Rational Mind

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Very few scientific discoveries receive widespread public interest. But the gene editing technique known as CRISPR -Cas has been the subject of intense public discussion.. The idea of being able to directly manipulate the genome of living organisms, including humans, evokes feelings of excitement, anticipation, and concern.

CRISPR -CAS is the science that will give us the ability to cure rare and common diseases including AIDS and cancer. It allows us to increase agricultural yield in the face of a changing climate, to revive extinct species, get rid of malaria, or even enhance human health and longevity.

When it comes to genetic technology, most people are quick to form an opinion or stick to a position. But how many of us have actually dusted off their biology books and gone deep into the new scientific findings, in order to fully understand this new technology, with its potentials and limitations? Shouldn’t understanding be the basis of any debate or discussion? This technology has the potential to change humanity in profound ways. Isn’t it worth truly knowing what is happening, before public opinion once again shapes public policy in ways that hinder rather than facilitate progress?

There are so many questions about gene editing and specifically CRISPR. What is it? How does it work? What has it already been used for? What are the potential and promising applications? What are the dangers? Are designer babies a real thing? How do we deal with all this?

Join us in this episode of Rational Mind as we explore the answers to all these questions.

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Space technology is making headlines recently. Commercial rockets, satellite mega-constellations, space tourism, Mars rovers. But the recent progress builds on decades of breakthroughs and space exploration. In fact, there is so much going on that it seems difficult to have a complete picture. In order to best map historical, current and future milestones of the modern space age, let’s start from closer to Earth.

Space exploration is the ultimate frontier in human exploration. Seeing Earth from space helps us realise that we are all onboard this beautiful blue ship and we must take care of it. This space perspective will be one of the benefits of space travel, which is becoming more and more a reality as commercial operators develop new space travel techniques.

This episode is an overview of everything you need to know about space exploration - past and future.

https://www.rationalmind.show/critical-thinking

Psychedelics. A word that conjures the most diverse images, from mushrooms, ancient rituals, magical vision and, also, recreational drugs - if not illegal drugs of abuse. But in the last decade, a new light has been cast over psychedelic substances: a safe and effective medical treatment for mental health disorders such as treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, OCD and addiction.

A new wave of discoveries, spearheaded by psychedelics, are about to revolutionize how we treat mental health forever. This episode takes you through the history and future of psychedelic medicine.

https://www.rationalmind.show/critical-thinking
Emergence is one of the most important - and least understood - concepts underlying our world and our future.
In its simplest definition, emergence is the manifestation of the properties of a system which do not belong to its individual constituents and are the result of these constituents operating together and at scale. Once the concept of emergence is clear, we can recognise it in so many instances: how water molecules do not possess the quality of wetness, but water does, or how a table possesses the property of solidity which emerges from its molecular structure.
Beyond material concepts, one could harness the power of this concept to explain how things such as consciousness emerge from the neurological interactions in the brain; or even to try and come up with new computational methods that emerge from the simple interactions of numerous “dumb robots”.
Furthermore, understanding how to mathematically model emergence could lead to breakthroughs in our mapping of natural patterns and also to mastery of complex technologies such as artificial intelligence. Intrigued to find out more? Don’t forget to watch this extremely unique episode, probably the most comprehensive coverage of emergence out there today.

https://www.rationalmind.show/critical-thinking

Do you want to live forever? Ageing has always been considered an unavoidable feature of the human condition. And the wish to be forever young has been considered madness. In the last 150 years advancements in science and technology have doubled human life expectancy, by fighting disease and improving nutrition and quality of life.

However, this did not eliminate ageing. In fact, now that we live longer, the global population is ageing more and more. The question is, do we really need to age? Could we extend our healthy lifespan and even reverse ageing? Many scientists, in light of recent discoveries, seem to believe this will be possible sooner than we think.

https://www.rationalmind.show/critical-thinking

We often hear the term “decentralization,” nowadays. We most often hear it used in reference to technologies such as blockchain, or in regards to public policies. “Decentralized”sounds like a simple adjective describing something that is, well, not centralized. And yet the term itself is not just describing an attribute of a technology or a policy.

Decentralization actually describes whole processes that have occurred throughout the entire course of human civilization. In fact, decentralization events can be recognized as major paradigm shifts in history. And today, this concept is more relevant than ever, in helping us make sense of the world around us and the macro-trends of rapid change we are experiencing.

So what exactly are we talking about? What is decentralization? Is it good or bad? And how does this help us navigate the modern world?

Discover all this on more on this episode of Rational Mind, Decentralization.

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When thinking about revolutionary technology, agriculture is not something that immediately comes to mind. And yet, the ability to domesticate plants and yield abundant food from the land is what gave rise to civilizations. At first, producing more food was just a matter of expanding farmland. But then, populations started growing at seemingly too fast of a pace.

Brilliant minds often predicted mass famine when the growth of the world’s population threatened to outstrip our ability to produce food for everyone. In fact, the world population went from 1 billion in 1800 to almost 8 billion today, while abject poverty went from 95% to 10%, and average calorie consumption more than doubled. And from 1969 to 2021 global hunger declined by more than 50%.

But the challenge remains: we must continue expanding our ability to feed a growing population. We must figure out how to eradicate hunger for the 10% of humans who still experience it on a daily basis. And we must do so in a way that minimizes pollution and damage to the planet.

But what is the answer? Using more land? Is that even possible? Organic farming - but could that be done at mass scale? What about GMO’s - which scare so many people? And how do we protect our environment and the planet’s rich biodiversity, while feeding more than nine billion or more humans?

Pietro Boselli investigates the future of Energy in the first episode of Rational Mind.
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Free guide: Rationalmind.show/critical-thinking

How do we provide energy for our growing population whilst protecting the environment?

Should we eliminate fossil fuels? Are solar and wind the answer? The solution is probably not what you think.

Pietro Boselli investigates in the first episode of Rational Mind.
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📚 Download our free critical thinking ebook and learn the framework for how to think in a way that can lead to progress and cooperation 📚

Free guide: Rationalmind.show/critical-thinking