#154 – Avi Loeb: Aliens, Black Holes, and the Mystery of the Oumuamua

Avi Loeb is an astrophysicist at Harvard. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Zero Fasting: go.zerofasting.com/s/lex-promo to get 30% off annual subscription - LMNT: drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack - Sun Basket: sunbasket.com/lex and use code LEX to get $35 off - Pessimists Archive: pessimists.co/ EPISODE LINKS: Extraterrestrial (book): amzn.to/39xdnkT Avi's Website: astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/people/avi-loeb PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: facebook.com/LexFridmanPage - Medium: medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (10:08) - Are we alone in the universe? (14:23) - Consciousness (19:01) - Sending digital copies of humans to space (23:38) - Oumuamua (45:42) - Alien space junk (49:41) - What do aliens look like? (1:06:58) - Drake equation (1:08:00) - Industrial polution from aliens (1:19:52) - UFO sightings (1:27:48) - How long will human civilization last? (1:30:28) - Radio signal from Proxima Centauri (1:33:49) - Breakthrough Starshot project (1:36:49) - Space race (1:42:00) - Human space exploration (1:47:15) - Social media is a threat to society (1:52:04) - Are humans ready for discovering an alien civilization? (1:56:15) - Mayans used astrology to wage war (1:57:31) - Black holes (2:16:20) - Stephen Hawking (2:19:59) - Grigori Perelman (2:24:24) - Theory of everything (2:31:23) - Dark matter (2:34:06) - Advice for young people (2:37:10) - Memories of my father and mother (2:41:38) - Existentialism (2:43:52) - Mortality (2:46:27) - Meaning of life