108 - An Exploration of Social Minds

In this episode, Haley talks with Simon DeDeo at the Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems. DeDeo is an Assistant Professor in Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He talks about his current research, which explores extreme creative people and events throughout history in order to learn where new ideas come from and what people do when they get them. Describing his research as “an alternate account of what it means to be human”, DeDeo explains that we are not infinitely predictable creatures, rather we harness extreme capacity to evolve and create. Professor DeDeo also shares more about his course and research at the Santa Fe Institute.