How good are you at infinity? We talk infinity, space, launching satellites and Hilbert's Hotel with Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ANU, Professor Matthew Colless.

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Bizarre science history from academics with beers

A Little Bit Of Science

How good are you at infinity? We talk infinity, s…

Infinity, get over it - a beer with Matthew Colless

Academics are now seriously debating the ethics of sex with aliens, with questions swirling around intergalactic consent, the boundaries of romance and whether Captain Kirk’s escapades would pass the cosmic sniff test. Some call it unnatural, others say it’s all about happiness and agreement, and a few even claim to have had their own close encounters. Until E.T. shows up with a clear answer, the verdict is equal parts fascinating and unresolved.

Back on Earth, dogs have been quietly evolving to manipulate us with their eyes. Thanks to unique facial muscles and lightning-fast eyebrow moves, modern pups can pull off that “feed me” look better than any wolf ever could. We bred dogs to be emotionally expressive, and now they’re experts at tugging our heartstrings, turning the human-canine relationship into a masterclass in mutual manipulation.

Meanwhile, StaffCop is turning offices into digital panopticons, logging every keystroke and screenshot in the name of productivity. While management loves the promise of accountability, for employees it means more paranoia, less privacy and a creativity drought. With science and technology serving up weirder dilemmas than ever, it’s safe to say the workplace is starting to look a little too much like 1984.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

00:47 Ethical Dilemma: Sex with Aliens

03:27 Exploring Alien Reproduction

07:53 Human-Alien Sexual Encounters

13:46 Ethics and Consent in Alien Relationships

19:07 Dogs Using Their Eyebrows to Manipulate Humans

23:01 Employee Monitoring Software

27:16 Ethical Concerns and Privacy

31:47 Conclusion and Listener Engagement





SOURCES:

This Guy Paints the Sex He Allegedly Has with Aliens

Would you have sex with an alien?

How many men here would be willing to have sex with a legitimate alien from another planet?

Alien Attraction

What is StaffCop?

The science behind puppy-dog eyes, and other ways our canines communicate with us

Academics are now seriously debating the ethics of sex with aliens, with questions swirling around intergalactic consent, the boundaries of romance and whether Captain Kirk&rsquo;s escapades would pass the cosmic sniff test. Some call it unnatural, others say it&rsquo;s all about happiness and agreement, and a few even claim to have had their own close encounters. Until E.T. shows up with a clear answer, the verdict is equal parts fascinating and unresolved.
Back on Earth, dogs have been quietly evolving to manipulate us with their eyes. Thanks to unique facial muscles and lightning-fast eyebrow moves, modern pups can pull off that &ldquo;feed me&rdquo; look better than any wolf ever could. We bred dogs to be emotionally expressive, and now they&rsquo;re experts at tugging our heartstrings, turning the human-canine relationship into a masterclass in mutual manipulation.
Meanwhile, StaffCop is turning offices into digital panopticons, logging every keystroke and screenshot in the name of productivity. While management loves the promise of accountability, for employees it means more paranoia, less privacy and a creativity drought. With science and technology serving up weirder dilemmas than ever, it&rsquo;s safe to say the workplace is starting to look a little too much like 1984.
&nbsp;
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
00:47 Ethical Dilemma: Sex with Aliens
03:27 Exploring Alien Reproduction
07:53 Human-Alien Sexual Encounters
13:46 Ethics and Consent in Alien Relationships
19:07 Dogs Using Their Eyebrows to Manipulate Humans
23:01 Employee Monitoring Software
27:16 Ethical Concerns and Privacy
31:47 Conclusion and Listener Engagement
 
