Dr. Neil Theise: Overcome the Illusion of Separation

Dr. Neil Theise (professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine) joins us to discuss how his adult stem cell and interstitium research led him to his "theory of everything", how complexity actually helps simplify our understanding of the universe, the illusion that humans are separate individual beings, and the scientific explanation of mysticism. He explains why philosophy, religion, and quantum mechanics fall short without incorporating intuition and human experience, how low-level randomness allows for adaptation, and why we can’t live forever no matter what we do. Dr. Theise opens up about his mother’s metaphysical experience with talking to dead people, his depression that stemmed from coming to terms with his sexuality, the impact of being a child of Holocaust survivors, and where his personal faith comes into play within his scientific work. He also breaks down healers and shamanism, chaos and information theories, the real definition of compassion, and the function and importance of microbiomes.