A playground for geniuses: Inside the Santa Fe Institute | Dispatches from The Well Ep.3 

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I stumbled upon your beautiful work. It makes me so happy! I’m an almost 70 year’s old woman from the Netherlands. Not a high level of education, due to circumstances long time ago. Always felt a hunger for education, knowledge, wisdom (the last one is the most difficult?) Your work enlightens my core-being, gives me hope in mankind. Thank you very much for giving me input to educate myself and be more curious again.

"Uncertainty and debate are not negative... to come to knowledge is what's desired." The antithesis of current society, and what we need. To love and foster the path.

This place seems like fantasy to me, I can't believe places like this actually exist. Literally the type of thing I'd dream about as a child

It's always fun seeing multidisciplinary science join together. It reminds me of old IDEO video that I saw where people from all kinds of expertise gather to build new innovative products

I was always that kid who wanted to learn everything, and when I got to the point in school where they told me I had to focus all of my energy on only one thing, I suddenly found I didn't enjoy learning anymore. Because what I've always wanted to really understand is how all these things fit together. How do we use everything we know and bring it into specific places to make life better or everyone? That's what interests me. I'm glad to not be alone there. I still want to be able to go to school without having to come out the other side a molecular biologist or a nuclear engineer or an astrophysicist or some other thing so specific that the big picture is completely thrown to the wayside.

Can imagine the level of mental strength they invest in studying the interconnections in not just one system but multiple systems. 😮 just wow

Love seeing the return of the polymath.

What a beautiful episode! The SFI, and the title of the video, brought to mind one of the titles that I enjoyed the most throughout my life, ¨The Glass Bead Game¨ in which a state is described with certain similarities to what the documentary shows (between other things). Kmele Foster's warmth and wit along with the excellent editing make the series truly a find. Gratitude!!

11:58 it's weird but in a satisfying way, to hear someone so well describe my own thoughts on the matter. I like to describe the 2nd point as experiencing, rather than understanding, though its fundamentally only semantics and the idea itself and its origin identical.

Great video! Thanks Kmele! I’ve been to many of SFI’s community lectures and they never disappoint!

Very well done! Mil gracias for the SFI tour.

This was a heartening experience. Thank you for the glimpse in.

Thank you. This is amazing, keep up the great work!!

Thank you for this! These are the stuffs I love watching.... *off to creating my own playground!*

It's about... playing; just having fun.

Great program Kmele. Thanks!!

An amazing brain trust. What a gift. Cheers Jeff

I live in Santa Fe and I am so amazed that I am just learning of this! ❤

I've heard of Santa Fe from many authors on books I've read and it's finally amazing to get a tour of the institution. ❤

Another great installment.

Very interesting - I was watching a lecture on geopolitics, and its facinating that geopolitics such as trade routes act very similar to living organisms. It makes sense - if you need to get 100 unit of something across one pathway, and the demand (pressure) exists, then if a trade route is blocked, that pressure would find another outlet. Yet, its in such spaces where these kind of thinking is encouraged.

M M M, indeed. Thankyou for sharing. 💜

Love and awareness, Yes

Another place in Santa Fe with good craic is St. John's College. You should check that out.

It's all Love for all experiences that helped us grow and bloom with the whole of everything. Peaceful, let go!

I enjoyed this, thank you very much!

What a lovely group of people

Just found my new favorite channel❤ Subscribed ❤❤❤❤

@29:54 with understanding comes meaning. With meaning comes purpose. With purpose comes responsibility. Logic rules us all.

6:25 “Did you see us coming before you started performing”. They are completely self aware. Poking fun at the sharpie on glass trope in film.

You should post the conversation at lunch w.o the voiceover to show how these conversations really occur, how to interact and communicate such large ideas.

Good company is fine company, that says it all Kmele. Thank you again for the enlightenment.

Take 2( the first comment I made was trolled): Thanks so much! This looks pretty awesome. I wish I could connect with some of these folks!