SOURCES:
<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/this-guy-paints-the-sex-he-allegedly-has-with-aliens/">This Guy Paints the Sex He Allegedly Has with Aliens</a>
<a href="http://google.com/url?sa=D&amp;q=https://unherd.com/newsroom/would-you-have-sex-with-an-alien/&amp;ust=1765491840000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1hVx22y4Y7m2wgkohjs3of&amp;hl=en">Would you have sex with an alien?</a>
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMen/comments/shw91e/how_many_men_here_would_be_willing_to_have_sex/">How many men here would be willing to have sex with a legitimate alien from another planet?</a>
<a href="http://google.com/url?sa=D&amp;q=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-red-light-district/201104/alien-attraction&amp;ust=1765491840000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0XboGRDHRYslDaSeG0220l&amp;hl=en">Alien Attraction</a>
<a href="https://comparecamp.com/staffcop-review-pricing-pros-cons-features/">What is StaffCop?</a>
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-04-06/dog-human-communication-puppy-dog-eyes-facial-expression/100955364">The science behind puppy-dog eyes, and other ways our canines communicate with us</a>

Ethics of Sex with Aliens, Dogs’ Cuteness Tactics and the StaffCop Office Overlord

A Rome-based research team discovered poetry can jailbreak AI systems by bypassing safety filters that normal prompts can't crack, making verse a genuine cybersecurity vulnerability. Medieval physicians believed flatulent foods like beans and onions were aphrodisiacs because intestinal gas supposedly enhanced sexual performance, Palmer Luckey, the tech billionaire behind Oculus, now advocates for submarines that tunnel through Earth's crust for national defense, while a Dublin man contracted penile tuberculosis from working with deer in a rarely documented case of genital TB.

Poetry defeats AI security by exploiting how language models process poetic structure, proving Aristotle's warnings about poets in governance were surprisingly futuristic. Medieval fart-based aphrodisiacs never worked but show humanity's eternal optimism for simple bedroom solutions, while Luckey's crust-submarine idea sounds insane until you remember he actually made VR mainstream. The Dublin TB case demonstrates that tuberculosis can infect any body part and that working with animals carries risks nobody considers - including your genitals contracting lung diseases.

The biggest threats to AI are poets, the worst aphrodisiacs involved intestinal wind, crust submarines might actually happen, and deer can give you dick tuberculosis. Science is weird, history is weirder, and Palmer Luckey wants to make it weirder still.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

02:07 Plato's Republic and AI Poetry

03:54 The Power of Poetry in AI

07:59 Historical Aphrodisiacs and Fertility

19:01 Simultaneous Orgasms and Farting

19:36 Windy Meats and Fertility Myths

24:19 Palmer Luckey and Virtual Reality

31:00 Penile Tuberculosis: A Rare Case

36:50 Smart Toilets and Privacy Concerns





SOURCES:

‘End-to-end encrypted’ smart toilet camera is not actually end-to-end encrypted

Scientists Discover “Universal” Jailbreak for Nearly Every AI, and the Way It Works Will Hurt Your Brain

Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large Language Models

Palmer Luckey on the Future of Warfare

Beans, ale & 'windy meats': surprising 17th-century aphrodisiac

When Beans were the Food of Lust

Why you don’t want to get tuberculosis on your penis

A Rome-based research team discovered poetry can jailbreak AI systems by bypassing safety filters that normal prompts can't crack, making verse a genuine cybersecurity vulnerability. Medieval physicians believed flatulent foods like beans and onions were aphrodisiacs because intestinal gas supposedly enhanced sexual performance, Palmer Luckey, the tech billionaire behind Oculus, now advocates for submarines that tunnel through Earth's crust for national defense, while a Dublin man contracted penile tuberculosis from working with deer in a rarely documented case of genital TB.
Poetry defeats AI security by exploiting how language models process poetic structure, proving Aristotle's warnings about poets in governance were surprisingly futuristic. Medieval fart-based aphrodisiacs never worked but show humanity's eternal optimism for simple bedroom solutions, while Luckey's crust-submarine idea sounds insane until you remember he actually made VR mainstream. The Dublin TB case demonstrates that tuberculosis can infect any body part and that working with animals carries risks nobody considers - including your genitals contracting lung diseases.
The biggest threats to AI are poets, the worst aphrodisiacs involved intestinal wind, crust submarines might actually happen, and deer can give you dick tuberculosis. Science is weird, history is weirder, and Palmer Luckey wants to make it weirder still.
&nbsp;
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
02:07 Plato's Republic and AI Poetry
03:54 The Power of Poetry in AI
07:59 Historical Aphrodisiacs and Fertility
19:01 Simultaneous Orgasms and Farting
19:36 Windy Meats and Fertility Myths
24:19 Palmer Luckey and Virtual Reality
31:00 Penile Tuberculosis: A Rare Case
36:50 Smart Toilets and Privacy Concerns
 
