Modern Wisdom

#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational

Jan 20, 2022

45:08

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Quick takeaways

Understanding the components of rationality can help us make better choices and escape the biases and emotions that often cloud our judgment.

Bayesian reasoning, when used appropriately, can guide us in making wiser decisions and assessing risk and reward in various scenarios.

Deep dives

The Importance of Rationality in Decision-Making

Rationality plays a crucial role in decision-making, as it allows us to escape the biases and emotions that often cloud our judgment. Understanding the components of rationality can help us make better choices. For example, betting websites are accurate predictors of the future because they rely on rational analysis. However, simply learning about cognitive biases does not guarantee effectiveness in decision-making. Intelligence does not always correlate with rationality, and even smart people can be vulnerable to biases. It is essential to be aware of our biases, such as confirmation bias, which steers us towards conclusions that align with our beliefs. Balancing rationality with intuition and being open to different sources of information are key to making informed decisions in a complex world.

Is This Something That Smart People Should Look Out For?

01:43

Algorithms to Liveve By

05:14

Is the Human Brain Making You Any More Rational?

02:27

Introduction

4min

How to Make Sense of the World

2min

Is the Human Brain Making You Any More Rational?

2min

Is This Something That Smart People Should Look Out For?

2min

Is Lockdown Really Effective?

2min

Is There a Face to the Words?

2min

Basoning, Basian Rationalism

3min

Unlikelihood

3min

Forecasting

2min

10.

How to Measure Risk and Reward

4min

11.

Is Your First Intuition Going to Be Wise?

2min

12.

Are You Trying to Imaginate How You'll Feel in the Future?

3min

13.

Is It Meant to Be?

3min

14.

Algorithms to Live By

2min

15.

Algorithms to Liveve By

5min

16.

What Is Conspiracy?

5min

17.

The Psychology of Common Knowledge, Ad Infinitum

2min

Steven Pinker is a Cognitive Psychologist at Harvard University, a psycholinguist and a Best Selling Author.

It would be nice to always make the right decision. To escape the prison of human emotions and biases and operate from a purely rational place. Steven's new book breaks down rationality into it's components in an attempt to understand just what we're all missing from our mental makeup.

Expect to learn why betting websites are the most accurate forecasters of the future, why learning lists of cognitive biases won't always make you more effective, whether smart people are more or less rational on average, whether politics makes you dumber, how to balance rationality with a desire to be intuitive and present and much more...

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