In this episode I’m continuing my investigation into Universal Basic Income as the natural solution to the AI and robotics revolution. One day we should be able to work because we want to improve the world and our situations, and not do it because we are under risk of death. The problem is that the intermediate period between having all of our needs taken care of by our robotic assistants, and having to compete with them for wages to put food on the table is not at all a clear path. My guest tod...
May 11, 2024•57 min•Ep. 195
In this episode I’m going to be exploring the science behind learning with an author who has been exploring this topic for almost 20 years. How do we learn, and reason, how can we be more rational, and what can we do to make learning easier? Scott H. Young is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Ultralearning, a podcast host, computer programmer, and an avid reader. Since 2006, he has published weekly essays to help people learn and think better. His work has been featured in the New Yo...
May 05, 2024•52 min•Ep. 194
In this repeat episode I chat with Dr. Ben Heard about environmental advocacy and communicating science-based viewpoints in a polarised debate. Dr. Heard provides his assessment on the rationality of the anti-nuclear lobby. Dr. Ben Heard is recognised as a leading voice for the use of nuclear technologies to address our most pressing global challenges. It certainly didn’t start that way. Back in the day he was a member of environmental NGOs and shared their basic objection to nuclear technologie...
Apr 27, 2024•57 min•Ep. 193
In this re-released episode I interview religious studies scholar Dr. Janet Tulloch to discuss the Big Bang, and other origin stories. Let's go explore where science and religion collide. I hope you find it an interesting journey! Janet Tulloch is an adjunct research professor in the College of Humanities at Carleton University in Ottawa. She is a cultural historian with a PhD in Religious Studies. She is also a member of the Ottawa centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. She was the...
Apr 20, 2024•42 min•Ep. 192
In this episode I’m looking into a particular issue of government waste. Specifically I’d like to dig into the funding of religious schools in Ontario. Is this a good investment for society, or a ruinous subsidy to a single religious minority? This is a polarizing issue in Ontario that has been too hot to handle for politicians. The last time a political party in Ontario sought to propose a change to the system (John Tory’s conservative party proposed in the 2007 election to fund all religious s...
Apr 13, 2024•54 min•Ep. 191
In this episode I continue my investigation into the pros and cons of Universal Basic Income as a potential solution to the ongoing increases in automation from robotics and Artificial Intelligence and subsequent job losses. In one of my earlier podcasts ‘Income Inequality: We’ve botched it” I showed how the benefits of significant automation and productivity increases afforded by robotics have been funneled into the hands of the top 1% of society, leaving the rest of us in a declining standard ...
Mar 30, 2024•57 min•Ep. 190
In this episode I am discussing the economic impacts of the AI revolution, and whether or not it is time for UBI. AI will take over jobs and increase productivity per remaining worker to compensate. We are bound for a situation where owners will be able to squeeze more profits from a declining workforce, while the working class continues on the path to extinction and increasing hardship. Corporate profits need to keep increasing to pay shareholders, and corporations have been able to use the thr...
Mar 23, 2024•56 min•Ep. 189
I recently ran a pair of episodes investigating claims of the health effects of deuterium, a stable heavy isotope of hydrogen. The first interview was with a Naturopath, and the second was with a real medical doctor publishing peer reviewed papers on the topic. And my focus in this effort is on drilling through the BS to get to what the evidence says. This takes sustained skepticism, and it doesn’t always make friends. Many people are turned off by the methods of science. It reminds me of why I ...
Mar 09, 2024•43 min•Ep. 188
In this episode I’m digging deeper into the purported health effects of deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen. Deuterium has twice the mass of hydrogen, and it exists naturally in water. A hydrogen atom in H2O is replaced by deuterium in about 150 out of 1 million atoms. This trace compound interacts chemically as hydrogen, but because of its weight it has different dynamics. Why is this an issue? Excess deuterium has been found to impact cell division.. When it gets incorporated into proteins...
Mar 02, 2024•59 min•Ep. 187
This episode is based on feedback from a listener who suggested I investigate the science of Deutenomics. The impact of heavy water on health. Apparently it’s a thing. Is it snake oil or is it real? Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen that is twice as heavy. It has a neutron plus a proton. Chemically it should be identical, but the reaction dynamics can be different due to the mass. I’ve found an expert on the subject to chat with. This is a job for The Rational View Petra Davelaar is a naturopa...
