Episode 2501: Leor Zmigrod on how radical ideology is infecting our brains

Our brains are delicate things. That, at least, is the view of the neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod, whose new book, The Ideological Brain, is a warning about how radical ideologies of both left and right can infect our brains. She argues that, in contrast with flexible thinking, ideological discourse involves rigid adherence to doctrines and anti-scientific dismissal of factual evidence. She notes that economic and political stress rigidifies our thought processes, making us more susceptible to ideological viruses. Ideology then, for Dr Zmigrod, is the new pandemic. Just as we defeated COVID, we need antidotes to fight this existential threat to our collective well-being.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

* Ideological thinking is characterized by rigid adherence to doctrine and resistance to evidence, while flexible thinking involves updating beliefs based on new information.

* Research shows that political extremists on both left and right demonstrate cognitive rigidity, while moderate thinkers exhibit greater cognitive flexibility.

* Stress physically rigidifies thought processes, making people more susceptible to ideological thinking and extremism during challenging times.

* Cognitive flexibility can be cultivated as a protective factor against extremism, though it requires active work to resist fixed identities and doctrines.

* Zmigrod worries that AI may accelerate extremism by blurring the line between fact and fiction, potentially creating separate AI models for different ideological communities.

Dr Leor Zmigrod is a political psychologist and neuroscientist investigating why some brains are susceptible to extreme ideologies and how minds can break free from rigid dogmas. Her first book, The Ideological Brain, is available now from Viking (Penguin Random House) and Henry Holt & Co (Macmillan), alongside over 15 translations.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

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