May 22, 2025 • 20 mins
In a world overflowing with information, are there boundaries to what we can truly know? This episode explores the limits of human knowledge—from unanswered scientific questions to philosophical dilemmas and paradoxes. We dive into the nature of inquiry itself, what drives our curiosity, and why some answers might forever remain out of reach. Whether it’s the edge of the universe or the depths of consciousness, we examine where knowledge ends—and wonder begins.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to be on infographics. We're diving deep today into
something while absolutely fundamental.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
To being human.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Questions, that's right, not just the kind you can google
in you know, two seconds, but the really sprawling, complex ones,
big ones, Yeah, the ones that make you pause, that
pretch against the edges of what we think we know and.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
That humanity has wrestled with forever.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Really hm, what is this deep, relentless drive within us
to ask these things even when answers seem impossible or
maybe don't even exist.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
This is fascinating, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Let's unpack the landscape of questions, the nature of no ability,
and why the act of asking might be one of
our most defining traits.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Absolutely, and that drive is what makes this deep dive
so interesting. We've been exploring this terrain, looking at questions
from the uh the most personal, right to the furthest
reaches of the cosmos and abstract thought. Our mission today
is to really try and get to grips with why
questions matter so profoundly to us.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Okay, let's start right there at the intensely personal level.
Some questions feel almost woven into the fabric of our
individual reality. You know, questions about authenticity, about the weight
of choices we make, about what it means to simply be.
These are often called existential questions.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
And what's really striking, I think is that these aren't
just abstract philosophical concepts living in ivory towers. Are they
not at all? They frequently surge up from direct, sometimes
quite raw, life experiences. It seems we often communicate them
and maybe even the feelings around potential answers through well metaphors.
They seem to touch something deeper than literal language sometimes can.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And here's where it gets really interesting. When do these
questions hit with the most force. The insights we looked
at suggest they become most pressing during significant life shifts
or you know, really transformative moments.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, times of upheaval.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's almost as if times of darkness or profound change
can illuminate things we just don't see in the well
the ordinary light of day.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
That's very true. Think about the journey towards death, for instance,
or through.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Bereavement powerful examples.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It acts as this incredibly potent catalyst, not only for
the person facing the end obviously, but for everyone around them,
the caregivers too. Right, and while things like pain or
conflict at the end of life can certainly shape these questions.
Sometimes it's simply being present, just living through that moment
that also gives rise to them. It's a space where
(02:39):
fundamental whys tend to emerge.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So when these deeply personal, maybe difficult questions arise, how
do we even begin to engage with them?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Well, one powerful approach seems to be creating a setting,
a space where someone can simply tell their story, just
talk it through exactly. There's something about articulating these experiencedience
is that isn't just you know, cathartic. It seems intrinsically
linked to grappling with the moral implications and maybe making
authentic ethical choices when you're facing these big questions.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
It's about finding meaning an agency maybe in really complex situations.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Precisely, Okay, now, let's pivot quite dramatically from the intensely
internal to the vastness outside ourselves, because there's this whole
other universe of questions that scientists and mathematicians are actively.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Chasing, and many are still stubbornly unsolved right after centuries.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Sometimes, oh absolutely, In mathematics, for example, we're talking about
problems that sound deceptively simple to state, but are incredibly
difficult to actually.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Solve, Like Gouldback's conjecture exactly that.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
The idea that every even number greater than two is
the sum of two prime numbers seems straightforward.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, you can test it easily for small numbers.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
We've tested for colossal numbers, But proving it for all
possible even numbers that remains elusive. Wow. Or think about
wrestling with the behavior of numbers in infinite sequences, trying
to predict patterns, or finding the minimum overlap needed between
sets for certain properties to hold. These aren't just abstract puzzles.
