Lex Fridman Podcast - #488 – Infinity, Paradoxes that Broke Mathematics, Gödel Incompleteness & the Multiverse – Joel David Hamkins
Joel David Hamkins is a mathematician and philosopher specializing in set theory, the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of infinity, and he’s the #1 highest-rated user on MathOverflow. He is also the author of several books, including Proof and the Art of Mathematics and Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics. And he has a great blog called Infinitely More.
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Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/joel-david-hamkins-transcript
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EPISODE LINKS:
Joel’s X: https://x.com/JDHamkins
Joel’s Website: https://jdh.hamkins.org
Joel’s Substack: https://www.infinitelymore.xyz
Joel’s MathOverflow: https://mathoverflow.net/users/1946/joel-david-hamkins
Joel’s Papers: https://jdh.hamkins.org/publications
Joel’s Books:
Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics: https://amzn.to/3MThaAt
Proof and the Art of Mathematics: https://amzn.to/3YACc9A
SPONSORS:
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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(01:58) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(15:40) – Infinity & paradoxes
(1:02:50) – Russell’s paradox
(1:15:57) – Gödel’s incompleteness theorems
(1:33:28) – Truth vs proof
(1:44:52) – The Halting Problem
(2:00:45) – Does infinity exist?
(2:18:19) – MathOverflow
(2:22:12) – The Continuum Hypothesis
(2:31:58) – Hardest problems in mathematics
(2:41:25) – Mathematical multiverse
(3:00:18) – Surreal numbers
(3:10:55) – Conway’s Game of Life
(3:13:11) – Computability theory
(3:23:04) – P vs NP
(3:26:21) – Greatest mathematicians in history
(3:40:05) – Infinite chess
(3:58:24) – Most beautiful idea in mathematics
Motley Fool Money - 3 Stocks We Love in 2026
Are you looking for investment opportunities in 2026? So are we and we covered three stocks we love going into the year.Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discuss:
- Why space is worth watching in 2026
- Opportunities in healthcare
- How Hims & Hers is disrupting the healthcare industryCompanies discussed: Rocket Lab (RKLB), TransMedics (TMDX), Hims & Hers (HIMS).
Host: Travis Hoium
Guests: Lou Whiteman, Rachel Warren
Engineer: Bart Shannon
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Consider This from NPR - What Bad Bunny means to Puerto Ricans
This summer, the island of Puerto Rico was under the thrall of Bad Bunny. His 31-concert residency at a stadium in San Juan was a homecoming for the global superstar.
It's also a homecoming for many thousands of people who left home – but are flocking back for the shows.
NPR’s Adrian Florido reports on how the concerts resonated with Puerto Ricans on and off the island.
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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, Elena Burnett, Liz Baker and Marc Rivers. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Gigi Douban. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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WSJ Tech News Briefing - TNB Tech Minute: AI Acceleration Could Help U.S. Stock Indexes Regain Ground In 2026
Plus: In markets, some of the biggest winners in 2025 included Western Digital and Micron Technology. And some of the losers included Strategy and Gartner. Julie Chang hosts.
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The Bulwark Podcast - John Heilemann: The Year Is Ending a Lot Better than It Started
John Heilemann joins Tim Miller for the year-end pod.
show notes:
Audio Poem of the Day - yasmeen
By Safia Elhillo
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
State of the World from NPR - Looking Back: Uncovering the Secrets of an Irish Home for Unwed Mothers
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit a story about families from Ireland learning their full history. There, the Catholic Church once ran homes for unwed mothers. Until recently the church dominated life in Ireland and pregnancy outside marriage was considered shameful. Behind one of these homes a ghastly discovery has recently been made. It was a secret most people in the town knew about, but no one took any action until recently. And through reporting the story, our correspondent learned of a personal connection to this history.
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Audio Mises Wire - Kalshi Culture: How Gambling, Speculation, and Degeneracy Went Mainstream
As government continues to engage in reckless actions from inflation to starting wars, people develop shorter time horizons, creating social vacuums. Increased gambling and other irresponsible behaviors then fill the void.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/kalshi-culture-how-gambling-speculation-and-degeneracy-went-mainstream
Planet Money - Indicators of the Year, Past and Future
We will square off in a family feud to make our case, debate, and decide it.
Also, as we enter 2026, we are watching the trends and planning out what next years stories are likely to be. So we’re picking which indicators will become next years most telling.
On today’s episode, our indicators of this past year AND our top indicator predictions for 2026.
Related episodes:
The Indicators of this year and next (2024)
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble
What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?
What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill
What indicators will 2025 bring?
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Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
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This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed. The indicator episodes were produced by Angel Carreras, edited by Julia Ritchey, engineered by Robert Rodrigez and Kwesi Lee, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is the editor of the Indicator. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
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