Stephen Hsu
Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University.
Appears in 95 Episodes
Huawei and the US-China Chip War — #44
TP Huang is a computer scientist and analyst of global technology development. He posts often on X: https://twitter.com/tphuang.Steve and TP discuss:0:00 Introduction:...
Meritocracy, SAT Scores, and Laundering Prestige at Elite Universities — #43
Steve discusses 10 key graphs related to meritocracy and university admissions. Predictive power of SATs and other factors in elite admissions decisions. College learn...
Aella: Sex Work, Sex Research, and Data Science — #42
Aella is a sex worker, sex researcher, and data scientist.Aella on X: https://twitter.com/Aella_GirlInterviews with ex-prostitutes on the pimp life (Las Vegas)https://...
AI on your phone? Tim Dettmers on quantization of neural networks — #41
Tim Dettmers develops computationally efficient methods for deep learning. He is a leader in quantization: coarse graining of large neural networks to increase speed a...
Paul Huang, the real situation in Taiwan: politics, military, China — #40
Paul Huang is a journalist and research fellow with the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation. He is currently based in Taipei, Taiwan.Sample articles:Taiwan’s Military Has...
Richard Hanania & Rob Henderson: The Rise of Wokeness and the Influence of Civil Rights Law — #39
Steve Hsu, Richard Hanania, and Rob Henderson were scheduled for a June 2023 panel as part of the University of Austin (UATX) Forbidden Courses series. Steve missed th...
Richard Sander (UCLA Law) on the Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling — #38
Richard Sander is Jesse Dukeminier Professor at UCLA Law School. AB Harvard, JD, PhD (Economics) Northwestern.Steve and Richard discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling...
AI Cambrian Explosion: Conversation With Three AI Engineers — #37
In this episode, Steve talks to three AI engineers from his startup SuperFocus.AI.0:00 Introduction1:06 The Google memo and open-source AI 14:41 Sparsification and the...
David Goldman: US-China competition, AI, Electric Vehicles, and Manufacturing — #36
David Paul Goldman is an American economic strategist and author, best known for his series of online essays in the Asia Times under the pseudonym Spengler with the fi...
Artificial Intelligence & Large Language Models: Oxford Lecture — #35
This week's episode is based on a lecture Steve gave to an audience of theoretical physicists at Oxford University. The topic is artificial intelligence and large lang...
Simone Collins: IVF, Embryo Selection, Dating on the Spectrum, and Pronatalism — #34
In collaboration with her husband Malcolm Collins, Simone is an author (The Pragmatist's Guide to Life, Relationships, Sexuality, Governance, and Crafting Religion), e...
Katherine Dee: Culture, Identity, and Isolation in the Digital Age — #33
Katherine Dee is a writer, journalist, and internet historian.Steve and Katherine discuss:0:00 Introduction1:15 Katherine’s early life and background21:52 Mass shootin...
Marc Martinez: "Dream Big" and the Golden Age of Bodybuilding — #32
Marc Martinez is the director of Dream Big, a documentary about Gold's Gym and the golden age of bodybuilding in Venice and Santa Monica in the 1970s.Steve and Marc di...
Gilles Saint-Paul: The Yellow Vests, French Politics, and Hypergamy — #31
Gilles Saint-Paul is Professeur à l'Ecole Normale Supérieure. He is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in Engineering and received his PhD from MIT in Economics. Gilles...
Bing vs. Bard, US-China STEM Competition, and Embryo Screening — #30
Steve discusses the competition between Microsoft and Google, the competition between the U.S. and China in STEM, China’s new IVF policy, and a Science Magazine survey...
ChatGPT, LLMs, and AI — #29
Steve discusses Large Language Model AIs such as ChatGPT.
Dominic Cummings: Vote Leave, Brexit, COVID, and No. 10 with Boris — #28
Dominic Cummings' time in No. 10 Downing Street as Boris Johnson's Chief Advisor was one of the most interesting and impactful periods in modern UK political history.
Sahil Lavingia: Founding Gumroad, The Minimalist Entrepreneur, and our AI LLM future — #27
Sahil Lavingia founded Gumroad at the age of 19 and built it into a leading digital commerce platform. He is the author of The Minimalist Entrepreneur and an investor ...
Geoffrey Miller: Evolutionary Psychology, Polyamorous Relationships, and Effective Altruism — #26
Geoffrey Miller is an American evolutionary psychologist, author, and a professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico.
Anna Krylov: The Politicization of Science in Academia — #25
Anna I. Krylov is an outspoken advocate of freedom of speech and academic freedom.
Abdel Abdellaoui: Genetics, Psychiatric Traits, and Educational Attainment — #24
Abdel Abdellaoui is a geneticist who has been involved in a wide range of studies on psychiatric genetics, behavioral genetics, and population genetics.
Richard Sander on SCOTUS Oral Arguments: Affirmative Action and Discrimination against Asian Americans at Harvard and UNC
Richard Sander has studied the structure and effects of law school admissions policies. He coined the term "Mismatch" to describe the negative consequences resulting f...
Discovering the Multiverse: Quantum Mechanics and Hugh Everett III, with Peter Byrne — #22
Peter Byrne is an investigative reporter and science writer based in Northern California.
Jeffrey Sachs: Lessons from the COVID Commission, Lab Leak Questions, and Nord Stream — #21
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development.
Rob Henderson: A Journey from Foster Care to the US Military to Elite Academia — #20
Rob Henderson grew up in foster homes in California, joined the Air Force at 17, attended Yale on the G.I. Bill, and is currently a Gates Fellow at Cambridge Universit...
Lyle Goldstein on U.S. Strategic Challenges: Russia, China, Ukraine, and Taiwan — #19
Lyle Goldstein is Director of Asia Engagement at the Washington think-tank Defense Priorities, which advocates for realism and restraint in U.S.defense policy.
Harvard Veritas: interview with a recent graduate (anonymous) — #18
The guest for this episode is a recent graduate of Harvard College, now pursuing a STEM PhD at another elite university.
Richard Lowery: The War for American Universities — #17
Richard Lowery is a professor of finance at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin.
Tim Palmer (Oxford): Status and Future of Climate Modeling — #16
Tim Palmer is Royal Society Research Professor in Climate Physics, and a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin Institute.
Kishore Mahbubani: A Nuanced View of Asia & China's Rise — #15
Kishore Mahbubani is Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.