They push the very limits of logical reasoning itself.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And then physics. The list there seems endless.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
It's overflowing questions touching the fundamental nature of reality. How
do you reconcile the rules governing the very small quantum
mechanics with the rules governing the very large, like gravity
and general relativity. Quantum gravity the big one that's the
holy grail for many physicists. Or is space time this
(04:37):
smooth fabric we perceive actually made of tiny discrete chunks
like pixels.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Hmm, weird to think about.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Then there's the black hole information paradox, What happens to
all the unique information about the stuff that falls into
a black hole? Does it just vanish? Which would break
some fundamental laws of physics as we understand them.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
It messes with things.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And what about the truly bizarre stuff like dark matter
and dark energy.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Making up what ninety five percent of the universe's energy
density and yet completely unknown in terms of what they
actually are, or even smaller maybe more everyday cosmic puzzles
like why the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is hundreds
of times hotter than its visible surface. It seems backwards.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, that doesn't make intuitive sense.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Or those perplexing flashes of radio waves from deep space
fast radio bursts. We're still trying to figure out exactly
what causes them. Could be neutron stars, black holes, something
else entirely.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So what's fascinating here listening to this is that these
scientific questions, even though they're about numbers, galaxies, particles, they
seem to share the same core human drive as the
existential ones we started with.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Exactly. It's that fundamental urge to understand the world around us,
to push the boundaries of what's known. It's curiosity just
manifesting in different domains.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you really see this incredible spectrum, don't you. From
the really intimate why am I here? Type questions into
the cause what is dark energy? And both seem driven
by that deep, maybe insatiable human curiosity. It just seems
hardwired into us.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
It truly highlights the breadth of our questioning minds, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
It really does.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
And you know, if you're finding this exploration into questions
as thought provoking as we are, maybe consider giving us
a five star rating.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, that really helps us.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
It makes a huge difference and helps us bring these
deep dives to more curious listeners like you, and to
explore these topics further and find more insights, you can
always head over to our website by clicking the link
in the description.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
So, this journey into questions, it inevitably leads us to
a rather profound, maybe even slightly uncomfortable idea, which is
that maybe some questions simply cannot be answered, at least
not by us anyway.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Right, It's a concept philosophers have debated for centuries. Some
perspectives lean towards what's sometimes called quietism. Quietism, yeah, basically
recognizing that certain questions might genuinely transcend our human capacity
for understanding or resolution.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Why might that be the case though? Is it just
practical limits, like maybe we just don't have the right
technology yet or enough resources, or maybe we're just not
smart enough yet.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
That's part of it perhaps, But there's also the possibility
of inherent limits to human knowledge. Deeper limits, okay, like
what well think about the formal limits discovered in mathematics
and logic. Godles incompleteness theorems.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
For instance, Uh, godal right.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
They show that in any consistent formal system that's complex
enough to do basic arithmetic, there will always be true
statements that simply cannot be proven within that system. It's
like the system itself has built in blind spots.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Okay, I see, And didn't Turing have something similar with computing?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Exactly the Turing halting problem. It tells us there are
fundamental questions about computer programs that are uncomputable. You fundamentally
cannot write an algorithm that will always tell you if
any given program will eventually finish running or just loop forever.
So the question then becomes, if our minds function even
in part like computing systems, does this hint at fundamental
(08:06):
limits to what we can computationally know or prove.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
That's a big leap, but I see the connection. But
hang on cannot be answered, mean fundamentally unanswerable in the universe,
or just that we humans can't answer them.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
That's the key distinction, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Some have float of the idea maybe in advanced AI
could crack questions that completely stump us.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
It's a fascinating thought, but it immediately raises a huge challenge,
particularly for those non empirical questions.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Like an ethics or metaphysics.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Precisely, how would we know if an AI's answer was correct.
In science, you can test hypotheses against objective data, you
run experiments sure verification. But in these other areas, without external,
verifiable evidence or even broad agreement on what constitutes valid truth,
an AI might just produce incredibly sophisticated, clever arguments, just
(08:58):
really good rhetoric, exactly, And while arguments are valuable, they
don't always lead to consensus or verifiable truth in the
same way empirical data does. It's been suggested famously by
Kant that our human experience filters reality almost like we
wear irremovable spectacles of space, time, or biological structure, so.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
We can't see the thing in itself.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Potentially, which would make verifying answers that fall outside our
inherent framework incredibly difficult, maybe impossible.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
And maybe some questions truly have no single objective answer
at all, like asking what does the color blue sound like?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Right, that's not really a factual question waiting for data. No,
it's asking about subjective experience or metaphor or synesthesia. Perhaps
in cases like that, the real value isn't in finding
the answer, but in the introspection, the creativity, the sheer
act of pondering that the question prompts within us.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Our capacity for knowledge seems shaped by so many factors then,
the physical structure of.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Our brains, our senses, the limits of what we can.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Perceive, the very language we use, which frames how we
even think about problems.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Our personal experiences are cultural background.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Even the limits of our imagination. And while technology is
amazing it extends our senses, gives us powerful tools for analysis,
We're still ultimately processing everything through our human categories of understanding.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
But and this is a big butt, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Go On?
