Lex Fridman at the Joe Rogan Experience [audio]

criticaltinker 2021-08-19 15:04:53 +0000 UTC [ - ]

For others wondering who Lex Fridman is:

> Lex Fridman is a computer scientist and AI researcher at MIT, podcaster, and online public personality. His topics of research include artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, human-robot interaction and machine learning at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [1][2][3]

Can anyone provide a summary of the discussion with Joe Rogan?

[1] https://wikitia.com/wiki/Lex_Fridman

[2] https://lexfridman.com/

[3] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wZH_N7cAAAAJ

raptortech 2021-08-19 15:35:44 +0000 UTC [ - ]

This description of Lex Fridman's research is generous. If you listen to his own podcast (previously called the Artificial Intelligence podcast, now the Lex Fridman Podcast), you'll find that he has a knack for missing the deeper insights of guests discussing those very fields of research.

yellowcake0 2021-08-19 17:05:36 +0000 UTC [ - ]

It's unfortunate that as he's become more popular his interviews have become increasingly self-indulgent and vapid.

Maybe it's to appeal to a wider audience, however I think more likely it's just a negative consequence of fame. With a lack of honest feedback you start to buy into your own bullshit, thinking that every personal idea you have is some profound philosophical insight, rather than the type of affected navel-gazing done by people who fancy themselves public intellectuals.

imaginariet 2021-08-19 15:52:30 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I've read that on his subreddit you get banned if you mention that he got his PhD from Drexel.

thomask0 2021-08-19 16:35:59 +0000 UTC [ - ]

His main contribution at MIT was dodgy studies that shill for Tesla... https://www.thedrive.com/tech/27359/mit-study-showing-high-f...

AlbertCory 2021-08-19 15:33:37 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Thanks. I'm sure this is worth listening to, but it's a much larger investment in time than reading over a transcript.

Having tried the automated transcription services on my own podcast, I know that they suck. You have to pay someone to at least fix them up, if not just transcribe the whole thing from scratch. So I'm not blaming anyone for not having a transcript immediately.

TheCuriousGuy 2021-08-19 15:36:29 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Hey @AlbertCory,

How would having a transcript save you time? Wouldn't it take more or less the same amount of time (+/- 25%) to read through the transcript? Would you rather CTRL+F for a few terms? Or just quickly glance through it?

Asking, because I'm interested in the podcast space overall.

Thanks.

AlbertCory 2021-08-19 16:16:59 +0000 UTC [ - ]

As the sibling says: I can skim over the boring, boilerplate stuff ("thanks for having me") much faster in a transcript.

Since I can see the whole thing, it's much easier to skip down to the more interesting stuff, or realize that there isn't any.

imaginariet 2021-08-19 15:38:55 +0000 UTC [ - ]

You would be surprised, but reading a transcript is much faster than listening, even on speedup (1.25x, 1.5x, )

You can also quickly scan ahead, or reread a sentence. Navigating audio is harder.

UnpossibleJim 2021-08-19 15:32:10 +0000 UTC [ - ]

This is a pretty light on math/AI podcast in the series of podcasts between Rogan and Fridman. Some small talk about Boston Dynamics and Elon Musk, but more discussion surrounding Renzo Gracie and Wim Hof (sp?), if I'm recalling correctly.

It was not my favorite discussion between the two, but they did touch on the Russian education system, which was kind of interesting. I enjoy Rogan when he has scientists and comedians on as he usually lets them talk on the subjects they are interested in, but Lex Fridman seemed to want to discuss the Topics that Rogan was interested in, which was a little disappointing.

imaginariet 2021-08-19 15:49:44 +0000 UTC [ - ]

The first half is like:

Lex: vaccines are good

Rogan: maybe, but they are for weak unhealthy people. I'm healthy and fit. Also, long term side-effects

Lex: but we don't know the long-term side effects of covid either

Rogan: yeah. I'll just take it like a man. Also, why nobody speaks about vitamins, exercise, why they only speak about vaccines

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 15:32:33 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Regardless of whom he has on why are we giving Joe Rogan oxygen here.

NullPrefix 2021-08-19 15:36:02 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Yes. Let's not waste time on the message because the messenger is not of the correct political faction.

sudosysgen 2021-08-19 15:47:32 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Joe Rogan doesn't even have a political faction beyond that of his latest guest really.

I don't think it's about politics, Joe Rogan is just very low SNR unless you're tuning in to a particular guest.

