About the guest: Andrew Cutler, PhD is a machine learning engineer who has studied natural language processing, psychometrics & personality using quantitative methods. He writes about the origins of consciousness on his Substack, "Vectors of Mind"
Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Cutler discuss: language & recursion; human evolution & the origins of "higher" consciousness; symbolic cognition, social intelligence & metacognition; creation myths & ritual cults throughout history; snake cults in human history; the intentional ingestion of snake venom in the present-day; the "Stone Ape Theory" of consciousness; the origins of civilization; and more.
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Related episodes:
M&M #141: Evolution, Language, Domestication, Symbolic Cognition, AI & Large Language Models | Terrence Deacon
M&M #1: Psychedelics, Civilization, Religion, Death & Plant Medicine | Brian Muraresku
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