Summary of Sam Harris on "The Portal" with host Eric Weinstein, Ep. #011 - Fighting with Friends.

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00:00:00 - 01:00:00

Sam Harris discusses the current state of the world and how he believes it is worse than the past. He also discusses the dangers of hypocrisy and the slippery slope of banning opinions.

  • 00:00:00 Sam Harris discusses the current state of the world, and how he thinks the current state is worse than the past. He also discusses how he has grown dark about the New York Times in the past, but believes that something has fundamentally shifted.
  • 00:05:00 The author discusses how the New York Times has a bias towards long, narrative-driven stories, and how this has led to problems in the past. He also mentions how the Times has been hurt by the rise of blogs, and how people no longer rely on it as their only source of journalism.
  • 00:10:00 Sam Harris discusses the dangers of hypocrisy and the slippery slope of banning opinions in a discussion about the loss of nature and science.
  • 00:15:00 In this video, Sam Harris discusses the idea that there is a method to Trump's madness, but that it is a very simple method. He believes that Trump's rallies help him to figure out what works and what doesn't, and that he would likely be a successful president even if he weren't plagued by scandal.
  • 00:20:00 Sam Harris discusses how he believes that the center-left is hypocritical because it focuses on enforcing progressive values while also producing a "blank canvas of America" on which right-wingers can paint their "pleasure" without consequence.
  • 00:25:00 Sam Harris discusses the topic of "The Portal" in which he argues that it is our duty to fellow countrymen over our obligations to people who live abroad. He also discusses the left's history of Extractive Economics and how it has led to social chaos.
  • 00:30:00 The video discusses how Sam Harris believes that people are impressively split in their thinking, with a mercenary part of their brain and a beautiful part of their brain. Harris discusses how he discovered this through consulting with doctors who were trying to reconceptualize medical debt. He argues that this is a frequent phenomenon among people who do bad things to others, calling it a "beautiful thing."
  • 00:35:00 Sam Harris discusses the problems with the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that was started with good intentions but has since gone off the rails. He argues that the only way the organization can survive is to continue to focus on fighting racism and white supremacy.
  • 00:40:00 In the video, Sam Harris discusses the idea that there is a "fit mimetic complex" in which people are attracted to positions of power and influence that often come with low pay and little regard for truth. He argues that we need to convince a small number of people that one way of thinking is not valid, in order to align Fitness and Truth more faithfully.
  • 00:45:00 Sam Harris discusses his views on conspiracy theories and the psychology of individuals drawn to them. He talks about his experiences with Jeffrey Epstein, Kevin Spacey, and others and how he tries to be judicious about how much information he pays attention to.
  • 00:50:00 The video discusses how, in the 1980s, a group of people (including Eric Block) conspired to flood the market with new PhDs, driving wages down. This, in turn, caused the United States to lose its bargaining power with scientists, and allowed countries like China to become dominant in the field.
  • 00:55:00 Sam Harris discusses how the university system uses misclassified students to keep its labor force afloat, revealing how this system affects competition between "Americans."

01:00:00 - 02:00:00

In this video, Sam Harris discusses how we can improve society by migration for the benefit of all, and how good intentions can sometimes have bad consequences. He also discusses his views on veal and foie gras, and how the left has a problem with honesty and transparency.

