This podcast episode explores topics relating to human cognition, language, communication, and the limits of understanding. It discusses the potential of establishing a shared language with extraterrestrial beings and highlights the structure and importance of human language. The episode also examines the boundaries of human cognition, the impact of television on society, and the potential for cognitive expansion. It delves into the deep properties of language and the limitations of deep learning in language understanding. Additionally, it explores the relationship between institutions and human nature. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into these diverse areas of study and encourages listeners to contemplate the boundaries and mysteries surrounding human cognition and communication.
Takeaways
• There is a possibility of establishing a common language or protocol of communication with alien species, based on the principles of arithmetic and shared properties of natural language.
• Language is both an internal system in our mind and an external means of communication, and understanding its structure and properties can shed light on human cognition.
• Language is deeply rooted in our genetic endowment and plays a fundamental role in human cognitive nature, enabling us to construct and express thoughts.
• Human cognition has limits and boundaries, and our understanding of the world may always have mysteries beyond our grasp.
• Television sets are a common part of our daily lives and understanding their features, functions, and historical background can deepen our knowledge of their role in society.
• The potential for cognitive expansion exists, but it should be seen as an expansion within existing capacities rather than a fundamentally new expansion.
• Language exhibits structure dependence, relying on the relationship between words and their positions in a sentence, and our brains are capable of complex computations on hidden structural information.
• Deep learning in language understanding has made significant progress in the past decade, but it lacks the ability to provide insights into the nature of language and may focus more on engineering rather than scientific understanding.
• Institutions in society are not inherent to human nature but are a mode through which human nature is expressed and shaped by historical contingency. The interplay between institutions and human nature is crucial in understanding the dynamics of society.
