Roger Penrose: Physics of Consciousness and the Infinite Universe | Lex Fridman Podcast #85 

I really enjoyed this conversation with Roger. Here's the outline: 0:00 - Introduction 3:51 - 2001: A Space Odyssey 9:43 - Consciousness and computation 23:45 - What does it mean to "understand" 31:37 - What's missing in quantum mechanics? 40:09 - Whatever consciousness is, it's not a computation 44:13 - Source of consciousness in the human brain 1:02:57 - Infinite cycles of big bangs 1:22:05 - Most beautiful idea in mathematics

Penrose; such a humble man. Can't we find a way to give him another lifetime?

Roger Penrose: "I'd like to call myself a scientist, I suppose." Also Roger Penrose: Won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

People should note he is NINETY years old while the interview is conducted - this speaks volumes how brilliant his mind is...

Without hyperbole: one of the best interviews in our human history. This is a classic. An absolute field of glittering gems, each refracting a cosmos. Very skillfully done by Lex, asking the questions to simultaneously deepen the conversation and connect it to a listener who isn't as skilled in math or physics as Penrose, yet still letting him go into the depths when he feels the need.

Roger Penrose awarded Nobel Prize for Physics 2020

Casually having a conversation with one of the best minds of the last 100 years. Well done Lex, thank you

Just listened to another podcast where the interviewer was bombarding sir Penrose with new questions all the time, without letting him finish his previous ideas. Lex, it was so refreshing to hear your conversation with him where he could actually finish his thoughts :) and good questions from your side!

I used to work in Oxford years ago in an administrative capacity and had the privilege of working with Roger over that time. A very lovely person and a gentleman, in addition to being one of the world's great minds. We never rang him til the afternoon, which was because he worked in the ver early hours of the morning. He also always kept the mathematics board meetings on time, maybe cause he knew never to waste that immensely precious commodity.

My only problem with this interview is that it didn't last 24 hours.

This is surreal. Roger Penrose was my most anticipated guest on this podcast and it finally happened. Thank you Lex and Roger very much for doing this!

This is one of the greatest interview I've seen in my whole life. No exaggeration here. Thank you Lex. I owe you something for this magic moment.

"We're scratching the surface here"...sigh...I wish I could come back in 100, 300, 1000 and 10 000 years to see what we got to. But at this brief moment I can be really happy, that you Lex, has made it possible for little people like us, to listen to one of the greatest minds in this timeline.

Lex "Never ceases to amaze me with outstanding guests" Fridman

"You don't need to quantize gravity, you need to gravitize quantum mechanics." I love that.

This is one of the most fantastic things I have ever listened to. Roger penrose can literally reach into other difficult fields like Neurobiology with ease and even more, propel those fields forward to think beyond what was thought possible. Absolutely wild, we are blessed to have such a mind.

Just found this older episode. Infinite gratitude for the pleasure of listening to your expert interview of the gracious and brilliant Sir Roger Penrose.

Take note kids, this man is a legend.

I was a teenager when I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, in early 70's. That movie was a real milestone in my life, inspired me to love physics, and then to choose Electronic Engineering as my job. Now I'm 62, retired, and my only dissapointment is that I was hoping to see aliens, encounters of the third kind, before I end my life. Who knows, 2020 seems to be a spooky year.

I’m almost ashamed to say this is the first time hearing him speak, after being fascinated by his work for several years. Thanks to both of you, this is great.

I love Penrose's explanation and fascination with Gödel's theorem and how it leads him to the conclusion that understanding and perhaps therefore consciousness is not computational. I've heard him say it many times in other interview appearances and I think I always understood the point, but for some reason each time I hear him make it, it becomes more and more profound.

Congratulations Sir Roger Penrose for winning the Nobel Prize !!!!

notable quotes from Roger Penrose: "Somehow, understanding why the rules give you truths, enables you to transcend the rules." (23:40) and later on: "if you have mass, you have beautiful clocks." (1:17:10)

The slow melting of Penrose into his chair is hilarious

Great interview. Started watching the Jordan Peterson discussion with Penrose but it got very bogged down and muddled. Lex was much better at drawing out Penrose's ideas.