  • 01:00:00 Sam Harris discusses the idea of "migration for the benefit of all," and how it can be done without creating a Ponzi scheme. He notes that the problem is that we have created a complex system with good intentions, but don't always realize the consequences of our actions.
  • 01:05:00 Sam Harris discusses how the Clinton-era policies of deregulation and free trade led to declines in the value of music and other private goods, and to increased levels of piracy. He also discusses how these policies have the potential to have a negative impact on society as a whole.
  • 01:10:00 In this video, Sam Harris discusses the Kaldor Hicks improvement in Pareto term with Eric Weinstein. Harris notes that the esoteric description of the improvement at odds with the exoteric description, which ispure Strauss. He also says that the other guy who took the most punishment during the Great Moderation, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is not qualified to fact-check him.
  • 01:15:00 Sam Harris discusses the idea that intentions matter, and points out that sometimes good intentions can have bad consequences. He also discusses his views on veal and foie gras, and how he would not want to be the person who pays more for these foods because they know there is more suffering associated with them.
  • 01:20:00 Sam Harris discusses the idea that morality differs depending on one's perspective, and argues that living a good life is a matter of "squeezing the Delta" between those two states.
  • 01:25:00 Sam Harris discusses the concept of "meta self" and why it is important to be conscious of the potential hypocrisy in judging others.
  • 01:30:00 Sam Harris discusses the psychological experiments that have been conducted on humanity by social media platforms like Twitter. He discusses how he has gradually gotten off of Twitter as it has become more focused on the negative aspects of the platform. He discusses the singer Billy Bragg and how he criticized Harris, which led to a heated exchange. Harris discusses how there is a need for different functions for different groups of people on social media platforms, and how ridicule can be hard to remember when looking at the big picture.
  • 01:35:00 Sam Harris discusses how the left has a problem with honesty and transparency, particularly when it comes to their beliefs about politics and the world. He argues that this lack of honesty has consequences, including the rise of Trump and the current homeless crisis.
  • 01:40:00 Sam Harris discusses the importance of science in politics, and how the activist mindset can lead to serious harm. He also discusses his friendship with Jordan Peterson, and how it was different before any of the controversy around him arose.
  • 01:45:00 Sam Harris discusses the "bad faith" of some people who are committed to the idea of a "singularity," or a point where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence. He suggests that these people are motivated by a sense of entitlement and a belief that desperate times require desperate measures.
  • 01:50:00 In this video, Sam Harris discusses how he came to understand that in order to thrive in Washington, one must be willing to "fight dirty." He goes on to say that this is an easy choice, but that we have instead created a system of selective pressures that may be selecting for that over and over again.
  • 01:55:00 The video discusses how the media should not report on mass shootings in order to prevent copycat killings. Dana Boyd, a researcher at Data and Society, discusses how strategic silence is a doctrine that aims to prevent news from influencing the behavior of people.

02:00:00 - 02:30:00

In this video, Sam Harris discusses the importance of communication in fighting against killers. He argues that while it is important to share information about the motive behind a killer's actions, we must be careful not to give them too much information. He also discusses the issue of jihadism and how much information the public is allowed to know about it.

  • 02:00:00 Sam Harris discusses the issue of communication with killers, arguing that while it is important to share information about the motive behind a killer's actions, we must be careful not to give them too much information. He discusses the example of the Unabomber, who was very critical of society and the way it operates, and how investigators were able to piece together his motivations from his manifesto. He also discusses the issue of jihadism and how much information the public is allowed to know about it.
  • 02:05:00 In this video, Sam Harris discusses how difficult it is to fight against "the gatekeepers," as they are often backed by powerful institutions and individuals. Harris also points out how suicide is contagious, and how we need to be aware of the risks involved when deciding whether or not to publicize events. Finally, Harris discusses how we need to be proactive in dealing with the challenges of the current political landscape, rather than relying on the gatekeepers to do it for us.
  • 02:10:00 Sam Harris discusses the problem of white supremacy with Eric Weinstein. He comes to the conclusion that nobody really knows how big the problem is, but that there is a potential for conflating different ideologies on the internet. He also discusses the problem of the left, which he believes has a propensity for violence that the KKK does not have. Finally, he talks about his upcoming podcast, The Portal, and how he hopes to raise the level of resolution in the conversations it produces.
  • 02:15:00 Sam Harris discusses how his conversations with David Wolpe have changed his perspective on religion, and how he hopes to bring more people closer to the intellectual greatness of David Wolpe in his upcoming podcasts.
  • 02:20:00 Sam Harris discusses how podcasts can be used as a way to communicate difficult topics in a less symbolic way. He discusses how dyslexia can be an advantage in this regard, as it can help people remember information in a different way.
  • 02:25:00 Sam Harris discusses how he overcame his disabilities in mathematics by being exposed to higher-dimensional objects. He gives the example of a Klein bottle, which can be seen in four dimensions if additional spatial dimensions are added.
  • 02:30:00 In this video, Sam Harris discusses the importance of the "portal" in physics. He discusses the theory behind it and how it can be a gateway to transcendence. He also discusses the importance of leaving Easter eggs and clues for others to find, as well as the potential for mystery and magic beyond what is currently known.

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