SOURCES:
<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/03/end-to-end-encrypted-smart-toilet-camera-is-not-actually-end-to-end-encrypted/">&lsquo;End-to-end encrypted&rsquo; smart toilet camera is not actually end-to-end encrypted</a>
<a href="http://google.com/url?sa=D&amp;q=https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/universal-jailbreak-ai-poems%3Futm_social_handle_id%3D2557446343%26utm_social_post_id%3D611990555%26utm_source%3Dwww.garbageday.email%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_campaign%3Dthe-cozy-living-room-meltdown%26_bhlid%3Db734a51604080ce74827d99b11c625c6045c84a5&amp;ust=1765336260000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0A9FRJ828QQ9-HCmcGeaFq&amp;hl=en">Scientists Discover &ldquo;Universal&rdquo; Jailbreak for Nearly Every AI, and the Way It Works Will Hurt Your Brain</a>
<a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1">Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large Language Models</a>
<a href="https://x.com/omnishwin/status/1996301434611220705">Palmer Luckey on the Future of Warfare</a>
<a href="https://www.historyextra.com/membership/beans-pulses-what-food-aphrodisiac-17th-century/">Beans, ale &amp; 'windy meats': surprising 17th-century aphrodisiac</a>
<a href="https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/publications/when-beans-were-the-food-of-lust/">When Beans were the Food of Lust</a>
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/11/why-you-dont-want-to-get-tuberculosis-on-your-penis/">Why you don&rsquo;t want to get tuberculosis on your penis</a>

Poetry for AI Hacking, Flatulent Foods as Aphrodisiacs and Penile Tuberculosis

Sika deer on Japan's Yakushima Island let macaque monkeys groom them in exchange for food scraps and sexual mounting, creating what scientists awkwardly call "interspecies sexual behaviour with mutual benefits."

Nederland, Colorado hosts annual "Frozen Dead Guy Day" festivals celebrating Bredo Morstoel, whose body has been preserved in a shed on dry ice for decades after his grandson's cryogenic dreams failed.

Brazilian Butt Lifts cause "BBL smell" - a rancid odour from fat necrosis when transferred fat cells die and rot inside the body, which surgeons rarely mention before surgery.

Milan researchers found commuters offered seats to pregnant women more often when Batman was on the train, proving superhero costumes trigger prosocial behaviour because nobody wants to look bad in front of Batman.

AI-generated recipes tell people to bake cakes for days and combine impossible ingredients, confidently presenting unworkable instructions that ruin dinner.

Chinese researchers discovered rock, paper, scissors players stick with winning choices or switch after losses, revealing predictable patterns that can be exploited.

From deer trading sex for grooming to frozen dead guy festivals and butt lifts that smell like death - nature is uncomfortable, humans are weird and technology can't cook. Maybe stick to human recipes, don’t try to freeze Grandpa and think twice before committing to a bouncy-butt medical procedure. 





CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

00:35 Interspecies Sexual Mutualism

01:24 Unexpected Observations: Monkeys and Deer

06:15 Frozen Dead Guy: A Bizarre Tale of Cryogenics

14:03 Batman and Prosocial Behavior

20:20 Hilarious AI-Generated Food Recipes

30:39 The Ultimate Rock, Paper, Scissors Strategy

33:54 The Dark Side of Plastic Surgery

39:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

 

SOURCES:

Rock, Paper Scissors Study 

Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/thanksgiving-dinner-ai-recipes-slop

https://www.aiweirdness.com/ai-recipes-are-bad-and-a-proposal-20-01-31/

https://www.aiweirdness.com/the-neural-network-has-weird-ideas-16-03-05/?ref=aiweirdness.com

https://aiweirdness.tumblr.com/post/190721709472/ai-vintage-american-cooking-a-combination-that?ref=aiweirdness.com

