What makes humans special? Is it language? Culture? Throwing? Semiotics? Impossible burgers?
Ryan thinks it’s the extent to which we combine (“meat”, cheese, bun – see!?). In this episode we Dawdlers discuss this in this “short long” and will perhaps revisit it again sometime.
Join hands and feel our infinite combinatorial power, people!
-The Dawdlers
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00:01:13 – Ryan’s deep passions // A way in // Physics and the humanities and nothing in between!!!
00:06:58 – Without further ado, another story // Ubiquitous combination // Human exceptionalism?
00:12:54 – Cognitive combinatorialism // A simple definition // Conceptual blending/integration // Possible worlds
00:28:32 – A framework // Analogy and categorization // Actions and conditions // Shark test bites // It’s the extent to which we combine that’s different about us
00:39:57 – Biotic exceptionalism, not human exceptionalism // Photosynthesis comparison // Waste, extinction, and niche construction
