March Ask Me Anything & Subscriber Discount
Plus, "Beyond Woke" has reached 10K Subscribers on Substack!
March AMA
It’s that time again—paid subscribers are invited to submit questions for our March Ask Me Anything (AMA). Note, I am in Australia as a special guest of University of Technology Sydney. Reid Nicewonder, videographer and president of Street Epistemology International, is here as well and will participate in our AMA answer video. Feel free to include questions about Australia or specifically for Reid! Comments on this post are open to paid subscribers.
Submit your questions here by sundown (your time) on Thursday, March 23. If you are thinking about becoming a paid subscriber to participate in AMAs, keep reading…
Subscriber Discount through March 31, 2023
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Both free and paid subscribers get a first look at the week’s new videos and written content. Paid subscribers can participate in AMAs, watch exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and more. The normal paid subscription is $5/month or $50/year, but we are offering a discount through the end of the month (March 31st). With this limited-time offer, you can get 10% off an annual subscription (which is already discounted from a month-to-month subscription!).
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Peter Boghossian
Hello,
I will get straight to the question.
What are some of your own personal observations, regarding previously unknown differences AND similarities with the younger generation across the multiple nations that you have done the Street Epistemology?
Thank you
Hope your move was smooth and your not living out of boxes, at this point.
Thank you for hosting these AMAs, I am excited to hear what Reid has to say! Thank you, Peter, Gina, and Reid! I have the NPR question that I would love to hear Peter and Gina’s thoughts on since they both were in the “All Things Reconsidered” series. I also have a new question for both Peter and Reid. It is perhaps the same question asked in two different ways, so I welcome their answers on either or both questions.
The NPR Question
When the ENCODE project claimed roughly 80% of the human genome has purpose, NPR ran an article framing the new discoveries as the biological functions of "junk DNA" potentially eventually explaining how macro-evolution occurred. https://www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139757702/dont-throw-it-out-junk-dna-essential-in-evolution Do you think NPR's article is a fair representation of the significance of this discovery and the historical debate surrounding the term "junk DNA"?
Example article about the ENCODE project findings: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11247
The New Questions
For Peter:
Should humanoid aliens be a surprise or an expectation? If, given the right conditions in the correct sequence, the probability of life in other parts of the universe has a probability approaching 1 or 100% because the fossil record is evidence that there exists a natural pathway to life here on earth similar to a recipe, would this diminish the weight of the argument of homology as evidence of common ancestry? If it is bound to happen elsewhere in the universe multiple times, why not here as well?
For Reid:
If scientists could prove that two specific animals never shared a common ancestor, would that convince you that macro-evolution never happened, and would your answer change as the “number of animals without a common ancestor” grows larger? Which two or more animals would scientists need to prove did not have a common ancestor [observed evidence E] for you to conclude the following statement is true?
[Observed evidence E] combined with reason is sufficient, to assume that the “gaps” in our knowledge of how macro-evolution occurred, will [never] be filled by further scientific inquiry.
Thank you for considering my questions!
As a side note, I can’t take credit for coming up with this question. I was introduced to the puzzle concerning probability by Paul Nelson. I hope I reproduced his question accurately. Here is his relevant presentation for reference:
Testing Universal Common Descent - Part 4 - Dr Paul Nelson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Rz7KpDfRI