Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [Part 104]
Stephen Wolfram hosts a live and unscripted Ask Me Anything about the history of science and technology for all ages. Find the playlist of Q&A's here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa
Originally livestreamed at: / stephen_wolfram
If you missed the original livestream of this episode, feel free to submit a question you would like Stephen to answer in a future Q&A livestream here: https://wolfr.am/12cczmv5J
00:00:00: Start stream
00:05 SW starts talking
00:21 Why are there herbivores and carnivores? Isn't it evolutionarily best for everything to be omnivorous?
7:43 Short digestive systems are better for meat, as they offer some protection from infection, but are less efficient for extracting nutrients from plant matter. Fire allowed us to enjoy both worlds.
8:27 Aren't we "specialists" in terms of our ability to think?
19:29 What is holding back robotics? Why don't we have humanoid robots yet?
27:44 Neural nets and learning algorithms can find approximate solutions to many problems in robotics, I guess.
31:22 Dr. Wolfram, do you have any thoughts on Michael Levin's work with biological systems using bioelectricity for self-organization and communication?
34:18 Any thoughts on computer-designed organisms?
45:02 Could we build robots out of random proteins?
1:05:10 K. Eric Drexler and the Foresight Institute researched and designed molecular machines on the assumption one that day a universal assembler will be created.
1:14:14 What if every microorganism is also a macroorganism? What is a macroorganism?
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