Ask A Genius 743: Socrates Quote

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: “Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior” That was obviously not Aristotle; he had very different views to Plato.  Rick Rosner: How old is that quote? Well anyway, that brings up all sorts of issues including the issue that got the chancellor of Harvard fired 20 years ago, …

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Ask A Genius 742: William Congreve

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: The quote – “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” - William Congreve. Rick Rosner: I'm not super qualified to address this because we just had our 31st wedding anniversary plus we've been in couples counseling for like 27 years …

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Ask A Genius 741: Electrons as a Theory We Use

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: The electron is a theory we use. It is so useful in understanding the way nature works that we can almost call it real. Rick Rosner: Is that Feynman again?  Jacobsen: Yes. Rosner: So, that's his pragmatism again. As a kid, he would fix people's early radios. So he's a …

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Ask A Genius 740: Feynman Again, Mr., Seriously

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: It’s Feynman again. ““From a long view of the history of mankind, seen from, say, ten thousand years from now, there can be little doubt that the most significant event of the 19th century will be judged as Maxwell's discovery of the laws of electrodynamics. The American Civil War will …

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Ask A Genius 739: Iphigenie auf Tauris from 1787

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: This is from Goethe; Iphigenie auf Tauris from 1787. Number two; the quote is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – “Life teaches us to be less harsh with ourselves and with others.”  Rick Rosner: Life teaches us to be to be less harsh with ourselves than with others. Jacobsen: And with …

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Ask A Genius 738: Turing Test in the Interim

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, you've been thinking about the Turing test since we last talked. It's been a little bit. I've been at competition level equestrianism for show jumping and eventing.  Rick Rosner: Yeah, you've been tending to fancy horses and people. Jacobsen: Correct, this is a whole other side of things we …

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Ask A Genius 736: Democrats Control the Presidency

[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: Right now in America obviously, the Democrats control the presidency and barely the House and by an even thinner margin the Senate and something like more than 80% of the time the party who has the presidency loses seats in the House and often in the Senate. So what you see …

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Ask A Genius 734: Russians Dead at War

[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Is the Russo-Ukrainian War costing the Russians a lot?  Rick Rosner: Yeah. Between the Russians lying about everything and just the uncertainty of war, we don't know how many Russians have died in this. Estimates as of last week were at least 10,000 Russian troops out of 150000 to 200000, …

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