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Looking at history, knowledge is also constantly expanding new fields emerge,
new ways of thinking, new terminology gets invented, new tools
break down previous barriers all the time.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
That's a really important point. It suggests that while there
might be ultimate limits somewhere out there, we're likely nowhere
near hitting them all. Yet the boundary of the knowable
seems to be always actively being pushed outwards.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
So unanswerable could just mean unanswerable.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
For now exactly. It can be a temporary state, not
necessarily a permanent one.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Okay, So this brings us right back to our central thread,
Why do we bother?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Why do we keep.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Asking relentlessly even when we face these potential limits, we're
just the sheer, overwhelming, vastness of the unknown.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Well from everything we've explored, This drive to seek explanations
seems to go way beyond just solving immediate practical problems
like finding food or shelter.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
It feels deeper than that.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
No other animal on Earth seems to invest so much
energy in pursuing knowledge simply for its own sake, for
the sheer understanding of it, Like evolution has somehow made
basic curiosity and research a cost effective strategy for our
species survival and flourishing In the long run.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
You see it so clearly in young children, don't you.
They're endless whis oh constantly, And they aren't just random noise,
are they. They seem quite strategic, like little information gathering probes.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yeah, and they're homed and supported by caregivers who provide
the scaffolding for that learning, who answer those questions or
help them find answers.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So why does that intense, almost relentless questioning sometimes seem
to well dull a bit in adulthood?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
That's a great question. One perspective we encountered suggests we
might sometimes settle for easier, maybe less nourishing, fast food answers.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Like what superstition, dogma?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Things like that. Yeah, they can offer a comforting illusion
of order and understanding without requiring the deep work, the
intellectual effort of true questioning and investigation.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
But understanding why we do anything is so crucial, isn't it.
Whether it's our daily routines, pursuing a hobby, tackling a
massive project at work.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Absolutely critical. Just acting out of habit or impulse without
questioning the reason behind it can be risky, inefficient, sometimes
even actively harmful.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Knowing the why gives you purpose right. It helps align
your efforts and probably dramatically increases your chances of success.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
But it requires effort. It often requires debate, reflection, maybe
challenging assumptions. It's not passive.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Think about the why of work itself. As you said,
it goes beyond just earning a paycheck for most people.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Definitely. The insights we looked at suggest deeper motivators are
often things like feeling you're contributing to a team, making
progress on a meaningful task, learning something new. Those whys
are powerful engines.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
And this applies to larger systems too. Like education, it
needs to constantly ask why doesn't.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
It constantly why is the current structure the way it is?
Is it still genuinely serving its purpose in a rapidly
changing world?
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Modernizing education isn't just about new tech, is it. It's
about questioning accepted beliefs, identifying the necessary skills and understandings
for the future, not just transmitting information without critical analysis.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
There's that idea that nothing has to stay the way
it is. That requires questioning the status quo, using our
imagination to envision alternatives, and then figuring out how.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
To get there and what helps or hinders this factors
like having a positive attitude genuine motivation. They seem like
huge aids in engaging with complex questions and challenges for sure.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
And on the flip side, things like complacency or that
feeling a false urgency, being too busy with stuff to
actually stop and think.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Mental laziness yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Or even perfectionism, the fear of asking a stupid question
or an imperfect one that can really shut down this
essential process of seeking understanding.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
So ultimately, the act of questioning is a fundamental tool
for understanding ourselves. Isn't it our beliefs, our reasons, our purposes.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
It helps us clarify what we maybe must preserve, what
needs improvement, and perhaps what we might need to transform
entirely to truly make progress, both individually and collectively.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
It really does feel like the engine of human growth
couldn't agree more. And just a quick reminder, if you're
finding this deep dive as engaging as we are, please
do take a moment to give us that five star rating.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
It really does help us share these fascinating topics with
more curious minds.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
And remember you can always explore these ideas further and
find more insights on our website. Just click the link
in the description.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Okay, so let's try and connect this fundamental human drive
to question and understand to something as profound as mysterious,
perhaps apps as consciousness itself.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Right, this is a fascinating link.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Consider the difference between, say, a highly sophisticated AI, one
that can master multiple incredibly complex games, learn incredibly.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Fast like AlphaGo or something similar.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Exactly, and a conscious human being or even an animal.
