Can Science Be Efficient? The 264th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

In this week’s episode, we discuss changes in global health from Barcelona, as indicated by how much public coughing is taking place now. This segues into a discussion of cancer, mRNA, trade-offs, and complex systems. Then: what DOGE needs to understand about science, which is not inherently efficient. What are indirect costs on federal grants, why are they necessary, and why do they vary? And: how does having indirect costs create perverse incentives by university administrators to privilege scientists over non-scientists, and Big Science over (regular) science. Specifically, science in the West is failing because fast, expensive empirical science is nearly always favored over slow, cheap, and/or theoretical science. Universities get richer, and Big Scientists get promoted, but grad students don’t learn how to be scientists, and we all lose out on having basic scientific questions answered, which will ultimately be our downfall. Also: the Ship of Theseus.

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Our sponsors:

Pique’s Nandaka: delicious mushroom, tea, and chocolate drink that provides all day energy. Get 20% off plus free frother+beaker at http://www.Piquelife.com/DARKHORSE

Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

CrowdHealth: Pay for healthcare with crowdfunding instead of insurance. It’s way better. Use code DarkHorse at http://JoinCrowdHealth.com to get 1st 3 months for $99/month.

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Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

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Mentioned in this episode:

Evolutionary Lens #84, June 2021 (Hey YouTube: Divide by Zero): https://odysee.com/@BretWeinstein:f/EvoLens84:b

Research University Classifications for 2025: https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/carnegie-classification/research-designations-faqs/

NSF’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey: https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2023

Metamorphosis: https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/metamorphosis

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Our sponsors:

Pique’s Nandaka: delicious mushroom, tea, and chocolate drink that provides all day energy. Get 20% off plus free frother+beaker at http://www.Piquelife.com/DARKHORSE

Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Scrumptious & freshly harvested. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you’ve ever had for $1 shipping.

CrowdHealth: Pay for healthcare with crowdfunding instead of insurance. It’s way better. Use code DarkHorse at http://JoinCrowdHealth.com to get 1st 3 months for $99/month.

*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Timestamps:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:02:42 Producer Requests
00:04:17 Sponsors: Pique’s Nandaka, Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club (& discussion of food flavors in Europe), CrowdHealth
00:14:54 No One is Coughing, Why?
00:25:35 mRNA: Cancer & Bird Flu
00:35:54 RFK Jr. Confirmed & Thoughts on DOGE and the Trump Administration
00:45:10 DOGE & Academic Grants
01:10:31 Funding the Process for Understanding the Universe
01:13:54 Musk is Too Tech Utopian
01:17:04 Ship of Theseus and the American System
01:22:19 What Theory Really Does
01:25:33 New Podcast with Jo Ellis
01:32:09 Closing