Is Earth Being Monitored By Aliens? | Robin Hanson

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Is Earth being monitored by an advanced civilization one million years ahead of us? And does this alien civilization actually share an ancient past with humanity? Economist Robin Hanson explores a provocative theory suggesting that highly evolved extraterrestrials may be subtly observing us—either as caretakers or as part of a long-running experiment. From there, the conversation delves into the intricacies of academic funding and the peer review process.

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Links Mentioned:
- Robin’s blog: https://www.overcomingbias.com/
- Robin’s profile: https://economics.gmu.edu/people/rhanson
- Robin’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Age-Em-Work-Robots-Earth/dp/0198754620
- Tyler Cowen on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwieLd7Lyc8&ab_channel=CurtJaimungal
- Gregory Chaitin on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoEuav8G6sY
- Matthew Segal on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeTm4fSXpbM
- Daniel Van Zant’s article on incentive markets: https://www.danielvanzant.com/p/breakthrough-incentive-markets
- Michael Levin on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8iFtaltX-s
- Lue Elizondo on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAmFlLfsZKM
- Ross Coulthart on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQnGcX7oxms

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:36 - The Great Filter
05:38 - Where Are The Aliens?
09:13 - UFOs
16:50 - Panspermia
23:05 - Alien Hierarchies
27:30 - Alien Culture & Motivations
33:18 - Probability of Aliens
39:18 - Truth
49:41 - Fall of Academia
01:11:27 - Peer Review
01:20:22 - Ranking Ideas
01:23:09 - The System is “Broken”

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#science #aliens
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Exploring theoretical physics, consciousness, Ai, and God in a technically rigorous manner. If you'd like to support this endeavor, then please visit the Patreon ( https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal ). Thank you for your charitable and kindhearted support. My name's Curt Jaimungal, a Torontonian with a degree in mathematical physics from the University of Toronto and I analyze various Theories of Everything from this analytic perspective, though more and more opening up to alternative approaches. The separating factor of TOE from other podcasts is its focus on depth even at the risk of limiting the audience due to how much detail we delve into subjects. Paralleling the intensity found in academic discourse, we're increasingly embracing a spectrum of unconventional ideas to conduct research during this podcast, rather than merely conveying existing information. Contact toe [at] indiefilmTO [dot] com for business inquiries / sponsorship.

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• Latest episode: 2025-06-06
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