Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

A collection of the Monthly SFIA Q&A Livestreams Watch the Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4RcR2ium3I&list=PLIIOUpOge0LuR5R8bjtlsLaqDwXQiR4mu Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur SFIA Merchandise available: https://www.signil.com/sfia/ Social Media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/...

The Fermi Paradox ask us how in a Universe so vast and ancient we seem to be the only intelligent civilization around, with no older interstellar alien empires visible in the galaxy. But could extinction play a role in that, or might extinction events instead drive evolution forward? Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/2vxu6WVCSIk Start listening with a 30-day Audible trial and your first au...

Colonizing Mars and terraforming it to be a comfortable future home for humanity is quite the challenge. How would we go about it and how close is close enough for our purposes? How would we let life grow on the open surface of Mars and how would we give air and water and potentially even alter its day, year, and gravity? Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/RcXBuYwm3xk Visit our sponsor, Bri...

Humanity has a long and inventive history of sports and games, and the future will offer us many new options for athletics as we move out in space, be it racing around the Moon, climbing the mountains of Mars, hang gliding on Venus, or zero-g gymnastics. We'll also explore potential challenges and opportunities offered by genetic enhancement, cybernetics, and virtual reality. Watch the Video Versi...

A Paperclip Maximizer is an example of artificial intelligence run amok performing a job, potentially seeking to turn all the Universe into paperclips. But it's also an example of a concept called Instrumental Convergence, where two entities with wildly different ultimate goals might end up acting very much alike. This concept is very important to preparing ourselves for future automation and mach...

Science fiction delights in showing us brave adventurers boarding abandoned spaceships, exploring ancient alien worlds and space hulks, or surviving on planets turned into giant garbage dumps, but how realistic is this idea? And what sort of civilizations and cultures might spring up around such efforts? Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/xMrWF4nOyC8 Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://br...

It's popular to say nothing is impossible, especially in regard to the future and our Universe, but are there somethings which might turn out to be impossible or at least so impractical they never occur? Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/KIvaPRzDJwo SFIA Episode List (Chronological): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E7UTCFWSRk1vuyjmYhSvtmvINVSU9tWy5LabQeHW9t8/edit?usp=sharing Get a...

Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/IsaacArthur/ In the future humanity might build structures of incomprehensible size and splendor, megastructures and artificial worlds, but somebody is going to have to build and maintain these feats of science and engineering and clean up all the orbital debris. Watch the Video Version: https://youtu.be/2Tbffv7ZCz8 Visit our Website: http://www....

Nuclear Fusion holds the potential to free us of so many of the constraints offered by everything from fossil fuels to renewable energy option like wind and solar, if we can just get it working. Today we'll look at the challenges facing us in terms of the physics and engineering, the various possible reactors like the Tokamak, Poylwell, NFI, and more, and see what a bright future fusion might offe...

Natural disasters can topple civilizations, even in modern times, but with more and more technology civilizations become more robust and capable of predicting future calamities and preventing such ruin. So what other threats face spacefaring civilizations, both at the interplanetary and interstellar scale? Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/Y-CrHiiN0fI Visit our sponsor, Brilliant: https://...

Alien Invasions have been a staple of science fiction for years, with motherships and UFOs assaulting Earth, but how realistic is such a thing? We'll take a look at what might motivate an attack, how it might happen, what alternatives might make more sense, and what might prevent extraterrestrials from trying. Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/rBFubEKHR7A Get a free month of Curiosity Stre...

We continue our discussion of the Boltzmann Brain - a hypothetical randomly assembled mind rather than an evolved one - by looking at the Anthropic Principle and the Fine-Tuned Universe Theory, alternative ways of viewing the probability of our existence than the classic Copernican Principle. Watch the video versions: Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UfQb_-XAuY Part 2: https://youtu.be/GrK...

The idea of spaceships or other machines that were essentially alive and able to repair and operate themselves has long been a popular one in science fiction. We'll take a look today at how that might be possible in the future, what advantages it would have for interplanetary or interstellar colonization, and how it might lead to entire artificial ecosystems dwelling in the void of space. Watch th...

The possibility of extraterrestrial life on other worlds has long fascinated us, as has the idea of alien life living in space itself, but while the former is often considered quite probable, the idea of anything evolving on airless moons, comets, and asteroids seems less likely. But with scientists uncovering life in ever more extreme and inhospitable environments on Earth, perhaps it is more lik...

Space is an awesome place filled with virtually infinite wonders to explore, and human colonization will likely make far more. It may soon be possible for people to journey up to orbit as tourists, and in the more distant future this might become a vast trade, with tourism in Space Station Hotels or on the Moon or Mars or traveling to countless other planets, moons, asteroids, or megastructures. W...

There are many reasons not to eat meat, or at least less of it: medical, ethical, economical, or ecological, but the stuff is quite tasty. Today we'll look at how artificial meat technologies in the near future might allow us to produce a genuine alternative to modern methods of standard agriculture or meat substitutes, and maybe even some exotic meats not available at the supermarket. Watch the v...