Omg, I need to go here, my thought are humming on this all the time! ! I am a mycolgist, mushroom and hobo philosophy junky... I see society in pytre dishes and mycelium movement on a 1-0-1 with a gradient based on the optimal for said mover

Excellent content👍🏾😊

I love how this was filmed

What an interesting place. I think (in my supremely unqualified opinion) they are in to something with how they seem to approach the big questions. I find myself more and more thinking that understanding the pattern of systems is the key to unraveling reality. That everything is fractal. The ‘easy’ example I use (and this is more to convey the concept, not that this specific example is key to it all) is how galactic filaments and neuron networks (?) look strikingly similar when viewed at the right perspectives. It seems to me that highly ordered and information-dense systems may follow or utilize the same type of organization/formation process, no matter the scale. Something like that, lol the smart folks can take it from here.

I think Geoffrey West doesn't have enough neuroscience/biology background to understand that all life "cares". That's the entire point of life, as compared to non-living systems, we living organisms have goals, needs, interests, preferences, etc. Certainly humans have more complex cares, but all life cares at some level, or we wouldn't call it life. And the cool thing is that because of evolution (entropy), every individual cares about something unique, like every tree branch in the family tree of life is unique, even "identical" twins, due to the randomness (high entropy) that living systems are. Specialization is what life does. Specialization is caring.

What a great episode! Wonderful exposition and interviews. The only moment that made me a bit uncomfortable was the conversation at lunch. I wish we got to listen in on some of the natural conversations instead of the interviewer trying to direct the conversation into something less organic for the researchers.

It’s Crazy how going to Church is free and going to an institute cost money to have access to this knowledge it’s why my brothers think differently.

Sign me up! Been searching for this place all my life ❤

I studied modern applied cultural anthropology in college and am now training to be an animist minster. I think it would be really rewarding to spend time at the Santa Fe Institute. I have conversations like this with my husband every day so I think we'd fit in. Just today we were talking about how lucid dreaming can be enhanced by the understanding that each of us is a "we", much like Professor Lachmann was talking about. I'll have to look more into it, thank you for this great video!

RIP Cormac McCarthy.

That mist have been a fun day

Dr. West talking like if he had a psychedelic trip a few days ago. Nice🌷

@13:20 goosebumps

The government employs many scientists in New Mexico..home of arts and science, with a spiritual element as well

Jesús!! That's the kind of person i want to understand.

@13:47 just because we can understand because we are conscious doesn't mean that that's the meaning or that there was a point to any of it, it just means that it's possible. So close yet so far away... What is more axiomatic and important to acknowledge is that awareness and/or consciousness is beneficial to biological survival and that's why it's still here. It's at least one solid reason why it is still here from a standpoint of evolutionary biology. We don't know what the universe is. We don't know where any of this comes from and we likely never will so it's not productive to dwell on that too much. I put these thoughts on back burners and if The collection of a million trillion puzzle pieces builds to understanding of such overarching concepts then I'll celebrate it when we get there but until then I've got more important work to do in regards to our biological survival and protecting our preferences as well as the knowledge of the ages preserved for generations to come so they don't have to start over in the collection of the puzzle pieces. Ultimately I think we're still aligned?

@8:19 I don't think I've ever seen anyone quite a similar to myself. I'm always saying people over money. Always put people first. People are the real value, though not to trivialize the systems that support us and of course we must damn all of the failures that sabotage human potential.

If I could do my life over, I’d do it with the goal of working at Santa Fe Institute.

6:56 Shit I completely relate to that. The drinking your own kool aid is very much true. After some time you inevitably lose track. There is then no option other than to share it with those who are receptive to those ideas and help challenge it a bit and let it evolve in a more open environment. Mind you, still guided by a vision, not completely free for all, but in context of new information

14:36 Hard disagree with the love part. Desire is at the center of it all. You can choose to have it or not. But having it is more "fun". I hold the fun part quite dear to me. But at the end of the day it is still one part of experiential manifestation. Play the game, don't crunch. I do agree that reality doesn't care one bit and that is a central realization. Things just ARE. We are the ones who are hell bent on making something out of it. Tbf how else are we going to pass our time.

I live about 10 miles out of santa fe. I wonder if they would hire me as an activity director? Looks like they need some outdoor time. 😆💪

Two people I know of here on RU-vid who were historically associated with the SF Institute are: Jim Rutt: www.youtube.com/@jimruttshow8596 and Jordan Hall: www.youtube.com/@JordanGreenhall

That’s incredible I saw the Shirts and said my Gym Buddie has a Pokémon shirt as gym clothing but then you Spoke about Pokémon oh how you have to understand why it’s Famous and learn about human physiology simply amazing on how even science predicts the human condition Amazing, Love Science❤❤😂😊

Kmele has similar energy to robin williams.

applied to their summer program last year and was rejected. will apply again for sure

Please do this in Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton.

