HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Brain Games' Jason Silva Explains Why Robots Won't Destroy the Human Race

Views:939
@ReasonVids

"I am not who I think I am," declares Jason Silva, the host of National Geographic's show, Brain Games. "I am not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am. Because when we communicate, I make a model of your brain in my brain. And then I make a model of how your brain is modeling my brain, in my brain. And then I respond according to who you think you think I am."

Silva ends his supercharged sermon on human consciousness with a chuckle. But is he laughing at the serpentine logic of his own ideas? Or is he enjoying the ease with which he articulates a stream of symmetrical sentences, each of which seems designed to tangle the brain as well as the tongue?

It's hard to say with Silva. In conversation, it can be hard just to keep pace with the self-proclaimed "wonder junkie". At his best, the beauty of his words are a poetic match for the grandeur of his ideas. One minute, he's a caffeinated Carl Sagan on a rapid-fire patter about the ethical dilemas posed by sentient robots in his favorite film of the year, Ex Machina. A few femtoseconds later, he's expounding on the convergent prognostications of contemporary futurist Ray Kurzweil and Romantic-era poet John Keats, all of which he conveys with the trippy enthusiasm of an internet age Timothy Leary.

Silva's day job is hosting Brain Games, a reality game show that attempts to explain the strange inner workings of the human mind. Now in its sixth year, it's the highest rated show in the history of the National Geographic Channel. The new season, which begins on Feb. 14th, continues the winning formula.

"The episode I'm most excited about is called 'The God Brain,' " says Silva. "It's shot in Jerusalem... and it's about the neuroscience of religious experience."

Not content to host one hit program, Silva's new web series, Shots of Awe takes the intellectual journey a step farther. It's a hallucinogenic smorgasbord of free association – short videos played out in words and images – that ask some very big questions about the future of technology, God, sex, and the limits of human consciousness.

Silva's commentary would be tiresome without a measure of self-awareness and proportion. In conversation, he's acutely aware of the differences between his poetic presentations of techno-utopia and the hard limits of contemporary scientific knowledge. Even his most outlandish notions cling to the edges of plausible speculation, never veering into New Age or supernatural explanations. Sometimes the wide-eyed optimist flirts with self-doubt.

"Shots of Awe is art..." Silva reminds us, adding that his work shouldn't be subjected to the rigors of academic scrutiny. "I am not a professor. I am an enthusiast and an artist."

In the film Contact, based Carl Sagan's novel, the astronomer Ellie Arroway travels alone to a distant galaxy. Marvelling at the beauty of the stars, she laments, "It's so beautiful. They should've sent a poet."

That feeling of wonder is what Jason Silva is all about.

Runs about 21 minutes.

Produced, edited, and hosted by Todd Krainin. Cameras and audio by Josh Swain.

Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2016/02/11/brain-games-jason-silva for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

