On this, our 314th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss love, coffee, and AI. For Valentine’s Day, Bret shares his thoughts on myths, love, and soulmates, and we discuss how relationships form—both in the abstract and in our case—and how relationships cannot be antagonistic or about short time horizons. Then: new research finds that drinking moderate amounts of coffee or tea—but not if decaffeinated—slows cognitive decline. And: is AI coming for us, and if so, how soon? How fast are LLM’s evolving, whose work will they disappear, and is concern or hope the more constructive response? We can see some of how AI will change our world; what can we not yet see? Finally: could menial, repetitive work (“drudgery”) have more to recommend it than we know?
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Mentioned in this episode:
Zhang et al 2026. Coffee and Tea Intake, Dementia Risk, and Cognitive Function. JAMA published online 2-9-26: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2844764
Something big is happening: https://x.com/mattshumer_/status/2021256989876109403
It was never about AI (we are not our tools): https://x.com/EricMarkowitz/status/2022005480240120229
AI isn’t coming for your future. Fear is: https://x.com/cboyack/status/2021647373571862952
Olympus Spa, a traditional Korean nude spa for women in the Seattle area, was told by the state of Washington, now upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, that they must let men in, so long as those men think they’re women. Judge VanDyke’s dissent correctly summarizes the issue as one of “swinging dicks.”
Heather Heying explains:
"These are such clowns. These judges are such clowns. And one of them’s a woman who apparently gives no fucks about the women and girls as young as 13, who might go to this amazing spa and be exposed to a very confused and mentally unstable man who’s got his balls and dick out.
More likely, frankly, most of us who once went to this amazing business are not going to go anymore. They’re going to have put out of business a Korean family who happened to be conservative Christians because of what? ...
"From your perspective, how good are your AirPods for you?
The answer is: that depends if you’re a mouse that was bred in one of these idiotic protocols.
If you are a mouse, where do you get AirPods? You probably want AirPods, maybe more than one set.
If you’re not a mouse, then this is an indicator that it’s actually dangerous.
The fact that the mice live longer is not good news.
It’s bad news because a toxin that you will not tolerate well will function like chemotherapy, or in this case like radiation therapy does on a cancer patient."
Clipped from Episode 316, Bret and Heather discuss a new paper that finds infection tends to lead to greater frailty in older people. This reverses the causality of Terrain Theory of Disease (frailty of the body leads to greater susceptibility of infection), and also provides support for a prediction made by Bret and his co-author Debbie Ciszek in the unpublished, longer version of their reserve capacity paper from 2002.
Mentioned in this segment:
Ragusa et al 2026: https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/gerona/glag043/8497853
Weinstein & Ciszek 2002: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11909679/
Watch it here: https://darkhorse.locals.com/post/7779157/locals-exclusive-q-a-live-march-18th
Join them in the chat for the next one on Sunday, March 29th!
The Parasite of Tomorrow
How history repeats itself
Based on the image, (assuming you read it) what does the word “groupeur” sound like?
According to Nesta Webster in her book World Revolutions, a groupeur is someone who helps gather a crowd around a message—often by drawing attention to it in a way that appears natural or spontaneous. Their role is to amplify and focus public attention, turning passive observers into an engaged group.
The term “groupeur” appears in her account of the French Revolutionary period, particularly around the movement associated with Gracchus Babeuf (which I'm learning about)
I don’t know… but doesn’t that sound a bit familiar?
To me, it resembles Nick Fuentes and the Groypers—how they’re able to capture the frustration of everyday people and channel it in a particular direction.
(As an aside.. did anyone else notice how Nick Fuentes, and the groyper army.. used all their power to smash Tucker and Candace in the moments after Charlie Kirks death?)
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The Origins of Jiang Xueqin
I find myself fascinated with Professor Jiang, who has been showing up in my X timeline and YouTube algorithm.
According to ChatGPT:
Jiang Xueqin is a Chinese educator and writer known for challenging traditional, exam-focused schooling. He advocates for a more holistic approach to education that emphasizes character, creativity, and personal growth. His work has gained attention for critiquing high-pressure academic systems, especially in China.
What’s interesting to me, though, is how he seems to be gaining attention more recently through his YouTube series Predictive History. What appears to have pushed him into the spotlight are his predictions regarding Iran, often framed using game theory. Lately, he’s been appearing on larger platforms, including shows hosted by Jimmy Dore, Piers Morgan, and Kim Iversen.
I’ve been listening to more of his content and came across an episode titled “Dawn of the Human Imagination,” where he discusses Darwinian evolution.
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