06 | Victor Tong | On Cancer Research

07 | Elizabeth Van Nostrand | Pandemics, Systemic Risk & Effective Government

Elizabeth Van Nostrand is a researcher and writer. She has a past in software engineering, and currently works as a freelance researcher. In addition, she’s figuring out better ways to make sense of the world through her Epistemic Spot Checks [https://acesounderglass.com/2019/12/11/hows-that-epistemic-spot-check-project-coming/] and Knowledge Bootstrapping [https://acesounderglass.com/the-knowledge-bootstrapping-project/] projects. We talk about COVID-19 policies, our capability to handle future pandemics, as well as global systemic risks in general. Links: Elizabeth’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/acesounderglass [https://twitter.com/acesounderglass] Elizabeth's Website: https://acesounderglass.com/ [https://acesounderglass.com/] Epistemic Spot Checks: https://acesounderglass.com/2019/12/11/hows-that-epistemic-spot-check-project-coming/ [https://acesounderglass.com/2019/12/11/hows-that-epistemic-spot-check-project-coming/] Knowledge Bootstrapping: https://acesounderglass.com/the-knowledge-bootstrapping-project/ [https://acesounderglass.com/the-knowledge-bootstrapping-project/] Joe Norman tweet: https://twitter.com/normonics/status/1420872395464785921 [https://twitter.com/normonics/status/1420872395464785921] microCOVID Project: https://www.microcovid.org/ [https://www.microcovid.org/] Chaos monkey: https://www.gremlin.com/chaos-monkey/ [https://www.gremlin.com/chaos-monkey/] Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/savsidorov [https://twitter.com/savsidorov] My Blog: https://savsidorov.substack.com/ [https://savsidorov.substack.com/] My Website: https://savsidorov.com/ [https://savsidorov.com/]

06 | Victor Tong | On Cancer Research

Victor is a doctoral student at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, studying cancer biology. We talk about his journey through academia, the state of cancer research, and topics in biology in general. Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 2:28 - Journey through academia 19:03 - Mentorship 23:02 - The Cancer Science Institute of Singapore 25:34 - The “Cure for Cancer” 34:49 - What causes cancer? 46:00 - Evolution & adaptation 1:02:44 - Death 1:16:07 - “Fishing” in research 1:28:17 - Reproducibility 1:43:26 - Thoughts on career and the future 1:48:00 - RNA 1:54:30 - Why do science? 1:58:42 - Advice to your younger self Victor’s Email: victor7.tong@gmail.com Papers: ‘The Hallmarks of Cancer’ [https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(00)81683-9] ‘Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation’ [https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(11)00127-9] ‘1,500 scientists lift the lid on reproducibility’ [https://www.nature.com/articles/533452a] ‘Reserve Capacity Hypothesis’ [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0531556502000128] Find me on Twitter [https://twitter.com/savsidorov] My Blog [https://savsidorov.substack.com/] My Website [https://savsidorov.com/]

05 | Yasmeen Hmaidan | Building the Brain-Interfacing Future

Yasmeen is a student and researcher at the University of Toronto, studying neuroscience, computer science and mathematics. We talk about our current understanding of the brain, and how we can use those insights to build cool tech.   Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 3:38 - “Why are you into the brain?” 8:55 - Cryonics 18:39 - Advances in BCIs 22:00 - Frictionless technology & tighter feedback loops 31:22 - Invasive vs noninvasive BCIs 43:11 - The current state of neuroscience 56:35 - The “200 year BCI goal” 1:28:44 - Urbit   Links: Yasmeen’s Twitter [https://twitter.com/yasmeenbrain]   Yasmeen's Github [https://github.com/YasPHP] Yasmeen’s Podcast, The Brain Pod [https://twitter.com/thebrainpod] Find me on Twitter [https://twitter.com/savsidorov]   My Substack Blog   [https://savsidorov.substack.com] savsidorov.com [https://savsidorov.com]

04 | Alexey Guzey | Improving the Structures of Science

Alexey is a researcher, founder, and writer. He recently founded New Science, an organization that aims to build new institutions and improve the structures of science. We talk about New Science, his blog, and his journey to where he is today. Links: Alexey’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexeyguzey [https://twitter.com/alexeyguzey] Alexey's Website: https://guzey.com/ [https://guzey.com/] New Science: https://newscience.org/   [https://newscience.org/ ] DONATE to New Science: https://newscience.org/donate/ [https://newscience.org/donate/] 'From Eros to Gaia' by Freeman Dyson: https://www.amazon.com/Eros-Gaia-Penguin-Science/dp/0140174230/ [https://www.amazon.com/Eros-Gaia-Penguin-Science/dp/0140174230/] Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/savsidorov [https://twitter.com/savsidorov] My Blog: https://savsidorov.substack.com/ [https://savsidorov.substack.com/] My Website: https://savsidorov.com/ [https://savsidorov.com/]

03 | Chen Wang | Nototo, a Spacial Workspace

Chen is the co-founder of Nototo — a collaborative, spacial workspace. We talk about his journey, from dropping out of university to living in Silicon Valley, about Nototo and how it fits into the broader ‘Tools for Thought’ software landscape, and about the impact that communities have in shaping your thinking. The essays mentioned in this episode: * ‘Can You Hear Me Now? [https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/12/01/can-you-hear-me-now/]’ * ‘Domestic Cozy [https://www.ribbonfarm.com/series/domestic-cozy/]’ Chen’s Twitter: @___________chen [https://twitter.com/___________chen] Join Nototo’s waitlist at: nototo.app [https://nototo.app/] Find me on Twitter: @savsidorov [https://twitter.com/savsidorov] My Blog: savsidorov.substack.com [https://savsidorov.substack.com/] My Website: savsidorov.com [https://savsidorov.com/]