The AI has astonishing intelligence, processing power, learning ability unquestionably,
yet many experts suggest it lacks subjective experience. It might be,
to put it provocatively, as conscious as a washing machine.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
It's a stark comparison, but it highlights the potential disconnect.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
It really highlights that while intelligence and consciousness feel linked
in animals, maybe because they evolve together, they might actually
be quite different things.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
They could be decoupled.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
However, there's a really fascinating theory emerging that kind of
flips this around. It suggests that perhaps the evolution of learning,
specifically complex learning, actually drove the evolution of consciousness in
living organisms.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Okay, unpacked that a bit, How would that work?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
The core idea is that the specific type of cognitive
architecture required for a system, a biological system, to learn
in a sophisticated way, meaning meaning adapting based on its
unique individual experience rather than just simple stimulus response loops
or fixed instincts. That capacity itself might constitute basic consciousness.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So the learning architecture is the consciousness at a basic level.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
That's the proposal. It shifts the focus from say, raw
computational power, to the biological mechanisms of experiential learning and adaptation.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Interesting are researchers looking for evidence of this?
Speaker 3 (16:37):
They are they're actively looking for a unique biological marker,
maybe a specific neural signature, for this minimal form of consciousness,
something that could potentially explain major rapid bursts of evolutionary
change like.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
The Cambrian explosions.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, exactly, the Cambrian explosion millions of years ago, where
complex life forms seem to suddenly diversify incredibly rapidly. Could
a new capacity for this kind of learning based consciousness
have been the trigger?
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Wow? So this perspective suggests that our very biological wiring
for sophisticated learning, the kind that allows us to ask why,
to adapt based on experience, to grapple with complexity, that
capacity could be the deep biological foundation upon which consciousness
actually emerged. It ties our drive to understand and question
(17:24):
directly to the roots of what it means to be
alive and aware.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
It's a really powerful way to see the connection, isn't it,
between curiosity, complex learning, and maybe the very nature of
subjective experience.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
We've certainly covered a lot of ground in this deep
dive into questions today. We journeyed from those intimate stirrings
of personal existential reflection right the way.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Through to the grand mysteries of the cosmos, the fundamental
puzzles of physics and mathematics.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
We've explored the frankly mind bending idea that some questions
might genuinely push against the absolute limits of human understanding.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Challenging us with things like Godal's theorems, or the really
tricky the philosophical dilemma of how you'd even verify truth,
especially in areas without clear empirical data, even if you
had something like a super advanced AI giving you answers.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And yet despite facing that potential unknowability, that wall. We've
seen again and again that the act of asking that
relentless human curiosity to know why it isn't just some
random behavior.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
No, it feels much more fundamental.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
It seems like a defining human trait, crucial for learning,
essential for progress, and perhaps, as we just discussed, intricately
linked to the very biological capacity for consciousness itself.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
So what does all of this mean for you listening
right now?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Well, I think it means the questions you ask, whether
they feel small and every day or vast and overwhelming,
they're part of a fundamental human journey. It's a journey
shared across centuries and disciplines.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, you're participating in something ancient and ongoing.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
And it means that wrestling with uncertainty isn't a failure.
In fact, it's often where genuine understanding begins. Sometimes the
most valuable outcome isn't the definitive answer.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Because maybe there is one where we can't.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Reach it exactly.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
But the value comes from the new perspectives, the deeper
understanding gain simply by daring to ask the question and
explore the possibilities it opens up.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
So maybe here's a final thought to leave you with
something to ponder on your own. Okay, if some questions
truly have no objective answer, that we can verify and
if our capacity for consciousness is somehow tied to our
ability for complex learning and questioning, could it be that
the most meaningful questions, the ones that really drive us forward,
are precisely those that keep us reaching, those questions that
(19:40):
push us to explore the very boundaries of what we
think we can know.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
That's a great thought to end on.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
This has been a deep dive into the world of
questions here on Beyond Infographic.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
We genuinely hope these insights have been thought provoking for you.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Absolutely and if you enjoyed this exploration, please do take
just a moment to give us a five star rating.