32:14 - "You're a materialist but you acknowledge we don't really know what the material is." lmao

The feeling of reverence I get listening to these is unparalleled. Do I even deserve to have proximal audience with this brilliant man? Thank you, Lex, for your wonderful work. I hope Roger has many years left in him.

I love Penrose’s humble approach and open acknowledgment of for all that we think we know there’s just so much that we don’t even have the slightest clue on

"Understanding why the rules give you truths, enables you to transcend the rules." Fantastic quote. Know the rules so well you can break them. Thats where innovation and creativity occurs. Thank you Lex for this conversation.

Lex, I've listened to many of your podcasts, primarily to enhance my own ideas, thoughts, perceptions and attempted understandings of consciousness. This one with Roger Penrose has affected me most profoundly, so my heartfelt thanks to both of you.

What a privilege for those of us who don’t frequently get to hear the thinking of Physicists …listening to Professor Penrose talk is I imagine like sitting with Mozart while he was composing 🙏🙏🏿

Roger and Sabine Hossenfelder are my fave physicists on youtube, bringing opium free facts instead of Hollywood physics (like Michio and Neil often do)

I've never seen Penrose so relaxed and clear on this topic. Must be Lex's influence.

This is one of your best podcast episode Lex, Loved every single minute of it. Roger is arguably the greatest mind of 21st century.

I've been watching your podcasts for about 6 months and am delighted by the depth of information shared in layman terms on topics richly stimulating. Gratitude for the content.

thank you a million! it was such a pleasure to listen to this natural flow of conversation, Sir Roger is an exceptional person! Thank you for interviewing the way these mind blowing ideas are actually unpacked, it feels like you opened so much even for far far away from scientific people. You’re an amazing interviewer!

My fastest click. The Road to Reality is one of my favourite books and I've been itching to finish the Emperor's New Mind and Shadows of the Mind. These books are at the intersection of Math, physics, theoretical cs and philosophy, which is absolutely delightful.

*Wondering what to watch on youtube* "Posted 23 seconds ago" I love it when this happens

Lost count the amount of times I've come back to rewatch this. Sir Roger Penrose reminds me of my granddad.. minus the noble prize, degrees, intelligence, theories, mathematical genius. Think it's the accent and comb over tbh

Roger Penrose has this incredible way of talking almost like he's mumbling something irrelevant only to connect it to a deeper story offering great insight logic and clarity with easy to follow language. What a man

Great challenging questions ....then he shuts up and lets Rodger unfold his wings and soar. Roger has a gift that anyone can understand him, as he transmits information even a child could grasp it.

I love how he get all emotional when talking about those elephants. Same for me Roger, same for me ...

This conversation is a gift truly! Thank you! Helps a lot. I’ve been thinking about bounded infinity! Also when he talks about photons moving through infinity from one universal manifestation to the next, seems like an interesting beginning of a working theory for “imagination”

One of the smartest minds of our time, I have re-watch this video many times to actually grasp everything he says.

Damn, this is one the the most interesting interviews with this legend. I was in a trance listening to sir Penrose speak for the whole 1.5 hours. Fascinating!

Please 🙏 Lex another round with Sir Penrose ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

I have been saving this one for a while, it's well worth the wait. Thank you both for this! 🖤

This channel is like Joe Rogan without the weed, questioning the nature of everything is what rational people do. Thanks Lex for keeping us sane during these crazy times.

Sir Roger Penrose seems particularly agile and well-rested in this interview. Really sounds like a sharp middle-aged man. I wish I was this sharp on my 36 y.o. Amazing work Lex!

This is without hesitation, the most interesting discussion I have ever listened to. Penrose ideas are blow minding

This channel does a service to humanity to record the thoughts of so many intellectual giants.

