Defense One Radio “Primal Intelligence” with Angus Fletcher
10 snips
Aug 27, 2025 
Angus Fletcher, a Professor of Story Science at Ohio State University, delves into a groundbreaking view of intuition and imagination. He discusses using storytelling to revolutionize military training and enhance emotional intelligence in high-pressure situations. Fletcher also highlights the transformative power of gratitude for personal growth and mental performance. Additionally, he explores innovative youth development through summer camps and stresses the need for AI fluency in education to prepare future leaders.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Narrative Powers Beat Data Alone
- Human intelligence thinks in story and actions rather than data and equations.
- Story-driven planning allows imagining novel possibilities that computers (probability machines) cannot.
Possibility Versus Probability
- Computers detect patterns and repeat past successes, while narrative cognition finds exceptions and imagines possibilities.
- This distinction explains why humans outperform AI in novel, rapidly changing situations.
Practice Rapid Replanning
- Train to be a planner, not to perfect a single plan, by practicing rapid replanning when plans break.
- Focus on accelerating your ability to create new plans under pressure instead of finding one right answer.
