AI ranked Karl Friston 'the most influential brain scientist in the world' and he's been called a genius by WIRED magazine, but many find his work mysterious. Here Andrea Hiott and Karl Friston get into the heart of it all and surprisingly find that flow is the real secret.
In the context of the theme of ‘beyond division’, the melody running through this conversation between Andrea Hiott and Karl is the concept of 'flow' and how it relates to making the right choices within a constantly changing world. They explore Friston's significant contributions, including active inference and the free energy principle, discussing how these models might provide a first-principles account of sentient behavior. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, from the mathematics and neuroscience behind Friston's theories to practical implications in understanding human behavior and consciousness. The episode also touches on the theme of interconnectedness, emphasizing the importance of listening, empathy, and holding paradoxes to understand the patterns that connect various scales of life and cognition.
00:00 Introduction to Flow and Existence
02:42 Welcome to Love and Philosophy
02:53 Holiday Episode and One-Year Anniversary
03:59 Introducing Karl Friston and His Work
04:32 Understanding the Free Energy Principle
04:59 The Intersection of Math, Neuroscience, and Everyday Life
12:24 Karl Friston's Journey and Contributions
21:16 The Role of Psychiatry in Karl's Career
24:34 The Disconnection Hypothesis in Schizophrenia
29:53 The Evolution of Brain Imaging
36:17 The Importance of Brain Imaging Software
39:07 Statistical Parametric Mapping Explained
41:27 Functional Segregation and Integration
42:36 Dynamic Causal Modeling and Connectivity
43:00 Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM)
44:18 The Paradigm Shift in Cognitive Neuroscience
49:43 The Free Energy Principle and Active Inference
50:34 Unconscious Inference and Bayesian Belief
58:53 Thermostats vs. Human Cognition
01:06:44 Affordances and the Free Energy Principle
01:20:02 Scale Invariance and the Free Energy Principle
01:22:23 Entropy and Energy in Thermodynamics
01:23:39 Understanding Sensory Entropy
01:25:47 Maximizing Variational Entropy
01:29:25 Fractals and Multiscale Patterns
01:35:02 Hierarchies in the Brain
01:46:40 Generative Models and Perspective
01:52:46 Social Neuroscience and Group Dynamics
01:57:40 The Importance of Listening and Empathy
02:00:46 Reflections and New Year Resolutions
History of the Future
Karl Friston Google Scholar
Active Inference Institute
An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values
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photo Kate Peters
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