"whatever a consciousness is, is not a computation" I agree with Roger on a very deep level

I had never imagined you'd be bringing Penrose to the conversation. Thank you very much for this Lex!

The most important 85 minutes I’ve spent in my 68 years. Thank you 🙏

Re-listening to this conversation made my morning beautiful. Have a great day Lex, thank you for everything you do. ❤️

This dialog will take some thought. Roger has a sort of thought courage that enables him to extend our universe of ideas in ways that are at once comfortable and completely foreign, his story makes a great thread. You almost threw him off but he has this "consciousness" that wouldn't stray. Thanks for helping to ground the story from time to time.

Probably the best interview with Penrose in a long time. He was sharp, full of energy, and visibly relaxed.

Oh such lovely companions on this breezy Tuesday January morning! How happy I feel to be alive just now.

I was in awe when this talk was first aired, rewatched it today and I was almost in tears.

I want to get to my 90ys that good! A beautiful mind

I haven't even watched this yet but I just want to say THANK YOU Lex for all the work you do. You are connecting with the worlds best and brightest and your work will live on for years and years to come.

It's great how Roger admits when he does not know, there is so much about the world which is still a mystery.

Just discovered your podcast. Several times I have tried to read Penrose's Road to Reality. Big fan of Penrose. Thank you. You are great.

Roger Penrose is the most brilliant, fascinating, and lovable scientist and thinker alive today. Thank you indeed Lex for your most wonderful episode ever. Like another commentator put it: I wish this interview was lasting for 24 hours🙂 Shine on👍

I love Roger, he doesn't have all the answers, but he knows to ask the right questions. Also, Lex wonderful job on igniting such an interesting interview.

A podcast with this man does t deserve an intro that long

Colour me impressed to see a layman have such an intelligent conversation with a Nobel Laureate. That was some incredible research to keep him chuckling along with your queries. Kudos Lex.

pay attention to the way he interacts with his body during this conversation, you can tell he is getting so passionate just having to share the knowledge of all that he knows.

Lex has an amazing talent. He does his homework and that’s obvious before all of his interviews. Not only does he do his homework he has a great grasp for the topic and his intellect drives all of his interviews to success. I will say this one so grabbed me I’ve watched it now 3 times. Wow. So much information. And as someone already commented it’s too bad it wasn’t 24 hours long. One of the best podcast ever.

That's what Internet was invented for 🙂 So many ideas, intelligence, wisdom and humbleness. Showing light paths beyond the horizon of our knowledge, but still grounded into it. One of the best content I ever came across. Thanks you very much.

It seems that Sir Roger is one of the wizards who hold this universe for us. Thank you for the opportunity to hear his brilliant mind. So how is the superposition principle related to the equivalence principle?

I am blown away. I have thought about consciousness in much a similar way that Roger Penrose has for awhile, and my thoughts on everything he said aligns perfectly with mine, and makes sense to me. I feel like he has advanced my understanding of how things work and my exploration of these thoughts by decades. I am immediately going to read and consume any Penrose material I can. His curiosity and intuition feels unrivaled. I am mainly writing this for myself, but it feels like every single thing he talks about is the most interesting concept in the world. Thank you for this podcast, and thank you to whoever told me to watch this video, I can't remember who you were but I am eternally grateful

I haven't even started watching this conversation and I can predict 2 things already: 1. I'm going to enjoy it immensely 2. I won't understand jack shit

I now come back to this gem more and more often and I listen to it either to fall asleep or to have my morning coffee in the incredible company of Penrose. How smooth it sways between topics and thoughts and problems that swirls your mind. I, somtetimes to put the headphones on and max the volume to listen closer some passages, like finding new harmonies in a concerto.

Lex's expression at 1:19:51 is exactly my expression while watching/listening to all his guests. It's frustratingly fun to and stretch my understanding of these ideas.

9:00 in and an 88 year old has fundamentally changed the way I view consciousness when related to A.I. It's silly, this many years into following the subject, I've never heard it put in a way that was so fundamentally to-the-point than the philosophical fork he just laid before us. If only the adeptus mechanicus was truly a thing.