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/macaque-monkey-deer-mate-sex-ride

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a60887514/diy-cryonics-frozen-dead-guy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_Dead_Guy_Days

https://www.vice.com/en/article/bbl-smell-is-real-and-just-as-gross-as-it-sounds/

https://plasticsurgery.org.au/procedures/surgical-procedures/buttocks-lift/

Sika deer on Japan's Yakushima Island let macaque monkeys groom them in exchange for food scraps and sexual mounting, creating what scientists awkwardly call "interspecies sexual behaviour with mutual benefits."
Nederland, Colorado hosts annual "Frozen Dead Guy Day" festivals celebrating Bredo Morstoel, whose body has been preserved in a shed on dry ice for decades after his grandson's cryogenic dreams failed.
Brazilian Butt Lifts cause "BBL smell" - a rancid odour from fat necrosis when transferred fat cells die and rot inside the body, which surgeons rarely mention before surgery.
Milan researchers found commuters offered seats to pregnant women more often when Batman was on the train, proving superhero costumes trigger prosocial behaviour because nobody wants to look bad in front of Batman.
AI-generated recipes tell people to bake cakes for days and combine impossible ingredients, confidently presenting unworkable instructions that ruin dinner.
Chinese researchers discovered rock, paper, scissors players stick with winning choices or switch after losses, revealing predictable patterns that can be exploited.
From deer trading sex for grooming to frozen dead guy festivals and butt lifts that smell like death - nature is uncomfortable, humans are weird and technology can't cook. Maybe stick to human recipes, don&rsquo;t try to freeze Grandpa and think twice before committing to a bouncy-butt medical procedure.&nbsp;
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Interspecies Sexual Mutualism
01:24 Unexpected Observations: Monkeys and Deer
06:15 Frozen Dead Guy: A Bizarre Tale of Cryogenics
14:03 Batman and Prosocial Behavior
20:20 Hilarious AI-Generated Food Recipes
30:39 The Ultimate Rock, Paper, Scissors Strategy
33:54 The Dark Side of Plastic Surgery
39:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/05/win-at-rock-paper-scissors-by-knowing-thy-opponent/">Rock, Paper Scissors Study</a>&nbsp;
<a href="http://google.com/url?sa=D&amp;q=https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5&amp;ust=1764735240000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pjSrt4z7mSD0yQjEjvohl&amp;hl=en">Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect</a>
<a href="https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/thanksgiving-dinner-ai-recipes-slop">https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/thanksgiving-dinner-ai-recipes-slop</a>
<a href="https://www.aiweirdness.com/ai-recipes-are-bad-and-a-proposal-20-01-31/">https://www.aiweirdness.com/ai-recipes-are-bad-and-a-proposal-20-01-31/</a>
<a href="https://www.aiweirdness.com/the-neural-network-has-weird-ideas-16-03-05/?ref=aiweirdness.com">https://www.aiweirdness.com/the-neural-network-has-weird-ideas-16-03-05/?ref=aiweirdness.com</a>
<a href="https://aiweirdness.tumblr.com/post/190721709472/ai-vintage-american-cooking-a-combination-that?ref=aiweirdness.com">https://aiweirdness.tumblr.com/post/190721709472/ai-vintage-american-cooking-a-combination-that?ref=aiweirdness.com</a>
<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/macaque-monkey-deer-mate-sex-ride">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/macaque-monkey-deer-mate-sex-ride</a>
<a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a60887514/diy-cryonics-frozen-dead-guy/">https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a60887514/diy-cryonics-frozen-dead-guy/</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_Dead_Guy_Days">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_Dead_Guy_Days</a>
<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bbl-smell-is-real-and-just-as-gross-as-it-sounds/">https://www.vice.com/en/article/bbl-smell-is-real-and-just-as-gross-as-it-sounds/</a>
<a href="https://plasticsurgery.org.au/procedures/surgical-procedures/buttocks-lift/">https://plasticsurgery.org.au/procedures/surgical-procedures/buttocks-lift/</a>

Infinity, get over it - a beer with Matthew Colless

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