Did you know that the fundamental constants of nature seem to be fine-tuned for life? If you were to throw a dart at a wall representing possible universes, the chances you'd hit a life-permitting universe are astronomically tiny! And yet the universe has you and me, why? Did it just win some kind of cosmic lottery, and that's that, there's no further explanation? Some physicists say it's a sign that there actually are myriads of other universes. Some disagree and argue that still wouldn't explain it. Yet others reason that a cosmic designer is the best explanation. Now that's a pretty cool puzzle in my book!
I'm Dmitriy, I'm a former theoretical physicist turned professional poker player. If the fine-tuning example above seemed too esoteric and you think you'll need a physics degree to understand the kinds of things I'll be talking about, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, some of the stuff you'll see here might be somewhat "physics-y" - after all "we are living in the material world" as Madonna wisely pointed out, and material things around us such as chairs, stars and even our own brains seem to follow the laws of physics. But the ReasonMeThis project is not about physics, it's about reasoning. So all the crazy conundrums I'll be talking about won't require you to have some special expertise, and if some basics are needed I'll try to provide them in simple terms.
Let me mention some other cool things you can expect me to talk about, and see if that sounds interesting to you:
- Famous thought experiments, like the Chinese Room, or the Trolley Problem, and how they help us understand things like morality, consciousness, or the limits of AI.
- Paradoxes that will scramble your brain, like Newcomb's dilemma, the Surprise Quiz, or the Liar's Paradox, and what they teach us about rationality, logic, and language.
- The best arguments for and against God, like the Kalam Cosmological Argument or the Problem of Evil, and how they make us question our most fundamental ideas about reality.
- Problems at the very foundations of cosmology and quantum mechanics that have physicists scratching their heads, such as the Schrodinger cat and the Boltzmann Brain problem.
- Reviews of arguments for their positions offered by prominent intellectuals and public figures to see if they stand up to scrutiny.
- Tips on how to spot and clearly point out fallacies in bad arguments and how to make your own arguments unimpeachable.
So if you like these kinds of topics, join me in exploring the mindspace continuum. Please feel free to offer comments and suggestions for future topics, or questions about any point I didn't explain very well, I'll be happy to hear from you. And if you disagree with some point I make and think I made a mistake, let me know too, I welcome a learning opportunity, or I might have a good answer to the objection.