Federico Faggin built the world’s first microprocessor, the foundation of AI. Decades later, he’s calling out its limits. In Irreducible, Faggin argues that consciousness isn’t just complex computation. It’s something classical physics, and people who claim AGI is around the corner, still fail to understand.
In Chapter 1, Mark and Jeremy Think on Paper about where our model of reality started to crack, from blackbody radiation and quantum anomalies to the philosophical blind spots in math and observation. Faggin’s challenge is clear: if we can’t define what consciousness is, why are we so sure we can simulate it?
Before you debate AGI, know what it’s built on, and what it leaves out.
Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.
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Timestamps
(00:00) Exploring Consciousness and Reality
(02:14) Federico's Background
(03:15) The Evolution of Scientific Thought
(05:59) The Nature of Quantum Reality
(08:01) Understanding Axioms and Mathematics
(10:41) The Interconnectedness of Existence
(12:20) The Role of Measurement in Reality
(17:44) The Nature of Particles and Consciousness
(21:01 Non-Locality and Quantum Entanglement
(24:39 Consciousness: The Knowing-Existing Loop
(28:46) Machines vs. Conscious Beings
(32:46) The Intersection of Consciousness and Reality
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Learn more and join the book club: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz
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Catch up on the next episodes of the Irreducible Book Club on YouTube: https://youtu.be/A0Ok3ObtwSk?si=n_pSgA_JIOS-BRKG
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