Thinking On Paper Technology Podcast

AI and the Illusion of Intelligence: Born to Think │ Pia Lauritzen

AI can answer your questions faster than any human. It can write your emails, help you code, and shape the way you see the world - and the people in it. But from the very beginning, AI was designed to deceive you. This is the story of asking and answering questions, of the difference between being born to think and being built to think. Ultimately, it’s about the power of questions: how they connect us and divide us, where curiosity meets manipulation, and why we may be losing the muscle for real wonder in the age of prompting. Pia Lauritzen Thinks On Paper with Mark and Jeremy Gilbertson. She’s asked and analyzed over 30,000 questions from people across languages and cultures.  She’s a philosopher, TEDx speaker, Forbes writer and a philosopher of the question. Tune in and you’ll learn why we default to “what” and “how,” why “why” is so rare (and so radical), and how every question transfers responsibility. And then we go to the bible. Who asked the first question? And what can we learn about Adam and Eve and the pesky snake that changed the course of fictional humanity. There are dancing with question analogies, the dispelling of myths - adults don’t lose their questioning instincts, they just hide them. Because of fear, ridicule, ego. And finally, once the stage has been set like a Shakespearean play, the crux of it all: AI can’t think for you; blank pages matters; struggle is not a bug but a feature, and how the real test isn’t in the machine, but in your ability to hold onto what makes questioning, and not-knowing, uniquely human. Please enjoy the show. And click subscribe, it’s the best way for other curious minds like you to find our show. And remember: Stay curious. Be disruptive.  Keep Thinking on Paper. Cheers,  Mark & Jeremy -- Other ways to connect with us: * ⁠Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] * Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/] * Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] * Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfielding99/] * Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] * Read our ⁠Substack⁠ [https://disruptorsandcuriousminds.substack.com/] * Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz] -- TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Trailer (03:28) 30,000 Questions & the What/How Bias (07:38) Questions That Connect vs Questions That Manipulate (09:59) Do We Really Lose Our Curiosity? (14:21) How to Start Better Conversations  (18:40) Conversation as a Thinking Space (19:46) Why We Lead with Polarising Topics  (20:35) How School Trains Us to Have Answers, Not Questions (22:22) Rethinking Education in the Age of AI (25:22) AI in the Classroom: Tool, Threat or Opportunity? (30:07) Why AI Can’t Help Us Think (32:55) The Essence of Technology, AI Deception & the Turing Test (38:17) What Could Humans Be in an Age of AI?

The First Neutron Star Discovery: Jocelyn Burnell, Aliens And The Lost Nobel Prize

What makes neutron stars so fascinating that they once fooled astronomers into thinking they were aliens?  In this episode of Thinking On Paper, we sit down with Katia moskvitch, science journalist and author, to explore the wild discoveries and cosmic mysteries around pulsars and the densest objects in the universe. Why were neutron stars only theoretical for decades, and who first imagined their existence? How did Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a then-PhD student in 1967, discover these cosmic lighthouses using a homemade radio array of wooden poles and copper wire—and why did her supervisor, not her, end up with the Nobel Prize? If you enjoyed the episode, please like, subscribe and share so more curious minds like you can find our channel. Cheers, Mark & Jeremy Other ways to connect with us: * ⁠Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] * Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/] * Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] * Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfielding99/] * Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] * Read our ⁠Substack⁠ [https://disruptorsandcuriousminds.substack.com/] * Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz]

The Car That Stops You From Making a Fatal Overtake: The Sensor That Sees the Crash You Can’t

Everyone thinks they are a great driver. Most drivers think they can judge a safe overtake. They can’t. In this Thinking On Paper shot, Barry Lunn breaks down the sensor technology that sees eight cars ahead, detects velocity before brake lights appear, and intervenes when the driver is about to make a mistake. Radar, not cameras, not lidar, could be the backbone of next-generation driver assistance. We get into how millimetre-wave signals bounce around traffic, how machines detect danger long before humans register it, and why more than half of global crashes are rear-end collisions that could be prevented with earlier insight. We also examine what this means for trust: why people resist hands-off driving yet quickly rely on a system that prevents the accidents they didn’t even know they were about to cause. Please enjoy. And check out our full length technology interviews if you like what you hear. -- Other ways to connect with us: * ⁠Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] * Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/] * Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] * Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfielding99/] * Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] * Read our ⁠Substack⁠ [https://disruptorsandcuriousminds.substack.com/] Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz]