6:32: Zarathustras Prologue

I want to be in this club and be paid for being there.

@20:56 Yes, you and I are very similar thinkers. Would be interesting to compare our genetic makeup as well as cultural influences over time, preferred activities, hobbies, musical preferences, food preferences and our gut biomes.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

❤

@29:15 precisely. Superorganismal. Individualism is too simple to be true.

@1:39 there are those of us who have answers to a lot of these big questions but would it actually matter? Everything I've observed suggests that people don't really want these answers. Oftentimes with science the answers we get are not the answers we want. Intellectual honesty is even more of a crime than emotional honesty in this so-called civilized society.

The TransDual InterObSubJective 'Quadrants' of Wilber's Integral Theory is 'A' Potential 'Rosetta Stone' candidate for TransDisciplinary UnderStanding 🙏

@18:10 which is why being a specialist at being a generalist, such as I am while also having extreme mental complexity via more white matter than neurotypical people and therefore more lateral connectivity makes me a perfect interdepartmental liaison or translator across multiple fields. I'm like a buffer between two different disciplines and a certain level of knowledge and intellect being represented at a more prominent percentage of the population. This is one way that I see myself fitting into this institution. I certainly haven't been able to find any other high IQ environment that would fit me better. Until now, I've just invested a lot of time into building a custom environment in the absence of anything else better to invest in. Of course nearly everyone that I stumble upon and bring into my environments is to broken by society to feel comfortable in those environments other than a minority of the neurodivergent. Anyone who worked within academia or as a professional within industries has been broken, turned into a conformist coward that is almost never compatible with me, all of them too afraid to even get to know me.

“Dispatches from the Loop.”

i heard that at their next meeting, they were planning on inventing themselves some underpants!

Lovely place, wish I could access such fruitful conversations. Could tell that the interviewer didnt like being the dumbest person in the room. I'd probably feel equally intimidated, its a shame that you have to run away to the top of the mountain to have a good chat.

@28:08 yes, that is my idea of a good time. Unfortunately I absolutely love the sunlight as well as schedules. I'm part of the 10% of the population that is an extreme night owl but also I biohack to optimize my neurological performance which means stimulants and because of that my sleep schedule is always changing. This begs the question: How rigid are the schedules of everyone at the institute? Is it predominantly heliocentric like the rest of the industrialized world? Are there night crews? Are there people whose sleep schedules are constantly changing?

How can I join sfi to extend my non scientific views ?

Keeping genius far away from public notice.

How does intuition/gut feeling/right-wrong, play into complexity? RIP to Cormac McCarthy, thanks for challenging questionable norms.

Imagine the greatest minds unlocking the world’s universal source code of everything in life? Looking for the common thread that applies to all disciplines of science and physics 🤷‍♂️