Feb 17, 2024•42 min•Ep. 186
In this episode I am welcoming a returning guest, Zion Lights, to the podcast to discuss the growing influence of degrowth. This philosophy encompasses a wide range of thinking from return to nature Luddites to mild anti-capitalist zeitgeist. Zion Lights is a Science Communicator who is known for her environmental advocacy work. She is founder of the evidence-based climate activism group Emergency Reactor and author of The Ultimate Guide to Green Parenting. Zion has become a world-leading speake...
Feb 03, 2024•52 min•Ep. 185
In this episode I’m continuing my series on human enhancement. I’ve previously interviewed Guilia Dominijanni on her experiments on how people adapt successfully to adding a third robotic arm. Technology continues to advance in robotics, computing, and brain-machine interfaces opening a huge pandora’s box on the potential for future enhancements. To explore this I’m going to chat with a distinguished author who has explored the issue in depth. Joel Garreau is an explorer of culture, values, and ...
Jan 27, 2024•45 min•Ep. 184
In this episode I want to return to the theme of critical thinking. How can we teach people to immunize their minds? In the past I’ve interviewed two of the co-founders of the Mental Immunity Project, Andy Norman and Lee McIntyre to get their feedback on how to fight the pandemic of misinformation and disinformation that we are fed on social media. The Mental Immunity Project is an effort to vaccinate the minds of the public against viral misinformation. Today I’m interviewing the third co-found...
Jan 20, 2024•46 min•Ep. 183
2023 was a big year for the perception and advancement of nuclear power not only in Canada, but globally. In this episode I am interviewing friend of The Rational View and fellow podcaster Dr. Chris Keefer to reminisce about the work his group, Canadians for Nuclear Energy has accomplished in the past year. Chris Keefer is an emergency physician, medical simulation educator, nuclear energy advocate and podcaster. He is the President of Canadians for Nuclear Energy and the Director of Doctors for...
Jan 13, 2024•40 min•Ep. 182
This episode is a Rational View review of 2023, and an outlook for 2024. Happy New Year! 2023 was a big year for yours truly in that I uprooted my family and moved to a new city, and I apologize for the interruptions that this entailed. I’ve finally gotten settled in my new home and it’s time to take stock and make new plans. If you are interested learning about The Rational View and are in need of a quick overview of last year's podcasts to decide where to start in then you've come to the right...
Jan 06, 2024•36 min•Ep. 181
In this episode I am returning to a topic that has become a favourite for pundits and trolls, and that is carbon dioxide. The near doubling of the atmospheric concentration of this colourless odourless gas has been identified by scientists as contributing to an accelerating heating of the biosphere that has significantly affected the climate. As a by-product of one of our most lucrative industries, the burning of fossil fuels, CO2 has gained a lot of friends. And because of that it is the subjec...
Dec 23, 2023•45 min•Ep. 180
In this episode I am starting on a new interest—I want to talk about the emerging field of human enhancement. Technology is allowing us to modify our bodies in ways that people only dreamed of in the past. We’ve discussed genetic enhancements in previous episodes, but in this thread I want to dig into the state of the art of and ethics of alterations, additions, and modifications. Giulia Dominijanni is a Ph.D. student at the Neuro-X-Institute and School of Engineering of the École Polytechnique ...
Dec 17, 2023•43 min•Ep. 179
This episode is a re-release of a much earlier episode (#11). While I'm busy moving houses I wanted to follow on the theme of my last episode on preserving an inspiring and beautiful natural resource for future generations: the vista of the universe. Please enjoy my discussion with friend, amateur astronomer and dark sky enthusiast Rob Dick. Amateur astronomer and long-time RASC member Rob Dick is CEO of the Canadian Scotobiology Group, and CTO of EcoLights and a lecturer at the University of Ot...
Dec 09, 2023•42 min•Ep. 178
In this episode I’m returning to the insidious advance of light pollution and what we can all do to bring back the night sky. I’m now in Guelph Ontario and the municipality is considering introducing a light pollution by-law. If you also would like to see the stars at night from a population centre, this episode will help you to understand the issues and the best approaches to combatting the tragedy of the commons that is unabated artificial light at night. My guest today is Mr. Jim Goetz, a ret...
Nov 22, 2023•38 min•Ep. 177
On this episode I chat with a long time friend and host of the Run Your Life podcast, Mr. Andy Vasily. Andy has been exploring learning methods and works professionally on coaching athletes to achieve peak performance. I have been exploring the science of consciousness and the technology of Artificial Intelligence. In this episode we explore the nexus where these interests all meet. What does artificial intelligence teach us about how human brains learn? What lessons can we take from sports psyc...