It truly helps us bring more deep dives like this
to curious.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Minds, and of course, to dive further into the topics
we discuss and explore other fascinating insights. Check out our website.
You can find it easily by clicking the link in
the description.
Welcome to be on infographics. We're diving deep today into
something while absolutely fundamental.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
To being human.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Questions, that's right, not just the kind you can google
in you know, two seconds, but the really sprawling, complex ones,
big ones, Yeah, the ones that make you pause, that
pretch against the edges of what we think we know and.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
That humanity has wrestled with forever.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Really hm, what is this deep, relentless drive within us
to ask these things even when answers seem impossible or
maybe don't even exist.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
This is fascinating, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Let's unpack the landscape of questions, the nature of no ability,
and why the act of asking might be one of
our most defining traits.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Absolutely, and that drive is what makes this deep dive
so interesting. We've been exploring this terrain, looking at questions
from the uh the most personal, right to the furthest
reaches of the cosmos and abstract thought. Our mission today
is to really try and get to grips with why
questions matter so profoundly to us.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Okay, let's start right there at the intensely personal level.
Some questions feel almost woven into the fabric of our
individual reality. You know, questions about authenticity, about the weight
of choices we make, about what it means to simply be.
These are often called existential questions.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
And what's really striking, I think is that these aren't
just abstract philosophical concepts living in ivory towers. Are they
not at all? They frequently surge up from direct, sometimes
quite raw, life experiences. It seems we often communicate them
and maybe even the feelings around potential answers through well metaphors.
They seem to touch something deeper than literal language sometimes can.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And here's where it gets really interesting. When do these
questions hit with the most force. The insights we looked
at suggest they become most pressing during significant life shifts
or you know, really transformative moments.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, times of upheaval.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's almost as if times of darkness or profound change
can illuminate things we just don't see in the well
the ordinary light of day.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
That's very true. Think about the journey towards death, for instance,
or through.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Bereavement powerful examples.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It acts as this incredibly potent catalyst, not only for
the person facing the end obviously, but for everyone around them,
the caregivers too. Right, and while things like pain or
conflict at the end of life can certainly shape these questions.
Sometimes it's simply being present, just living through that moment
that also gives rise to them. It's a space where
(02:39):
fundamental whys tend to emerge.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So when these deeply personal, maybe difficult questions arise, how
do we even begin to engage with them?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Well, one powerful approach seems to be creating a setting,
a space where someone can simply tell their story, just
talk it through exactly. There's something about articulating these experiencedience
is that isn't just you know, cathartic. It seems intrinsically
linked to grappling with the moral implications and maybe making
authentic ethical choices when you're facing these big questions.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
It's about finding meaning an agency maybe in really complex situations.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Precisely, Okay, now, let's pivot quite dramatically from the intensely
internal to the vastness outside ourselves, because there's this whole
other universe of questions that scientists and mathematicians are actively.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Chasing, and many are still stubbornly unsolved right after centuries.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Sometimes, oh absolutely, In mathematics, for example, we're talking about
problems that sound deceptively simple to state, but are incredibly
difficult to actually.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Solve, Like Gouldback's conjecture exactly that.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
The idea that every even number greater than two is
the sum of two prime numbers seems straightforward.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, you can test it easily for small numbers.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
We've tested for colossal numbers, But proving it for all
possible even numbers that remains elusive. Wow. Or think about
wrestling with the behavior of numbers in infinite sequences, trying
to predict patterns, or finding the minimum overlap needed between
sets for certain properties to hold. These aren't just abstract puzzles.
