[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: If you could have a conversation with any historical figure who has passed away, who would you choose and why? Rick Rosner: I think I'd prefer to speak with a renowned physicist, perhaps someone like Einstein or Hawking. My main interest would be to discuss my views on the universe …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 691: Conversations with the Dead
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: We've previously touched on the topic of the internet's role in the decline of the war against pornography. People younger than me might not fully grasp the evolution of what constituted pornography. Just like entertainment has diversified to include increasingly outrageous content, so has pornography. It's evolved from the innocuous 'cheesecake …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 690: Pornography and Predilections
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: Let's delve into the topic of the nature of future entertainment and how it caters to minds filled with information. Think about how humor has evolved. Decades ago, jokes were simple and widely comprehensible. Henny Youngman’s ‘Take my wife, please!’ is a classic example. Humor was based on straightforward scenarios. But …
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Let's hear your take on this topic. Could you provide some background? Rick Rosner: Sure. You mentioned buying a shock-proof watch today, jokingly saying it could protect you from a horse kick at your job with horses. This reminds me of an incident with Teddy Roosevelt. Before one of his …
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How do you value health and longevity, particularly in the context of the current pandemic? Rick Rosner: Well, my wife works at a private school in LA County, and the situation here illustrates the complex valuation of health and longevity. Currently, about one in every 225 people in LA County …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 687: Covid and Longevity, and Health
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What would make your theory of Informational Cosmology (IC) incorrect? Rick Rosner: I've been pondering this lately, as I've had some second thoughts. Several factors could potentially invalidate Informational Cosmology. Firstly, we understand that the universe is fundamentally composed of information, or at least the information that defines it. The …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 686: Physics of Creation and Annihilation
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: With the impact of Covid on everyone's schedules, including mine in the publishing world, how has it affected your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly activities? Rick Rosner: The pandemic has significantly altered my routine. Most of my work, to the extent that I do work, is done at home. However, …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 685: Messed Up Covid Schedules
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Let's discuss the concept of empathy fatigue, particularly in the context of diminished sympathy for Americans contracting Covid. This topic came up in a recent article I wrote, where part of the title was “ignorant and proud of it”. This phrase, reminiscent of Mencken, is far from compassionate. It reflects …
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You mentioned reading a book yesterday and shared some initial thoughts. What are your further impressions after reading more of it tonight? Rick Rosner: I'm now about two-thirds through the book, and it seems to be divided into two major parts. The first part covers events from 15 years ago, …
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Can you share the history of your house? Rick Rosner: Sure. Earlier, off tape, you asked about the room I'm in, probably noticing the different acoustics. I'm in the dining room of our house, built in 1966 when homes still had traditional layouts like a living room, dining room, dinette, …
Rick Rosner 