Nov 11, 2023•52 min•Ep. 176
In this episode I’m going to go on a bit of a Rational Rant. It’s a pet peeve of mine, and probably of yours too, but today I’m jousting at the windmill of excessive banking fees and lack of customer service. So be prepared to let off some steam for a cathartic ride through the wonderful world of our banking system as I get back a little of what they take from us all. #TheRationalView #podcast #banking #gouging #justice #customerservice #service
Nov 04, 2023•20 min•Ep. 175
In this episode I have a returning guest to discuss the fall. No not the weather. The fall of civilization. Our previous interview released September 12, 2020, was titled ‘This is how liberty dies’, where we discussed the frightening parallels between the evolving political situation in the US and events in multiple failed democracies. Despite these fears, my guest was quite upbeat about the prognosis for US to avoid an authoritarian uprising, noting that Trump was not as smart nor as popular as...
Oct 28, 2023•34 min•Ep. 174
In this episode I will be taking a look at the ugly side of unrestricted capitalism, and how lobbying has skewed the public debate and shifted the Overton window to the right. Some would argue that unrestricted capitalism has been a great boon lifting society into an age of plenty. Others would argue that it has done this by maintaining an economic class hierarchy that enables the rich to enslave the poor. Are workers entering into employment agreements between equals for a mutually beneficial e...
Oct 21, 2023•47 min•Ep. 173
In this episode I'm revisiting the topic of being an effective advocate of evidence-based and Rational Policy. To do this properly one must understand the science of how to influence people. I've found in the past that countering anti-science opinion with ridicule, although very cathartic, is not helpful. I've learned that just spouting reams of evidence is not helpful for those who have already made up their minds. Although this might be sufficient for neutral parties it's not going to change m...
Oct 14, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 172
In this episode I’m revisiting the topic of cold fusion with an MIT-affiliated researcher who is looking into the case for cold fusion. As you may recall, my review found that there are many anomalous results in the field that point to the potential for new physical phenomena. Pons and Fleischman’s premature announcement of cold fusion led to a fury of failed replication attempts and a lot of damaged egos. The way it was handled in the news and in scientific circles left a lingering stigma preve...
Oct 07, 2023•51 min•Ep. 171
This episode is a re-release of episode 18 where I interviewed Professor Steven Levitsky, co-author with Daniel Ziblatt of 2018 best-seller "How Democracies Die". He has recently released a new book called "Saving Democracy, Tyranny of the Minority" so I thought it would be a good idea to see how his predictions from 2018 have held up based on more recent events. I've been quite busy over the past few months moving and getting set up in a new city, so I appreciate your patience with my recycled ...
Sep 30, 2023•49 min•Ep. 170
In this episode I’m digging into a recent announcement from the astronomy community. The Gaia satellite has been making high precision measurements of the position and velocity of billions of nearby stars. Researchers have used this data to test the theory of gravity, and more specifically Modified Newtonian Dynamics or MOND. This theory was developed to explain away the need for dark matter. Dark matter was originally postulated to account for the anomalous rotation curves of all galaxies. Basi...
Sep 23, 2023•34 min•Ep. 169
Thank you for inviting me into your head. In this episode I want to go deep and share some thoughts on brains and machines and free will. My thoughts on determinism and free resonate with the words of famous philosopher Bertrand Russell. My thinking on these topics is influenced by the evidence of physics, neuroscience, and AI. I hope you enjoy this exploration of some mind bending ideas. Support the podcast at patron.podbean.com/TheRationalView Join me on Facebook @TheRationalView TwiX @AlScott...
Sep 16, 2023•22 min•Ep. 168
Have you heard the news? The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is dumping radioactive waste into the Pacific ocean! Is this a travesty or is it a manufactured controversy? The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan is planning to dump over 1 million tonnes of radioactive wastewater in the ocean. Environmental groups around the world are outraged. Protesters line the streets in Korea. Chinese governments are boycotting Japanese products. Headlines scream about radioactive fi...
Sep 09, 2023•25 min•Ep. 167
In this episode I want to investigate claims in the news of an insect Armageddon. Specifically it has been reported that insect populations around the globe have plummeted by up to 75% in recent years. As anecdotal evidence of this old timers like myself use the car windshield as a gauge. Back in the day, any summer drive would end up with your windshield plastered with insect carcasses. These days they are often pristine. Are we witnessing the ecological collapse prophesied by climate scientist...
Sep 02, 2023•30 min•Ep. 166
