#025: Dean Rickles - Life is short, and why that’s a good thing for all of us

The Prompt

Dean is Professor of History and Philosophy of Modern Physics at the University of Sydney, where he also is a director of the Sydney Centre for Time.

Specializing in quantum gravity, he has written several books in this area, including A Brief History of String Theory: From Dual Models to M-Theory, and Covered in Deep Mist: The Development of Quantum Gravity, 1916-1956. Other recent books include Life is Short: An Appropriately Brief Guide to Making it More Meaningful and Dual-Aspect Monism and the Deep Structure of Meaning.

In this episode, you’ll learn about why a short life is the best way to create a meaningful life, how the act of visualization can help manifest your future self, why a fulfilling life far outweighs a happy life, how quantum mechanics ties in with life’s choices, and much more.

#philosophy #motivation #personalgrowth #podcast #mindset #growth #self improvement

GUEST LINKS:

Book: Life is Short - https://www.amazon.com/Life-Short-Appropriately-Making-Meaningful/dp/0691240590

Dean Rickles: https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/dean-rickles.html

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TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro

(02:11) What is the Centre for Time?

(06:04) Does time even exist?

(07:18) Applying Philosophy to Physics

(11:55) Life is Short

(14:41) The problem of unlimited choices

(16:27) The provisional life

(18:15) Why not making a choice is bad

(20:21) How to make optimal decisions

(26:26) Teaching children about making decisions

(28:56) The power of visualization

(34:19) Practicing visualization

(40:44) Your life in weeks

(41:45) Quantum Physics and time

(43:29) Schrödinger's cat

(47:25) Infinite possibilities

(50:21) Collective visualization

(51:12) Extending the human life span

(54:42) The impact of AI

(60:13) A fulfilled life vs. happy life

(01:05:15) Is finding purpose important?

(01:10:54) Outro

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