Ask A Genius 1327: Strangling a Moment for a Moment of Coherence

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Dogs, go. Rick Rosner: We have two dogs. One just turned 12, the other 14 and a half. Dogs are mortal, and they decline quickly. The 12-year-old has some hearing and vision loss. You can't ask how she feels, but she seems crankier. The 14-and-a-half-year-old is sprightly, skinny, and peppy. She's happy …

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Ask A Genius 1326: Informational Cosmology, Entropy, and the Future of the Universe

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Could you use entropy in informational cosmology as something akin to a universal clock? Rick Rosner: You can. In Big Bang cosmology, entropy can be interpreted as a clock. However, both Big Bang cosmology and the laws of thermodynamics may fundamentally misunderstand how entropy and thermodynamics behave on tiny scales and over …

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Ask A Genius 1325: Interim Canadian Prime Minister on U.S. Relations and Trump’s Legacy

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Any preliminary steps before I give the quote? Rick Rosner: No. It's just that we have a bad guy in charge of the country. So, Prime Minister Carney is the interim Canadian Prime Minister after Justin Trudeau. How does that work? He's not the permanent Prime Minister? Do you guys have to …

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Ask A Genius 1324: Entropy, Information, and Cosmological Models

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Why do you think the universe might last for trillions of years? And if it does last that long, what would that imply for the net informational history of the universe? Rick Rosner: It's likely far beyond just trillions of years. Depending on what we mean—whether it's heat death, proton decay, black …

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Ask A Genius 1323: Quantum Entanglement, Informational Cosmology, and the Limits of Computation

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What are the fundamental implications of quantum computing and information in informational cosmology? Rick Rosner: I do not know much about the mathematics of entangled computation. It involves working with highly entangled quantum states, which allow certain classes of problems to be solved more efficiently than with classical computers when used in quantum computers. …

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Ask A Genius 1322: U.S.–China Conflict, Cyber War, and the Rise of AI Power

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Do you think the U.S. will be at war with China? I do not mean economic war. Economic tariffs can be considered an act of war in certain contexts. So these actions—not only highly provocative and destabilizing, potentially shredding decades-long alliances—could be seen as acts of war, especially by countries that are …

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Ask A Genius 1321: The Impact of AI on Human Intelligence and Modern Entertainment

Rick Rosner: So, Carole is a little nervous. She's been reading about people getting deported or denied entry for expressing pro-Palestinian views—which is disturbing. But we're not at the point where they're deporting citizens, at least not routinely. I told Carole to keep that in mind. We're not there yet. But if she thinks we …

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Ask A Genius 1320: Writing Murder In Media Res, Stephen King, and Storytelling

Rick Rosner: So, off-camera, I was saying, "Have you ever heard of the principle in media res?" I'm probably pronouncing it wrong, but it means to start in the middle of the action. The way it usually works is that you're writing a story—a book, a screenplay—and then someone who knows better than you looks …

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Ask A Genius 1319: The Pope, Fascism, and Church-Adjacent Collectibles

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How should we think of the Pope in his valedictory period? Do we see him in the context of his history, or is it something else? Rick Rosner: I like him because he used to be a bouncer, and he seems like a cool guy. At the same time, he hasn’t been …

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Ask A Genius 1318: Dog Cancer, Senolytics, and Anomalies in Big Bang Cosmology

Rick Rosner: One of the dogs turned 14. The other one turned 12—according to best estimates. You never  know with dogs. The 14-year-old has a tumor growing off the top of her right rear leg. The vet thinks it might be a fibrosarcoma. But she’s 14. She’s happy. She’s doing well. It would cost $10,000 …

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