AI That Helps, Schools That Don't, and How Not to Go Crazy on The James Altucher Show
James sits down with astrophysicist Brian Keating for a candid, useful tour through three hot zones: how to think about AI (and where it actually helps), what’s broken in higher ed and admissions right now, and why outsourcing your mood to politics is a losing strategy. You’ll hear first-hand stories (from UC San Diego classrooms to New York City politics), specific ways James and Brian really use AI daily, and a simple framework for protecting your attention and happiness—even when everything feels polarized.
What You’ll Learn:
How universities can leverage AI-guided curiosity to revolutionize learning, according to James Altucher's vision for "Altucher University."
Why mastering communication skills—writing, speaking, negotiating—is crucial for career success, and why these skills are often neglected in traditional education.
Firsthand insights into how Brian Keating and James Altucher use AI daily for research, problem-solving, and creativity, along with practical examples from their personal and professional lives.
The economic and philosophical debates around AI's actual impact on industries, jobs, and the broader GDP, including its use in coding, media, and even farming.
The limitations of AI and large language models in science and creative work, and why critical thinking and prompt engineering remain essential—even as technology evolves.
Timestamped Chapters:
00:00 "AI Clarifies Venezuela Questions"
05:59 Venezuela News Omission
07:45 Frustrating Academia Raise Policy
11:54 Collaboration and Engagement Terms
14:23 "Ideas Overload Dilutes Impact"
19:11 Economic Efficiency Benefits All
19:49 Automation's Effect on Jobs
23:43 "Decentralized AI Competition"
27:09 "AI's Rapid Growth"
31:39 Copyright Limits Creativity
33:17 AI Book Recommendations
38:38 "AI Won't Replace Writers"
41:01 "Dumb Takes by Geniuses"
44:39 Content Overload Shift
47:47 Self-Publishing Outperforms Traditional
49:05 Dying Publishing Model
54:21 "Nobel Laureates' Impact Explained"
57:49 "Epstein, Trump, Wishcasting"
59:37 "Thrills Free on Pluto TV"
Additional resources:
📚 Target Earth by Govert Schilling: https://a.co/5uCEmZi
➡️ My new book:
📖 Into the Impossible Volume 2: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: Lessons from Laureates to Concentrate Your Creativity and Ignite Your Career: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U
➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms:
✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating
🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list
✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/
🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast
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1:04:26
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1:04:26
AI That Helps, Schools That Don't, and How Not to Go Crazy with Prof. Brian Keating | The James Altucher Show
James sits down with astrophysicist Brian Keating for a candid, useful tour through three hot zones: how to think about AI (and where it actually helps), what’s broken in higher ed and admissions right now, and why outsourcing your mood to politics is a losing strategy. You’ll hear first-hand stories (from UC San Diego classrooms to New York City politics), specific ways James and Brian really use AI daily, and a simple framework for protecting your attention and happiness—even when everything feels polarized.
What You’ll Learn:
A practical AI workflow you can copy today (research prompts, personal “style” bots, and where LLMs fail at original insight).
A filter for political noise that keeps 99% of your happiness anchored in health, family, friends, and work you control.
What the UCSD admissions/placement findings really mean for preparation and standards (and why “remedial” can mask deeper gaps).
A simple admissions/common-sense principle: standards matter; “portfolio” evaluation shouldn’t ignore basic skills.
How to use AI without losing your own voice—James’ test for “write it in my style” and why generic outputs still fall short.
Timestamped Chapters:
[02:00] Loft event stories, comedy beats, and setting the tone for a heavy topic.
[05:00] NYC politics, leadership, and the “why would they vote for him?” question.
[07:32] Slogans vs. reality: chants, charters, and what words actually imply.
[09:30] Economics that sound nice vs. incentives that ruin cities.
[12:00] “Don’t outsource your happiness to politicians.” A sanity reset.
[20:48] Inside UCSD’s placement data: how did calculus passers miss first-grade algebra?
[30:02] Standards, SATs, and what “remedial” hides (plus grade inflation).
[77:49] How James and Brian actually use AI; “mad-bot disease” and why voice still matters.
Additional resources:
📚 Target Earth by Govert Schilling: https://a.co/5uCEmZi
➡️ My new book:
📖 Into the Impossible Volume 2: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: Lessons from Laureates to Concentrate Your Creativity and Ignite Your Career: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U
➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms:
✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating
🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list
✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/
🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:47:38
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1:47:38
Terry Tao: “Trump CUT My Funding.” Here's how I am going to react.
What happens when a government abruptly cuts off the lifeline of pure science?
Imagine canceling Albert Einstein just before he published [E = mc².
Terence Tao, the “Mozart of Mathematics,” was one of the unlucky researchers hit when the Trump administration suddenly terminated his federal research funding.
Today, I walk and talk with Tao at UCLA to understand how America’s greatest living mathematician found himself blindsided by a bureaucratic earthquake — and what it means for the future of discovery.
This is Part 1 of our deep dive into Tao’s work, his warnings about the collapse of U.S. research infrastructure, and why mathematics is the unseen root system supporting all of modern technology.
🕒 TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – *“Canceling Einstein”* — Tao’s funding cut
00:22 – Who is Terence Tao?
01:17 – Grants suspended without warning
01:27 – New hurdles for international scholars
01:38 – UCLA’s sudden funding freeze
03:00 – Was Tao targeted?
03:38 – Arbitrary rule-changing
04:01 – Trivial reasons for cancellations
04:18 – Policy without process
05:06 – Do we need new funding models?