They push the very limits of logical reasoning itself.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And then physics. The list there seems endless.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
It's overflowing questions touching the fundamental nature of reality. How
do you reconcile the rules governing the very small quantum
mechanics with the rules governing the very large, like gravity
and general relativity. Quantum gravity the big one that's the
holy grail for many physicists. Or is space time this
(04:37):
smooth fabric we perceive actually made of tiny discrete chunks
like pixels.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Hmm, weird to think about.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Then there's the black hole information paradox, What happens to
all the unique information about the stuff that falls into
a black hole? Does it just vanish? Which would break
some fundamental laws of physics as we understand them.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
It messes with things.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And what about the truly bizarre stuff like dark matter
and dark energy.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Making up what ninety five percent of the universe's energy
density and yet completely unknown in terms of what they
actually are, or even smaller maybe more everyday cosmic puzzles
like why the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is hundreds
of times hotter than its visible surface. It seems backwards.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, that doesn't make intuitive sense.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Or those perplexing flashes of radio waves from deep space
fast radio bursts. We're still trying to figure out exactly
what causes them. Could be neutron stars, black holes, something
else entirely.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So what's fascinating here listening to this is that these
scientific questions, even though they're about numbers, galaxies, particles, they
seem to share the same core human drive as the
existential ones we started with.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Exactly. It's that fundamental urge to understand the world around us,
to push the boundaries of what's known. It's curiosity just
manifesting in different domains.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you really see this incredible spectrum, don't you. From
the really intimate why am I here? Type questions into
the cause what is dark energy? And both seem driven
by that deep, maybe insatiable human curiosity. It just seems
hardwired into us.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
It truly highlights the breadth of our questioning minds, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
It really does.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
And you know, if you're finding this exploration into questions
as thought provoking as we are, maybe consider giving us
a five star rating.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, that really helps us.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
It makes a huge difference and helps us bring these
deep dives to more curious listeners like you, and to
explore these topics further and find more insights, you can
always head over to our website by clicking the link
in the description.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
So, this journey into questions, it inevitably leads us to
a rather profound, maybe even slightly uncomfortable idea, which is
that maybe some questions simply cannot be answered, at least
not by us anyway.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Right, It's a concept philosophers have debated for centuries. Some
perspectives lean towards what's sometimes called quietism. Quietism, yeah, basically
recognizing that certain questions might genuinely transcend our human capacity
for understanding or resolution.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Why might that be the case though? Is it just
practical limits, like maybe we just don't have the right
technology yet or enough resources, or maybe we're just not
smart enough yet.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
That's part of it perhaps, But there's also the possibility
of inherent limits to human knowledge. Deeper limits, okay, like
what well think about the formal limits discovered in mathematics
and logic. Godles incompleteness theorems.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
For instance, Uh, godal right.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
They show that in any consistent formal system that's complex
enough to do basic arithmetic, there will always be true
statements that simply cannot be proven within that system. It's
like the system itself has built in blind spots.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Okay, I see, And didn't Turing have something similar with computing?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Exactly the Turing halting problem. It tells us there are
fundamental questions about computer programs that are uncomputable. You fundamentally
cannot write an algorithm that will always tell you if
any given program will eventually finish running or just loop forever.
So the question then becomes, if our minds function even
in part like computing systems, does this hint at fundamental
(08:06):
limits to what we can computationally know or prove.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
That's a big leap, but I see the connection. But
hang on cannot be answered, mean fundamentally unanswerable in the universe,
or just that we humans can't answer them.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
That's the key distinction, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Some have float of the idea maybe in advanced AI
could crack questions that completely stump us.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
It's a fascinating thought, but it immediately raises a huge challenge,
particularly for those non empirical questions.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Like an ethics or metaphysics.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Precisely, how would we know if an AI's answer was correct.
In science, you can test hypotheses against objective data, you
run experiments sure verification. But in these other areas, without external,
verifiable evidence or even broad agreement on what constitutes valid truth,
an AI might just produce incredibly sophisticated, clever arguments, just
(08:58):
really good rhetoric, exactly, And while arguments are valuable, they
don't always lead to consensus or verifiable truth in the
same way empirical data does. It's been suggested famously by
Kant that our human experience filters reality almost like we
wear irremovable spectacles of space, time, or biological structure, so.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
We can't see the thing in itself.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Potentially, which would make verifying answers that fall outside our
inherent framework incredibly difficult, maybe impossible.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
And maybe some questions truly have no single objective answer
at all, like asking what does the color blue sound like?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Right, that's not really a factual question waiting for data. No,
it's asking about subjective experience or metaphor or synesthesia. Perhaps
in cases like that, the real value isn't in finding
the answer, but in the introspection, the creativity, the sheer
act of pondering that the question prompts within us.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Our capacity for knowledge seems shaped by so many factors then,
the physical structure of.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Our brains, our senses, the limits of what we can.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Perceive, the very language we use, which frames how we
even think about problems.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Our personal experiences are cultural background.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Even the limits of our imagination. And while technology is
amazing it extends our senses, gives us powerful tools for analysis,
We're still ultimately processing everything through our human categories of understanding.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
But and this is a big butt, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Go On?