The Five 'Must Haves' To Make Your Own Quantum Computer

What if someone handed you the recipe for a quantum computer? In this episode, that’s exactly what happens. Coleman Collins of IonQ breaks down DiVincenzo’s criteria, (a checklist proposed by physicist David DiVincenzo) the five capabilities any physical system needs before it can call itself a quantum computer.  There are five criteria. 1. A well-defined qubit 2. Ability to initialize qubits. You must be able to reliably set every qubit to a known starting state. 3. Long coherence times. The qubits must remain stable long enough to run operations without losing their quantum state. 4. Ability to measure qubits. You need to read the state of each qubit at the end of the computation (ideally individually). 5. A universal gate set built from entanglement and single-qubit control. Mix them all together in a serving bowl and these let you perform any quantum computation you wish. You now know the foundation behind every major quantum architecture, from superconducting circuits to trapped ions. Cheers,  Mark and Jeremy. Keep Thinking On Paper. Other ways to connect with us: * ⁠Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] * Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/] * Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] * Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfielding99/] * Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] * Read our ⁠Substack⁠ [https://disruptorsandcuriousminds.substack.com/] Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz]

The Electronics That Survive Space: Inside Radiation-Hardened Power Systems | Danny Andreev, CEO Sunburn Schematics

Radiation-hardened space electronics don’t get splashy headlines, but nothing in orbit works without them. Starship, the ISS, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Starlink... the whole caboodle depends on hardware that keeps running when the vacuum, extreme temperatures, and radiation of space would annihilate your laptop plug on Earth. The extreme environments of space are no place for trial and error with the small things.   Danny Andreev, CEO of Sunburn Schematics, designs those systems for real missions. In this episode of Thinking on Paper, he walks you through what actually keeps spacecraft alive: particle-induced faults, gate-driver failures, thermal shock, and the methods space companies use to mitigate the risks. We go from chip-level physics to the industrial picture: why the next phase of space isn’t glossy renders but an off-world supply chain built from proven terrestrial machinery, cheaper short-lived satellites, and megawatt-class power standards that mirror EV infrastructure. It’s an unromantic, inside-the-factory look at how space becomes an industry rather than a spectacle. What we cover: - Radiation effects and how engineers harden real hardware - Why thermal cycling destroys more missions than radiation - How chips are stress-tested for orbit - The economics of moving from billion-dollar craft to replaceable fleets - Why the first lunar machines will look like modified construction gear - The engineering mindset needed for a multi-planet infrastructure This is a technical, grounded conversation for people who build things and curious minds who want to learn why and how. Please enjoy the show. And subscribe. That's the best way to help other people find the channel. Cheers, Mark & Jeremy. -- TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Thinking On Paper Trailer (02:59) The Role of DC to DC Converters in Space (03:46) Challenges of Power Systems in Space (05:30) Designing for Reliability in Space (07:13) The Impact of Radiation on Electronics (08:52) Testing and Validation of Space Electronics (11:03) Environmental Challenges for Space Electronics (12:28) Success Rates and Lessons Learned (15:22) The Importance of Music in Space Missions (22:30) The Future of Space Exploration (25:23) Building a Lunar Economy (27:51) Power Conversion in Space (31:57) Exciting Developments in Space Technology (35:13) Philosophical Insights on Space and Life -- Say hello! Connect more technology dots with us elsewhere: * ⁠Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] * Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/] * Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] * Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfielding99/] * Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] * Read our ⁠Substack⁠ [https://disruptorsandcuriousminds.substack.com/] Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz]