#269 – Lee Cronin: Origin of Life, Aliens, Complexity, and Consciousness

About this episode

<p>Lee Cronin is a chemist at the University of Glasgow. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>Paperspace</b>: <a href="https://gradient.run/lex">https://gradient.run/lex</a> to get $15 credit<br /> &#8211; <b>Athletic Greens</b>: <a href="https://athleticgreens.com/lex">https://athleticgreens.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil<br /> &#8211; <b>Notion</b>: <a href="https://notion.com/startups">https://notion.com/startups</a> to get up to $1000 off team plan<br /> &#8211; <b>Blinkist</b>: <a href="https://blinkist.com/lex">https://blinkist.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get 25% off premium<br /> &#8211; <b>Onnit</b>: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/onnit">https://lexfridman.com/onnit</a> to get up to 10% off</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Lee&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/leecronin">https://twitter.com/leecronin</a><br /> Lee&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin/">https://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin/</a><br /> Chemify&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://chemify.io">https://chemify.io</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (08:31) &#8211; Life and chemistry<br /> (21:56) &#8211; Self-replicating molecules<br /> (32:19) &#8211; Origin of life<br /> (48:45) &#8211; Life on Mars<br /> (53:49) &#8211; Aliens<br /> (1:00:30) &#8211; Origin of life continued<br /> (1:07:24) &#8211; Fermi Paradox<br /> (1:17:04) &#8211; UFOs<br /> (1:25:25) &#8211; Science and authority<br /> (1:31:28) &#8211; Pickle experiment<br /> (1:34:23) &#8211; Assembly theory<br /> (2:17:22) &#8211; Free will<br /> (2:28:37) &#8211; Cellular automata<br /> (2:52:08) &#8211; Chemputation<br /> (3:09:23) &#8211; Universal programming language for chemistry<br /> (3:22:34) &#8211; Chemputer safety<br /> (3:35:15) &#8211; Automated engineering of nanomaterials<br /> (3:44:15) &#8211; Consciousness<br /> (3:53:48) &#8211; Joscha Bach<br /> (4:05:04) &#8211; Meaning of life</p>