16:13 Okay that's just unnecessarily extra

0:30 I am sorry that was crap lol

For well over 300 years (ever since Newton vs Leibniz) we have defined 0 and 1 (and their geometric counterparts) as follows: 0 = not-necessary 0D = not-necessary 1 = necessary 1D = necessary (Newton won so above are his definitions. Newton conflated "natural" with "necessary" and was largely ignorant of Geometry.) A year ago quantum physics proved that Leibniz was actually correct (the universe is "not locally real") which looks like this: 0 = necessary 0D = necessary 1= not-necessary 1D = not-necessary Since Mathematics > Physics > Chemistry > Biology... the implications of the definitions of 0 and 1 changing are world altering. "Only the zero-of yourself is necessary" is now a true statement (always has been). That's neat to think about. A little over a year ago the zero-of yourself was not-necessary. See how the facts change over time? Newton really set humanity back with his conflated definitions. Zero is the most important number in mathematics and is both a real and an imaginary number with a horizon through it. It's geometric counterpart zero-dimensional space is the most important dimension in physics and is both a real and an imaginary dimension with an event horizon through it. Quarks are zero-dimensional color-charged electricity and the Monad is the zero-dimensional space binding our quarks together with the strong force; the hue-monad (or soul). Read Leibniz's Monadology 📖. Black holes are ten-dimensional: Zero is the only number with a horizon through it. Zero-dimensional space is the only dimension with an event horizon through it. So, has to include a 0. Got it. 0 and 10 are the first two times we encounter zero in the natural number system (1-9 are nonzero numbers). Their geometric counterparts 0D (quantum) and 10D (cosmological) would then be the event horizon boundaries of this side of the mirror universe. What is the definition of zero in math? Zero is the integer denoted 0 that, when used as a counting number, means that no objects are present. It is the only integer (and, in fact, the only real number) that is neither negative nor positive. A number which is not zero is said to be nonzero. A root of a function is also sometimes known as "a zero of ." Any non-zero number to the zero power equals one. Zero to any positive exponent equals zero. Zero is the subject where counting numbers are the objects. [Subject]: a thinking or feeling entity; the conscious mind; the ego, especially as opposed to anything external to the mind. [Object]: a thing external to the thinking mind or subject. Theology is Theos and Logos. That's El and Elohim. El "alone" is on the other side of the event horizon at the zero-of yourself. Elohim "singularity" is on this side of the event horizon. Elohim "singularity" is how we see God from this side. (the event horizon stops us from seeing El) See how Theology is the two sides of 0? That's the Holy Trinity just imagine an event horizon between El (top of pyramid) and Elohim (bottom of pyramid). Genesis 1 Elohim (Father and Son "who are one") and Ruach Elohim (Holy Spirit) is the best possible hue-monad (soul). They made the two types of quarks which this entire contingent and less real side of the zero-of ourselves universe is made of: two down, one up (male) and two up, one down (female). Genesis 2 is a physical plurality named Yah Tsebaoth (Yaldabaoth) and that's our true enemy. He's playing all sides against one another and claiming to be God but he has no titles just his dumbass names and epithets (nicknames). Amos 5 Names of God Bible 27 I will send you into exile beyond Damascus, says Yahweh, whose name is Elohe Tsebaoth. OT: Genesis 1 Elohim is a title. Genesis 2 Yahweh Elohim is a name. NT: Christ is a title. Jesus Christ is a name. Quran: Allah is a name, not a title (Yah Tsebaoth, the deciever from Genesis 2, has 99 names in Islam). It's true that Chaos was 1st...but God was 0th so Chaos can eat a double decker 💩 sandwich. Let's all admit that we were wrong about Theology, Mathematics and Physics together and just move forward. Zero-in on what's necessary.

So a bunch of smart people get together. What did they come up with? What to have for lunch?

Duh . . . 😎 "Integral Theory" & "Integral Education" 🙏 ArtScienceTechnologyHumanities

When Artificial General Intelligence arrives within 5 years, will it render Sante Fe Institute obsolete? What becomes of the enjoyment of 'the process' of discovery and insight when A.G.I. can give us the answer that may have been so enjoyable for us to ponder for 10 years before said discovery? Does the playground for geniuses still occur if A.G.I. recursively improves itself to show us what true genius may be as we are reduced to the relative intellect of ants compared to what humans are today?

🐪

well done.

Kmele!

AI is your friend😇

Santa Fe institute of hot air.

Geoffrey was taking hella shrooms lmaoooo

@20 secs: I am an "alien" that evolved here on this planet "humans" call "Earth" & I see no point in leaving the planet nor do I see any point in existing on this planet.

Mischievous is a word. Mis-cheeve-ious is not.

The 21st Century person is not a thinker, or a doer. That lifeform is an observer for the greater part. He has nothing to add. Read the comments. Genius looks like nuts to an ordinary viewer.

Why no philosophers here

This is a puff piece that didn't explain much. It is, more or less, a waste of time - pretty facility in a beautiful setting, though. The crucial gap is what did this eclectic community produce during its 40 years of existence. What of that was only made possible by having this kind of collective? What is the proof that this notion of collective is the best, or at least better, way to promote creativity? How does SFI compare to the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton University, which seems based on the same or similar model?

What these guys have to do is to rotate a blunt every once in a while

After all how this guy can come to conclude that the trees and animals don’t care? Do I missed something? The tree only gives and then gives some more without asking anything and more important without even benefiting from their fruits, shade or anything they produce. Can a human being love like that? Of course yes but then…..!!!

Animals care

A fools playground!

A lot of self-important people saying hoity-toity things, thinking they are more significant than they are.

what a bunch of snooty goobers lmao