tedchiang

Explore "tedchiang" with insightful episodes like "Episode 229: Skin Deep?", "ExhalaciÃ³n", "Episode 213: What Is It Like To Be a Robot Fish Man? (with Ted Chiang)", "Episode 206: Angel Chasing (Ted Chiang's "Hell is the Absence of God")" and "Episode 174: More Chiang for Your Buck ("Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" Pt. 2)" from podcasts like ""Very Bad Wizards", "El Ojo Nuclear", "Very Bad Wizards", "Very Bad Wizards" and "Very Bad Wizards"" and more!

Episodes (7)

Episode 229: Skin Deep?

We think racism is wrong but what about “lookism” – a bias that favors attractive people over unattractive ones? If it’s wrong to judge people by the color of their skin, what about judging people for something that is only skin deep? We talk about two pieces today, a forthcoming philosophy article by William D’Allesandro “Is it Bad to Prefer Attractive Partners” and the Ted Chiang story “Liking What You See: A Documentary.”

Plus we select the topic finalists for our beloved Patreon listener-selected episode. Interesting list this time around!

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enJanuary 25, 2022

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ExhalaciÃ³n

En este capÃtulo encontrarÃ¡s una reseÃ±a del libro de cuentos ExhalaciÃ³n, escritos por uno de los autores mÃ¡s interesantes de la ciencia ficciÃ³n contemporÃ¡nea: Ted Chiang. Con la producciÃ³n, la voz y el libreto del periodista Mauricio Arroyave, en este capÃtulo de El Ojo Nuclear, el podcast, te contamos cuÃ¡les son los fundamentos desde los que parten cada uno de los relatos incluidos en esta antologÃa y por quÃ© Chiang es un escritor cerebral pero sensible, capaz de hacer preguntas definitivas sobre nosotros mismos. No en vano, la apariciÃ³n de cada uno de sus textos se convierte en un acontecimiento literario mundial.

En este episodio aparece la pista musical The Nymphaeum Part V:

CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

The Nymphaeum Part V
Exzel Music Publishing (freemusicpublicdomain.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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esAugust 21, 2021

Episode 213: What Is It Like To Be a Robot Fish Man? (with Ted Chiang)

We’ve done deep dives on three of his stories, and now THE MAN HIMSELF, multi-award winning science fiction author Ted Chiang, joins us to explore the post-apocalyptic world of the video-game SOMA. You play Simon Jarrett, a man who goes for a brain scan in Toronto and wakes up a 100 years later in an underwater research facility, the last remaining hope to preserve human consciousness from extinction. Pizarro confronts his worst nightmare, a first-person experience of stepping into a transporter-style scenario. We talk about how video games can make philosophical problems come alive, what “fission-cases” tell us about personal identity (Tamler’s note: this really should count as our Parfit episode), what it’s like to be conscious without a body, the problem with thought experiments, and lots more.

Plus, a new evo-psych study on why bullshitting is adaptive – convince people you’re smart and save energy while you do it!

Special Guest: Ted Chiang.

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enMay 25, 2021

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Episode 206: Angel Chasing (Ted Chiang's "Hell is the Absence of God")

David and Tamler return to the TCU (Ted Chiang Universe) to talk about his short story “Hell is the Absence of God." How would we behave if we had unequivocal proof of God, heaven, hell, and angels? Would that answer our questions about meaning and purpose and justice? Or would those same questions reappear in a different guise? Plus, the hard problem of breakfast, Jewish Space Lasers, and more…

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enFebruary 09, 2021

Episode 174: More Chiang for Your Buck ("Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" Pt. 2)

Is character destiny, or can fluky decisions or tiny shifts in weather patterns fundamentally change who we are? Does the existence or non-existence of alternate universes have any bearing on freedom and responsibility? David and Tamler conclude their discussion of Ted Chiang’s “Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom” along with another very short piece by Chiang called “What’s Expected of Us” that was first published in Nature.

Plus, do you have low likability in the workplace? It could be because you’re too moral and therefore not that funny. But don’t worry, we have a solution that’ll help you increase your humor production and likability with no reduction in morality. All you have to do is listen!

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enOctober 15, 2019

Episode 173: Talking to Your (Alternate) Self [Ted Chiang's "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom"]

David and Tamler dive back into the Ted Chiang well and explore the fascinating world described in "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom." What if you could interact with alternate versions of yourself - versions that made different choices, had different jobs, or different partners? Would you get jealous of your other selves if they were more successful? Would you want them to be unhappy so you could feel better about your own choices and path? If your alternate self was in a good relationship with a woman, would you try to track down the version of that woman in this world? If you made an immoral choice but your other self made the moral one, what does that say about your character? And what does it say about free will and responsibility?

So many questions, such an interesting story - turns out we need to dedicate another segment next time to conclude the discussion. Hope you enjoy it! If you haven't bought Exhalation (Ted Chiang's new collection) We can't recommend it highly enough. This is the last story in that collection.

Plus – we select the topic finalists for our beloved Patreon listener-selected episode. Will Denial of Death make the cut again?

Sponsored By:

GiveWell: Givewell searches for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar. Consider a donation this holiday season--your dollar goes a lot further than you might think! Promo Code: verybadwizards

Support Very Bad Wizards

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enOctober 01, 2019

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Episode 166: Total Recall (Ted Chiang's "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling")

Memory is highly selective and often inaccurate. But what if we had an easily searchable video record of all our experiences and interactions? How would that affect our relationships? What would it reveal about our characters and our sense of who we are? Is there a kind of truth that can’t be determined by perfect objectivity? David and Tamler dive deep into Ted Chiang’s amazingly rich and poignant short story “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling” which explores how new technologies shape individual and group identities.

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enJune 18, 2019