Man I’m so glad I gave your podcast a shot. You are excellent at your interviews. Thank you.

Superb interview with a living Legend! Bravo Lex. Many thanks Roger!

That was an awesome talk I love his perspective. In my mind I think of our whole universe being born from a nodal point, expanding through "space" like an antinode of a traveling wave and collapsing back into another nodal point of a wave that exists inside another world.

Amazing! Roger... Had to post this before the opening ad even finished. Super excited for this discussion.

My great grandfather was a Penrose, my mother’s aunt is doing some research into the family tree now, I was quite surprised when my mother called to tell me that she had been watching a programme on this subject when Sir Roger Penrose was mentioned . This is so interesting to listen too, it’s something that has only come to my awareness in recent years. ❤️

@23:32: goosebumps!!....Roger Penrose is an intellectual giant.....

Penrose is so down to earth. He truly gives weight to the cliche while traversing the rugged terrain. I loved this interview Lex. You help all of us to expand our mind and gain courage to speak our truth. The truth that is squeezed out of each of us by way of the early onset of controlled learning environments. I am grateful I was able to maintain many of the simple truths of life from early infancy. That I’ve been able to experience truths as well as see and witness mind blowing realities here and now. Part of unlocking the consciousness is to not justify it away. When you know you are experiencing the interaction with a highly intelligent and sentient being don’t shy away. Don’t become fearful. Let go of preconceived notions of your childhood when our truest forms and expressions of intelligence were marginalized and replaced with conformity to raise workers ants for the colony. We do not need to indulge in mushrooms and other psychedelics to achieve this reality. We are already well equipped with the knowledge and abilities to engage inter-terrestrial life which is present and amongst all of today and have been long before our reemergence. Stop looking for shiny space ships and grays. The intelligence that is amongst us is far more advanced and adapted to travel they we can or are willing in large part to comprehend. Your work gives me courage to speak my truth without fear. I am grateful for the platform you provide.

Wow, Penrose! What a high-quality conversation!

So incredible to see Professor Penrose win the Nobel Prize. One of the greatest minds.

Can you imagine the fun you could have being this guys friend and actually being able to talk with him about this stuff.

Lex, that was a great interview. I wish every interviewer was as patient as you are. It seems like majority of the hosts love to hear themself speak than actually learn something. Thank you!

The part(around 28:10) about the female Elephant leader making a detour to give respect(or greetings or whatever) to her fallen sister made my eye's water...thats so beautifull. Edit: The rest is pretty hard to grasp and put into picture. Nice and relaxed podcast!

Really, Thank you for this Lex. This was a really beautiful talk in many ways. Very much appreciated.

Incredible how he has a sharp mind and do not lose track of ideas and memories at an age when more people have some kind of decline in mental faculties including Chess GM's!

Love the ending. I recommend a book called visual complex analysis for anyone that wants to delve into it. Wonderful book.

Congrats to Roger Penrose on winning the Nobel prize! I am honored to have written a chapter about him on my thesis project.

He just won the Nobel Prize for Physics 2020 !

This may have been the most brain stimulating one and a half hours I’ve ever experienced. I want to watch this every few months.

This should be in Hall of Fame. An incredible discussion and inspiration to million.

Congrats on the Nobel Prize in Physics to this brilliant mind! Awesome dude and a true genius of our time!

I got more out of this than any other podcast/interview ever 💯 thank you -

Hi lex , I have been your subscriber for over a year now and I want to say this from the bottom of my heart. Thank you soo much for your work. You are one the best advocate of love and science.

One thing is understand complicated equations and keep them for ourselves.Other thing is to understand all this complex problems and spell them out to the masses with so much clarity.What an amazing mind Penrose have!!A rare diamond!

Penrose is one of my Physics Heros..but more importantly an amazing ,humble human who's stretched his mind into other areas...loved this.