Roger Penrose: Physics of Consciousness and the Infinite Universe | Lex Fridman Podcast #85

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

March 31, 2020

Duration

1h 27m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

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📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Roger Penrose is physicist, mathematician, and philosopher at University of Oxford. He has made fundamental contributions in many disciplines from the mathematical physics of general relativity and cosmology to the limitations of a computational view of consciousness. Support this podcast by signing up with these sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS: Cycles of Time (book): https://amzn.to/39tXtpp The Emperor's New Mind (book): https://amzn.to/2yfeVkD PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 3:51 - 2001: A Space Odyssey 9:43 - Consciousness and computation 23:45 - What does it mean to "understand" 31:37 - What's missing in quantum mechanics? 40:09 - Whatever consciousness is, it's not a computation 44:13 - Source of consciousness in the human brain 1:02:57 - Infinite cycles of big bangs 1:22:05 - Most beautiful idea in mathematics CONNECT:

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🎤 SPEAKERS

• Lex Fridman

  host

• Roger Penrose

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Roger Penrose, Roger Penrose: Physics of Consciousness and the Infinite Universe | Lex Fridman Podcast #85 explores roger Penrose challenges computable mind, reimagines cosmos before Big Bang Roger Penrose and Lex Fridman explore why consciousness, understanding, and intelligence may not be reducible to computation, drawing on Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, brain anatomy, and quantum mechanics. Penrose argues that key aspects of mind involve non-computable physics, possibly linked to quantum state reduction orchestrated in neuronal microtubules. They also discuss the limits of current quantum theory, Penrose’s proposal that gravity modifies quantum mechanics, and his conformal cyclic cosmology, where our Big Bang follows a prior cosmic “eon.” The conversation closes on the deep connection between mathematical beauty, physical law, and enduring questions about meaning, awareness, and why anything exists at all.

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