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Looking at history, knowledge is also constantly expanding new fields emerge,
new ways of thinking, new terminology gets invented, new tools
break down previous barriers all the time.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
That's a really important point. It suggests that while there
might be ultimate limits somewhere out there, we're likely nowhere
near hitting them all. Yet the boundary of the knowable
seems to be always actively being pushed outwards.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
So unanswerable could just mean unanswerable.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
For now exactly. It can be a temporary state, not
necessarily a permanent one.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Okay, So this brings us right back to our central thread,
Why do we bother?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Why do we keep.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Asking relentlessly even when we face these potential limits, we're
just the sheer, overwhelming, vastness of the unknown.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Well from everything we've explored, This drive to seek explanations
seems to go way beyond just solving immediate practical problems
like finding food or shelter.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
It feels deeper than that.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
No other animal on Earth seems to invest so much
energy in pursuing knowledge simply for its own sake, for
the sheer understanding of it, Like evolution has somehow made
basic curiosity and research a cost effective strategy for our
species survival and flourishing In the long run.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
You see it so clearly in young children, don't you.
They're endless whis oh constantly, And they aren't just random noise,
are they. They seem quite strategic, like little information gathering probes.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yeah, and they're homed and supported by caregivers who provide
the scaffolding for that learning, who answer those questions or
help them find answers.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So why does that intense, almost relentless questioning sometimes seem
to well dull a bit in adulthood?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
That's a great question. One perspective we encountered suggests we
might sometimes settle for easier, maybe less nourishing, fast food answers.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Like what superstition, dogma?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Things like that. Yeah, they can offer a comforting illusion
of order and understanding without requiring the deep work, the
intellectual effort of true questioning and investigation.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
But understanding why we do anything is so crucial, isn't it.
Whether it's our daily routines, pursuing a hobby, tackling a
massive project at work.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Absolutely critical. Just acting out of habit or impulse without
questioning the reason behind it can be risky, inefficient, sometimes
even actively harmful.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Knowing the why gives you purpose right. It helps align
your efforts and probably dramatically increases your chances of success.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
But it requires effort. It often requires debate, reflection, maybe
challenging assumptions. It's not passive.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Think about the why of work itself. As you said,
it goes beyond just earning a paycheck for most people.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Definitely. The insights we looked at suggest deeper motivators are
often things like feeling you're contributing to a team, making
progress on a meaningful task, learning something new. Those whys
are powerful engines.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
And this applies to larger systems too. Like education, it
needs to constantly ask why doesn't.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
It constantly why is the current structure the way it is?
Is it still genuinely serving its purpose in a rapidly
changing world?
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Modernizing education isn't just about new tech, is it. It's
about questioning accepted beliefs, identifying the necessary skills and understandings
for the future, not just transmitting information without critical analysis.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
There's that idea that nothing has to stay the way
it is. That requires questioning the status quo, using our
imagination to envision alternatives, and then figuring out how.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
To get there and what helps or hinders this factors
like having a positive attitude genuine motivation. They seem like
huge aids in engaging with complex questions and challenges for sure.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
And on the flip side, things like complacency or that
feeling a false urgency, being too busy with stuff to
actually stop and think.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Mental laziness yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Or even perfectionism, the fear of asking a stupid question
or an imperfect one that can really shut down this
essential process of seeking understanding.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
So ultimately, the act of questioning is a fundamental tool
for understanding ourselves. Isn't it our beliefs, our reasons, our purposes.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
It helps us clarify what we maybe must preserve, what
needs improvement, and perhaps what we might need to transform
entirely to truly make progress, both individually and collectively.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
It really does feel like the engine of human growth
couldn't agree more. And just a quick reminder, if you're
finding this deep dive as engaging as we are, please
do take a moment to give us that five star rating.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
It really does help us share these fascinating topics with
more curious minds.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
And remember you can always explore these ideas further and
find more insights on our website. Just click the link
in the description.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Okay, so let's try and connect this fundamental human drive
to question and understand to something as profound as mysterious,
perhaps apps as consciousness itself.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Right, this is a fascinating link.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Consider the difference between, say, a highly sophisticated AI, one
that can master multiple incredibly complex games, learn incredibly.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Fast like AlphaGo or something similar.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Exactly, and a conscious human being or even an animal.
