, rants, etc. to speculationstationmail@gmail.com
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Episodes
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
In this episode of the future hit podcast, Eric and Ben muse on the various ways humans categorize the world. They also explore how these socially constructed categories affect people and institutions. Why have categories at all? Who gets to make the categories? Is it even possible to cut nature cleanly "at the joints?" When does night become day and day become night? How would your reported health history be different if you were born in a different time or place? What is the role of money, access, and influence in influencing how/when/if you get categorized. When does orange become yellow and dark orange become light orange?
Thanks for stopping by the station and never forget that 99.9% of German shepherds are dogs,
Speculation Station 189 Crew
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
We all see things, hear things, feel things, notice things, differently. Our inner subjective experience is unique to us. We can never fully grasp what another human (or any animal) senses of the outside world. There is variation in sensory equipment, it's processing, and the story crafted by each of our consciousnesses in presenting "reality." If I had your brain and lived your exact life, I'd be you. Wouldn't I?
Welcome to Speculation Station 189 with Eric Beasley and Ben Conte!
You've arrived at Speculation Station 189
Here we let the ideas flow and freely make connections. We especially like to discuss ideas relating to cultural differences, perception, ethics, time, and space. We hope you enjoy your stay!