Philosophers & Gamblers

• The No Coincidence Principle The talk is inspired by mathematician Tim Gowers' question about why mathematicians believe unproved statements. Gowers suggested the "no coincidence principle": the more surprising a mathematical truth is, the more likely there is a good reason for it to be true. [03:03]
• Proof as Explanation A mathematical proof should not just certify a truth, but it must explain and provide reasons why theorems are true. [04:35]
• The Computational Limit of the World The limits of our computational resources define the limits of our world, making the understanding of mental effort and resource allocation a key focus for 21st-century science. [08:25]
• NP (Easy to Check) vs. Co-NP (Hard to Check) The computational class NP describes problems where a solution is hard to find but easy to check (e.g., finding the murderer in a detective story). The class Co-NP involves problems where proving a solution is unique may require an exponentially long, hard-to-understand proof. [14:29]
• Unreasonable Truths "Hard proofs" that scale exponentially in length are called unreasonable truths—provable facts for which there is no good reason or humanly comprehensible explanation (e.g., a hypothetical, extremely large counterexample to the Goldbach conjecture found by exhaustive computer search). [17:35]
• AI and the Future of Proofs Artificial intelligence is likely to find mathematically true results in the "light blue zone" (the region of truths with hard/unreasonable proofs) using non-intuitive methods, leading to lemmas we trust but cannot fully comprehend. [26:02]
• Non-Contingency and Coincidence She notes that we cannot apply tools used in empirical science, like probability distributions, to rule out mathematical coincidences because mathematical truths are non-contingent (they cannot be otherwise). [34:03]
• The Tractability Puzzle The question of how mathematicians are so good at selecting problems they can solve is a significant puzzle, as there is no algorithm to know in advance if a provable statement is tractable (has a short proof). [36:54]
• Long Proofs Can Still Reveal Reasons Dr. Grosholz argues against the strict identification of long proofs with "no good reason." She cites the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, which is very long but impressed people because of what it revealed about the underlying structure of number theory and the connections between different areas of mathematics. [39:13]
• Knowledge Outside of Proof She questions whether the lack of an efficient proof (or any proof within a system, as in Gödel's theorems) means there is no knowledge or reason for a truth. She gives the example of the consistency of arithmetic, which we believe to be true for good reasons even though it cannot be proved within arithmetic. [40:50]

This is our series on Donald Robertson’s book “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor”. We will learn about the life of Marcus Aurelius and his philosophy practice. As usual on Friday nights, we will cover the book in-depth; see schedule below.
SCHEDULE
8-08-2025 Chap. 1
8-15-2025 Chap. 1 continued
8-22-2025 Chap. 2
8-29-2025 Chap. 2 continued
9-05-2025 Chap. 3
9-12-2025 Chap. 3 continued
9-19-2025 Chap. 4
9-26-2025 Chap. 4 continued
10-03-2025 Chap. 5
10-10-2025 Chap. 5 continued
10-17-2025 Chap. 6
10-24-2025 Chap. 6 continued
10-31-2025 Chap. 7
11-07-2025 Chap. 7 continued
11-14-2025 Chap. 8 (just 1 part)
11-21-2025 Finale
READING MATERIALS
The book is available on Amazon and other booksellers. Various formats are available: audio, paperback, Kindle. Reading in advance is optional; StoicDan will collect highlights from each part of the book in an outline for the meeting.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F9YYR62
Time
Meeting time (USA):
7:00PM Eastern
6:00PM Central
5:00PM Mountain
4:00PM Pacific
For our international friends,
Please convert time with the free tool
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/
Zoom Info
CLICK TO START MEETING - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86559843870
If you don't have a computer with camera or mic, then you can attend by telephone. Dial one of these numbers and add meeting ID 865 5984 3870#
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
In general, Stoicism teaches us how to handle difficult people and events, how to avoid anger and worry, and overall to use moderation in life. We will discuss how Stoic practice can lead to a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Our group enjoys open-minded, respectful conversations on Stoicism and how it relates to science, culture, philosophy, history, other belief systems, and pop culture (books and movies). If we differ in our opinions, then "we agree to disagree". The long-term goal is to improve our minds via group discussions. Our group does NOT discuss religion or politics.
This event is free and open to the public.
Events inPhilosophyPsychology
Self-Help & Self-ImprovementMarcus AureliusStoicism

This is our series on Donald Robertson’s book “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor”. We will learn about the life of Marcus Aurelius and his philosophy practice. As usual on Friday nights, we will cover the book in-depth; see schedule below.
SCHEDULE
8-08-2025 Chap. 1
8-15-2025 Chap. 1 continued
8-22-2025 Chap. 2
8-29-2025 Chap. 2 continued
9-05-2025 Chap. 3
9-12-2025 Chap. 3 continued
9-19-2025 Chap. 4
9-26-2025 Chap. 4 continued
10-03-2025 Chap. 5
10-10-2025 Chap. 5 continued
10-17-2025 Chap. 6
10-24-2025 Chap. 6 continued
10-31-2025 Chap. 7
11-07-2025 Chap. 7 continued
11-14-2025 Chap. 8 (just 1 part)
11-21-2025 Finale
READING MATERIALS
The book is available on Amazon and other booksellers. Various formats are available: audio, paperback, Kindle. Reading in advance is optional; StoicDan will collect highlights from each part of the book in an outline for the meeting.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F9YYR62
Time
Meeting time (USA):
7:00PM Eastern
6:00PM Central
5:00PM Mountain
4:00PM Pacific
For our international friends,
Please convert time with the free tool
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/
Zoom Info
CLICK TO START MEETING - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86559843870
If you don't have a computer with camera or mic, then you can attend by telephone. Dial one of these numbers and add meeting ID 865 5984 3870#
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
In general, Stoicism teaches us how to handle difficult people and events, how to avoid anger and worry, and overall to use moderation in life. We will discuss how Stoic practice can lead to a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Our group enjoys open-minded, respectful conversations on Stoicism and how it relates to science, culture, philosophy, history, other belief systems, and pop culture (books and movies). If we differ in our opinions, then "we agree to disagree". The long-term goal is to improve our minds via group discussions. Our group does NOT discuss religion or politics.
This event is free and open to the public.
Events inPhilosophyPsychology
Self-Help & Self-ImprovementMarcus AureliusStoicism