05:27 – Why federal stability matters
05:52 – The limits of philanthropy
08:42 – Math as the root of modern tech
09:11 – Prizes and public perception
11:35 – The seven great unsolved problems
12:13 – The Navier–Stokes question
12:57 – The problem with prize-driven secrecy
13:37 – Collaboration over competition
If you care about ideas, discovery, and the future of knowledge itself — this conversation matters.
Part 2 drops soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it.
Get My NEW Book: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN8DH6SX?ref_=pe_93986420_775043100
Join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/yt to win a meteorite 💥
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Join this channel to get access to perks like monthly Office Hours:
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📚 Get a copy of my books:
Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner, with life changing interviews with 9 Nobel Prizewinners: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu
My tell-all cosmic memoir Losing the Nobel Prize: http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA
The first-ever audiobook from Galileo: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un
📺 Watch my most popular videos:📺
Neil Turok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt5cFLN65fI
Frank Wilczek https://youtu.be/3z8RqKMQHe0?sub_confirmation=1
Eric Weinstein vs. Stephen Wolfram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0AZ4Y4Ip4?sub_confirmation=1
Sir Roger Penrose: https://youtu.be/AMuqyAvX7Wo
Sabine Hossenfelder: https://youtu.be/g00ilS6tBvs
Avi Loeb: https://youtu.be/N9lUceHsLRw
Follow me to ask questions of my guests:
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#universe #podcast #briankeating #intotheimpossible #science #astronomy #cosmology #cosmicmicrowavebackground #intotheimpossible #briankeating #terrencetao
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16:11
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16:11
Avi Loeb Fights Back: Response to Brian Cox & the 3I/ATLAS Critics
Become a channel member to ask questions! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb returns to break down the newest data on 3I/ATLAS, the interstellar object captivating the world — and triggering fierce debate among scientists. In this extended conversation, Loeb responds directly to recent public criticism from Brian Cox, Jason Wright, and others, clarifies what the data actually show, and explains why humility and open inquiry remain essential to the scientific method.
The latest images of the interstellar object show a single intact body, a sunward jet, and energy requirements that challenge familiar comet models. These anomalies have ignited one of the most heated scientific debates of the decade.
We explore the latest observations since 3I/ATLAS’ October 29 perihelion:
• Why its jets, brightness, and spectral changes are so unusualt
• What would distinguish natural sublimation from technological propulsiont
• How its orbit, size, and mass budget challenge standard modelst
• Why the public response matters for the future of sciencet
• How criticism of scientific inquiry mirrors the historical treatment of Galileot
Follow Avi's latest findings and discoveries here https://avi-loeb.medium.com/3i-atlas-is-still-a-single-body-with-a-sunward-anti-tail-after-perihelion-667fe41c0071
In this livestream, Avi will address:
• Why the post-perihelion images complicate the natural-comet interpretationt
• Whether a technological origin is still on the tablet
• Why critics insist the anomalies are trivial — and why Avi argues they’re nott
• How scientific consensus forms, breaks, and evolves under stresst
• What the new mass-flux and energy calculations imply for 3I/ATLASt
We’ll explore the science, the skepticism, and the stakes — and we’ll take live audience questions from channel members. Join our esteemed set of members here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join
Whether you’re convinced, skeptical, or undecided, this is the conversation the public deserves: open, rigorous, and unfiltered.
📚 Get a copy of my books:
Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner, with life changing interviews with 9 Nobel Prizewinners: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu
My tell-all cosmic memoir Losing the Nobel Prize: http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA
The first-ever audiobook from Galileo: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un
Follow me to ask questions of my guests:
🏄♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating
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📝 Join my mailing list; just click here http://briankeating.com/list
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🎙️ Listen on audio-only platforms: https://briankeating.com/podcast
#universe #podcast #briankeating #intotheimpossible #science #astronomy #cosmology #cosmicmicrowavebackground #intotheimpossible #briankeating
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1:50:06
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1:50:06
Krauss: “DESI Is Wrong: Dark Energy Isn’t Changing”
Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥
Is hype culture killing science?
In this episode of Into the Impossible, I welcome back physicist Lawrence Krauss for a candid conversation on hype, being wrong, and the impact of AI on the field of physics. Krauss is a theoretical physicist, award-winning NYT bestselling author, and host of The Origins Podcast. He shares how data forced him to change his mind on dark energy and the Higgs boson, and why science’s strength lies in its willingness to adapt.
We explore the hype around quantum gravity, the limits of knowledge revealed by Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, and whether AI can ever truly discover new laws of physics. From black holes to the fate of cosmic intelligence, Krauss takes us to the edge of what we know, and beyond.
Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
01:22 The energy of empty space
03:13 The recent DESI results
04:16 Quantum gravity as a theory of everything
11:07 The sunk cost fallacy
13:48 The impact of AI on physics
18:00 Advice to his younger self
Additional resources:
📚 The War On Science by Lawrence Krauss: https://a.co/d/6ntEbll
➡️ My new book:
📖 Into the Impossible Volume 2: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: Lessons from Laureates to Concentrate Your Creativity and Ignite Your Career: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U
➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms:
✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating
🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list
✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/
🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast
—
Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.
Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode!
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26:31
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26:31
Flere Videnskab podcasts
Trendige Videnskab podcasts
Om Into the Impossible With Brian Keating
Think like a physicist. Wonder like a human. Into the Impossible is where Cosmic Conversations happen — uniting Nobel Prize winners, iconoclasts, authors, and technologists to explore reality’s deepest questions. From AI to aliens, from biophysics to the brain, from the cosmos to the multiverse, Brian Keating, Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Physics at UC San Diego covers it all.
If you’ve ever asked What’s out there? or What’s next?, this is where curiosity meets clarity.
Learn to think like this. 🎙 Full episodes, notes & more: briankeating.com/podcast