F’ing Up the Ineffable

In the final part of the series on consciousness, Brian and Mike and talk about free will and why you don't have any (or do you?). They dig deep into where your decisions come from and whether you have any control over them at all.   ***********************************************   Thank you for listening to the F’ing Up the Ineffable podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please share it with your fr...

Episode lucky number 13. In the third part of a series on consciousness and free will, Brian and Mike talk about the nature of consciousness (just like the intro says!), thinking about thinking, and about how most of the things we think we know can't be proven beyond our own experience.   In this episode we mention the following: What is it like to be a bat? - Thomas Nagel https://www.amazon.com/W...

In the second part of a series on consciousness and free will, Brian and Mike talk about meditation and mindfulness. They dispel some myths and talk about what meditation truly is. The conversation goes from yoga to mindfulness games to the real benefits to be gained. Brian teases future episodes and Michael realizes he's really good at having an empty mind.   In this episode we mention the follow...

In the first part of a series on consciousness and free will, Brian and Mike talk about perception, how what we experience isn't the whole truth and how things like the vision of birds and optical illusions can prove it. Our brains are lying to us and we talk about why. Also, we talk about why you don't want to think too hard about why you can sometimes taste a bad smell like a fart.   In this epi...

Happy New Year! It’s the 10th episode, so we ramble on a bit about that and risk putting people to sleep before we talk about today's subject: Sleep. Brian and Mike share some information and tell lots of hilarious and somewhat frightening stories about surgery, narcolepsy, sleepwalking, dreams and locking yourself out of the house in your underwear.   In this episode we mention the following: Min...

Brian and Mike discuss economics, wealth inequality, why it's getting worse, what it means for the average person, why you are so uncomfortable on airplanes, and why we wish the old Netflix was back.   In this episode we mention the following: Freakonomics https://amzn.to/4q5rcgd Conan the Barbarian https://amzn.to/4rRGqXY Veritasium - The lightbulb collusion story - This is why we can't have nice...

Brian and Mike revisit the topic of Artificial Intelligence, touching on AI replacing jobs, what AI can't do, when the AI bubble will burst and billionaire tech bros' super-secret plans. It’s either our best episode ever, or our worst. You decide. Then let us know!   In this episode we mention the following: Videos / Channels The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out  The State of the AI Ind...

Brian and Mike talk about games of all sorts and what elements make games fun. They discuss sports, video games, role playing games, card games, board games and they stop playing games with your heart.   In this episode we mention the following: Videos / Channels Game Theory: Candy Crush, Designed to Addict https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BTGgCEFuQw Penn & Teller Fool Us Playlist https://www....

***************************************************************************************** Brian and Mike talk about their experiences with music from playing live to recording, writing, musical tastes, likes and dislikes, with a side trek to a visual of a 5-year old Mike, sporting a bald head and goatee, swiveling his hips while standing on a coffee table singing Elvis songs into a hairbrush.   Th...

Brian and Mike talk about habits, motivation and discipline, how to stay on track, and how to fall off of the wagon. They talk about intensely personal things like depression, exercise, marriage, smoking, alcoholism and picking up dates at family reunions.   In this episode we mention the following books: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey  https://amzn.to/4giOI5R The Powe...

Brian and Mike talk about the sixth extinction, climate change, books you DEFINITELY should not read and then nearly everyone dies at the end. It's real uplifting.   Editor's Note: Even though this is our 4th episode that we have released, this was the first ever recorded. Because of that that there are some audio artifacts that show up as we were still learning the ropes. We debated whether to re...

Brian and Mike talk about AI and its impact on today and the future and why you probably shouldn't let it drive your car. Some of the things we talk about in this episode: Dr. Sbaitso Trackmania Training an unbeatable AI in Trackmania 3 Blue 1 Brown - Large Language Models explained briefly ChatGPT Gemini Parata Occult Mysteries Unconstrained Semantle Isaac Asimov's Robot Series   Some links above...

Brian and Mike get nerdy and discuss old-school computer role playing games (CRPGs) and Roguelikes, what they like and don't like about them, some of the best and worst of the lot, and whether bards get the respect they deserve.  Spreadsheet: Brian's Spreadsheet of Roguelikes Book: The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect ( Free | Amazon ) Games: Fallout 2 Jagged Alliance 2 Might & Magic IV, V, VI...

Brian and Mike discuss the Fermi Paradox, Drake Equation, the possibilities of alien life in the universe, and whether aliens really do abduct people and probe their butts.