#293 – Donald Hoffman: Reality is an Illusion – How Evolution Hid the Truth

Lex Fridman Podcast - A podcast by Lex Fridman

Donald Hoffman is a cognitive scientist at UC Irvine and author of The Case Against Reality. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Calm: https://calm.com/lex to get 40% off - LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack - InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/lex to get 20% off - MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lex to get 15% off - Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit EPISODE LINKS: Donald's Twitter: https://twitter.com/donalddhoffman Donald's Website: http://cogsci.uci.edu/~ddhoff/ Documents & Articles: 1. Could a Neuroscientist Understand a Microprocessor?: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005268 2. Conscious Agent Networks: https://chrisfieldsresearch.com/CA-circuits-CSR-rev2.pdf 3. The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Argument in Quantum Theory: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qt-epr/ Books: 1. The Case Against Reality: https://amzn.to/3MhW4Wt 2. Vision: https://amzn.to/3Q4ibTm PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (08:04) - Case against reality (19:33) - Spacetime (43:57) - Reductionism (1:04:23) - Evolutionary game theory (1:32:46) - Consciousness (2:28:06) - Visualizing reality (2:43:23) - Ephemerality of life (2:51:48) - Simulation theory (2:57:30) - Difficult ideas (3:12:32) - Love (3:16:07) - Advice for young people (3:18:26) - Meaning of life