The AI has astonishing intelligence, processing power, learning ability unquestionably,
yet many experts suggest it lacks subjective experience. It might be,
to put it provocatively, as conscious as a washing machine.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
It's a stark comparison, but it highlights the potential disconnect.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
It really highlights that while intelligence and consciousness feel linked
in animals, maybe because they evolve together, they might actually
be quite different things.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
They could be decoupled.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
However, there's a really fascinating theory emerging that kind of
flips this around. It suggests that perhaps the evolution of learning,
specifically complex learning, actually drove the evolution of consciousness in
living organisms.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Okay, unpacked that a bit, How would that work?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
The core idea is that the specific type of cognitive
architecture required for a system, a biological system, to learn
in a sophisticated way, meaning meaning adapting based on its
unique individual experience rather than just simple stimulus response loops
or fixed instincts. That capacity itself might constitute basic consciousness.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
So the learning architecture is the consciousness at a basic level.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
That's the proposal. It shifts the focus from say, raw
computational power, to the biological mechanisms of experiential learning and adaptation.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Interesting are researchers looking for evidence of this?
Speaker 3 (16:37):
They are they're actively looking for a unique biological marker,
maybe a specific neural signature, for this minimal form of consciousness,
something that could potentially explain major rapid bursts of evolutionary
change like.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
The Cambrian explosions.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, exactly, the Cambrian explosion millions of years ago, where
complex life forms seem to suddenly diversify incredibly rapidly. Could
a new capacity for this kind of learning based consciousness
have been the trigger?
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Wow? So this perspective suggests that our very biological wiring
for sophisticated learning, the kind that allows us to ask why,
to adapt based on experience, to grapple with complexity, that
capacity could be the deep biological foundation upon which consciousness
actually emerged. It ties our drive to understand and question
(17:24):
directly to the roots of what it means to be
alive and aware.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
It's a really powerful way to see the connection, isn't it,
between curiosity, complex learning, and maybe the very nature of
subjective experience.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
We've certainly covered a lot of ground in this deep
dive into questions today. We journeyed from those intimate stirrings
of personal existential reflection right the way.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Through to the grand mysteries of the cosmos, the fundamental
puzzles of physics and mathematics.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
We've explored the frankly mind bending idea that some questions
might genuinely push against the absolute limits of human understanding.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Challenging us with things like Godal's theorems, or the really
tricky the philosophical dilemma of how you'd even verify truth,
especially in areas without clear empirical data, even if you
had something like a super advanced AI giving you answers.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And yet despite facing that potential unknowability, that wall. We've
seen again and again that the act of asking that
relentless human curiosity to know why it isn't just some
random behavior.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
No, it feels much more fundamental.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
It seems like a defining human trait, crucial for learning,
essential for progress, and perhaps, as we just discussed, intricately
linked to the very biological capacity for consciousness itself.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
So what does all of this mean for you listening
right now?
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Well, I think it means the questions you ask, whether
they feel small and every day or vast and overwhelming,
they're part of a fundamental human journey. It's a journey
shared across centuries and disciplines.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, you're participating in something ancient and ongoing.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
And it means that wrestling with uncertainty isn't a failure.
In fact, it's often where genuine understanding begins. Sometimes the
most valuable outcome isn't the definitive answer.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Because maybe there is one where we can't.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Reach it exactly.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
But the value comes from the new perspectives, the deeper
understanding gain simply by daring to ask the question and
explore the possibilities it opens up.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
So maybe here's a final thought to leave you with
something to ponder on your own. Okay, if some questions
truly have no objective answer, that we can verify and
if our capacity for consciousness is somehow tied to our
ability for complex learning and questioning, could it be that
the most meaningful questions, the ones that really drive us forward,
are precisely those that keep us reaching, those questions that
(19:40):
push us to explore the very boundaries of what we
think we can know.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
That's a great thought to end on.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
This has been a deep dive into the world of
questions here on Beyond Infographic.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
We genuinely hope these insights have been thought provoking for you.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Absolutely and if you enjoyed this exploration, please do take
just a moment to give us a five star rating.
It truly helps us bring more deep dives like this
to curious.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Minds, and of course, to dive further into the topics
we discuss and explore other fascinating insights. Check out our website.
You can find it easily by clicking the link in
the description.
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