brain games
,
national geographic
,
natgeo
,
jason silva
,
ex machina
,
shots of awe
,
carl sagan
    Thumbnail for Democratic Debate in 90 Seconds: Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton2:02
    Democratic Debate in 90 Seconds: Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton
    ReasonVids
    871 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Reasons Benghazi Still Matters2:16
    3 Reasons Benghazi Still Matters
    ReasonVids
    1005 views
    Thumbnail for Grover Norquist on Open Borders and Racist Immigration Policy11:28
    Grover Norquist on Open Borders and Racist Immigration Policy
    ReasonVids
    958 views
    Thumbnail for Academy Awards Alert! Why You Might Be a Fashion Criminal6:31
    Academy Awards Alert! Why You Might Be a Fashion Criminal
    ReasonVids
    910 views
    Thumbnail for Are Your Kids Too Fragile? How to Make the Next Generation More Resilient.25:23
    Are Your Kids Too Fragile? How to Make the Next Generation More Resilient.
    ReasonVids
    818 views
    Thumbnail for Mark "I am the majority" Robinson triggers the democrats during hearing.4:01
    Mark "I am the majority" Robinson triggers the democrats during hearing.
    bestofpatriots.win
    1472 views
    Thumbnail for Several things that you should have figured out on your own but didn't.0:38
    Several things that you should have figured out on your own but didn't.
    bestofsaidit
    912 views
    Thumbnail for Don't Be Afraid of Those 6,000 Felons Just Released From Prison - FAMM's Kevin Ring10:55
    Don't Be Afraid of Those 6,000 Felons Just Released From Prison - FAMM's Kevin Ring
    ReasonVids
    915 views
    Thumbnail for Does Google Secretly Manipulate Us To Vote for Democrats? The Evidence Is Flimsy.28:31
    Does Google Secretly Manipulate Us To Vote for Democrats? The Evidence Is Flimsy.
    ReasonVids
    931 views
    Thumbnail for Super Buu vs Agent Venom - MUGEN (Gameplay) S2 • E062:07
    Super Buu vs Agent Venom - MUGEN (Gameplay) S2 • E06
    memology101
    1257 views
    Thumbnail for Shelby Steele on the Implications of Michael Brown's Tragic Death6:34
    Shelby Steele on the Implications of Michael Brown's Tragic Death
    ReasonVids
    930 views
    Thumbnail for The Gorilla Judge's Movie: The Sequel | SomePkmn-LovingDude5:31
    The Gorilla Judge's Movie: The Sequel | SomePkmn-LovingDude
    mattknezz
    407 views
    Thumbnail for Former LA Mayor Richard Riordan on Schwarzenegger, Unions, and Bankrupt Cities9:39
    Former LA Mayor Richard Riordan on Schwarzenegger, Unions, and Bankrupt Cities
    ReasonVids
    857 views
    Thumbnail for Would ObamaCare Cover Sticker-Shock Treatment?2:48
    Would ObamaCare Cover Sticker-Shock Treatment?
    ReasonVids
    928 views
    Thumbnail for The High Value of Low Speech: Attorney Robert Corn-Revere Defends The Right to Offend35:00
    The High Value of Low Speech: Attorney Robert Corn-Revere Defends The Right to Offend
    ReasonVids
    906 views
    Thumbnail for every commercial is niggers1:00
    every commercial is niggers
    bestofupgoat
    251 views
    Thumbnail for The crisis in physics is real: Science is failing | Sabine Hossenfelder12:45
    The crisis in physics is real: Science is failing | Sabine Hossenfelder
    invidious
    195 views
    Thumbnail for U.S. Detention Camps 2021. Suspicious as hell and creepy.3:20
    U.S. Detention Camps 2021. Suspicious as hell and creepy.
    bestofpoal
    2060 views
    Thumbnail for GOP Supporters in Their Own Words Before the NH Debate2:44
    GOP Supporters in Their Own Words Before the NH Debate
    ReasonVids
    928 views
    Thumbnail for Pot Prevails: Rob Kampia Discusses Marijuana's Recent Political Triumphs5:14
    Pot Prevails: Rob Kampia Discusses Marijuana's Recent Political Triumphs
    ReasonVids
    880 views
    Thumbnail for Why Do You Need a License To Blow Dry Hair? Arizona Gov. Ducey Fights the ‘Bullies’ in His State5:32
    Why Do You Need a License To Blow Dry Hair? Arizona Gov. Ducey Fights the ‘Bullies’ in His State
    ReasonVids
    971 views
    Thumbnail for My lawyer told me...0:33
    My lawyer told me...
    bestofupgoat
    68 views
    Thumbnail for Timmy is based 0:58
    Timmy is based
    bestofupgoat
    566 views
    Thumbnail for The Architecture of Liminal Space | Stewart Hicks12:01
    The Architecture of Liminal Space | Stewart Hicks
    invidious
    421 views
    Thumbnail for A tale of two dogs0:58
    A tale of two dogs
    bestofvoatxyz
    526 views

points

Permalink
Reply
brain games
,
national geographic
,
natgeo
,
jason silva
,
ex machina
,
shots of awe
,
carl sagan
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle