Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Mind & Matter
Sunlight: Cosmology, Energy Metabolism & the Physics of Life | Robert Fosbury | 242
The deep connection between sunlight and life, from the scale of the cosmos to the quantum.
Episode Summary: Astrophysicist Dr. Robert Fosbury discusses the sun's characteristics as a star, its analogies to living systems via entropy and complexity, and Erwin Schrödinger's insights on life as order-maintaining entities; he explores how near-infrared (NIR) light from the sun penetrates bodies to enhance mitochondrial function and metabolism, critiques modern artificial lighting's health impacts like mitochondrial dysfunction leading to diseases, and advocates returning to natural light environments for better wellness, drawing connections from cosmology to everyday architecture and lifestyle.
About the guest: Robert Fosbury, PhD is a is a retired astrophysicist. He spent his career at the European Space Agency, working on Hubble and JWST projects, and now pursues interdisciplinary research linking stellar phenomena to biological processes like light's impact on vision and metabolism.
Discussion Points:
- Stars like the sun maintain low-entropy states by exporting entropy as light, mirroring how life ingests low-entropy food to sustain order and homeostasis.
- The universe's complexity peaks midway in entropy increase, with stars producing elements that enable biological complexity, evolving toward cognition.
- Near-infrared light, peaking in solar output at ~1.6 microns due to atmospheric physics, catalyzes mitochondrial ATP production by facilitating electron transport, not via photosynthesis but photo-metabolism.
- Modern LEDs and windows block near-infrared, contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction, obesity, diabetes, and aging; historical thermal lights like incandescents provided beneficial infrared.
- Outdoor environments, especially under trees, flood bodies with reflected near-infrared for health, while blue skies act as cold sinks boosting thermodynamic efficiency.
- Eyes are mitochondria-rich, vulnerable to poor light; therapies using near-infrared slow macular degeneration by improving energy production.
- Ultra-processed foods are "high-entropy" with no structural order, akin to waste, reducing nutritional value for maintaining bodily order.
- Practical fixes: Use low-voltage incandescents indoors, prioritize outdoor time, design buildings with infrared-transmitting glass, and light people, not spaces, for energy savings and health.
Related episode:
- M&M 146: Photobiology, Sunlight, Firelight, Incandescent Bulbs vs.
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