What's up Zengineers? This episode continues our marathon of depth, diving into the pool of modern human understanding on our way to episode 50!!
How do we define an experiment and who is really running them? Here's a hint. It's all of us, but we might not think of it that way. At least not in day to day life. Why not? Well we think things should probably be reframed so more of us do, and we'll tell you why. Surprised? Probably not.
This episode starts off talking about the colloquial idea of “experimenting with an activity” like, trying out surfing, versus the idea of “running an experiment" ... the more traditional scientific peer reviewed kinda stuff. From here we uncover the depth of what it means to really experiment.
You'll enjoy a bit of a semantic dance as we spiral through one of Brian's more complex experiments (or series of tests) done during his industrial automation and mechanical engineering days. Then we change rhythm and pull back to discuss everyday human experience with "real" experiments, touching on the rigor and control required to fit the more classic scientific definition.
The world of big data obviously comes up where we touch on ongoing loops and testing, then more loops and then more testing. Modern software is tracking everything we do, our devices monitor more and more about us, and the complete human understanding is available at any moment in any location. Our entire society is now obsessed with optimization and modification. We're able to analyze our every movement and our every thought to alter our paths and move towards whatever goals we choose. Is this good? Do we know what good is? Do we have control? Should we have control?
Life is squishy and applying scientific methods and rigorous analysis to our goals has created magic beyond our wildest imagination, but is there a limit? Are the problems of fake news and massive political, economic, & ethnic polarity a result of leaning too heavily on principles that we just invented a few hundred years ago? We should be proud of what we've accomplished and of what we know as a species, but we might be pushing up against a philosophical or spiritual boundary that we're not expecting.
This one's a real doozie, and we hope you dig it. If you haven't listened to Episode 44, "On Experts, Algorithms, and Scientific Thinking," you may want to start there, first, or you may want to chase this episode with that one. Both are diving deeply into the same black hole with true reckless of spirit!!
As always, let us know what you think, like, or dislike on our website at https://www.zengineeringpodcast.com, rate and review Zengineering on iTunes, and support Zengineering on Patreon.
Cheers,
Adam & Brian
006 - Hitlist: On Unlimited Paid Vacation, Big Telescopes, and Surfing the Universe
005 - On Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy Sports, and Lego Math
004 - On Engines, Motors, and Electric Cars
003 - On Velcro, Dexterity, and Quantum Computing
002 - On Nerd Kids, Skateboard Tricks, And Digital Cameras
001 - On Legos, Marbles, and The Origin Of All Matter
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