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 15:46:07 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Basically I view the Republicans as either nazis or people willing to bed down with nazis so yes I agree we shouldn't waste time on such people.

Sholmesy 2021-08-19 15:48:38 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Joe Rogan does not identify with the Republican party, I believe he voted Democrat in the last election.

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 15:58:58 +0000 UTC [ - ]

>I can’t vote for that guy. I’d rather vote for Trump than [Biden]. I don’t think he can handle anything. You’re relying entirely on his cabinet. If you want to talk about an individual leader who can communicate, he can’t do that. And we don’t know what the f— he’ll be like after a year in office.’

Joe Rogan repeating outright lies about Biden being senile and incapable of communication in order to justify voting for a man he himself has called dangerous and a moron. What do you call a person who proclaims he's voting for a dangerous moron?

imaginariet 2021-08-19 15:54:27 +0000 UTC [ - ]

So the half of US who voted Republicans, including a lot of black people and latino people are nazis or willing to bed down with them?

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 16:04:11 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Half the US didn't vote for Republicans its more like 47% overwhelmingly tilted towards white men especially those with no educational achievement.

Looking back over the last 41 years at least of my life as a white man I would have been substantially better off if white men couldn't vote. It's embarrassing and yes these people including neighbors, some family even are bad people willing to bed down with nazis.

imaginariet 2021-08-19 16:05:57 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Good catch correcting me that 47% is not half.

Are you saying that the votes of uneducated people should be worth less than those of college educated people?

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 16:16:50 +0000 UTC [ - ]

I'm saying that objectively people who are privileged by existing broken systems and people who are uneducated both make bad choices.

If we made college free I would absolutely be OK with making completing a degree a prerequisite to being allowed to vote along with an IQ test every 10 years excluding people under 90 and a pop quiz on current events where people who couldn't answer such questions as who their senators are would see their vote go straight in the trash.

Excluding people who are lazy, stupid, or ignorant would result in a better decision making process. None of this is politically possible.

imaginariet 2021-08-19 16:28:04 +0000 UTC [ - ]

> people who couldn't answer such questions as who their senators are would see their vote go straight in the trash

Your proposal would send to the trash the votes of 90% of black people. How progressive...

> Only 16 percent of Latinos and 10 percent of African-Americans were able to correctly identify one senator from his or her home state

> 77 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 could not name one senator in his or her home state

https://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/poll-millennials-stat...

Maybe we should just remove voting altogether and just have 20 PhDs from Harvard/Standford/Yale and MIT decide who should run the country to avoid the unwashed masses decide such an important aspect of our life.

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 16:55:55 +0000 UTC [ - ]

How can people who don't even know who they are voting for until they go in a booth and see whose name has an R or a D by it possibly pick good leaders?

If in a century people are living in the carcass of civilization will we celebrate that we achieved our ruin progressively or inclusively?

Let's be real though people aren't worried about being progressive they are more apt to worried because they support a political party that could never survive without the ignorant and the stupid.

If only people with college degrees who actually made a minimal effort to follow non Facebook meme politics could vote the republicans would only be competitive vs the green party.

NullPrefix 2021-08-19 16:06:24 +0000 UTC [ - ]

My only critique is that by labelling everyone a Nazi we are washing out the Nazi label, thus enabling future establishment of the actual Nazis, because everyone will think that those future Nazis are no worse than Joe Rogans of today.

nodesocket 2021-08-19 15:35:52 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Because diversity of thought, but sounds like you are happy being a sheep.

ThrowInTheOven 2021-08-19 15:42:42 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Yeah, we should probably throw everyone in the oven who doesn't adhere to our worldview. /s

I sometimes wonder who the news is talking about re: fascism, but then I see it here: talking about not giving someone oxygen on HN who YOU don't agree with. Everyone must comply!!!!

Perhaps you need to calm down?

michaelmrose 2021-08-19 15:50:34 +0000 UTC [ - ]

My statement was as measured and calm as this one is as contrasted with you creating a throwaway exclusively to freak out and post this rabid screed with an over the top analogy, followed by a sentence with 4 exclamation points, followed by an exhortation for me to calm down.

Don't create throwaways in order to post verbal seizures.

warning26 2021-08-19 15:36:37 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Agreed, Joe Rogan is, at best, a somewhat misleading entertainer, and at worst an evil propagandist. It should be a crime to give him airtime.