Thinkers & Ideas

In this conversation, Carissa Carter, Director of Teaching and Learning at Stanford's d.school, and Scott Doorley, Creative Director at the same institution, dive into the unpredictable impacts of technology. They explore the emotional aspects of design, emphasizing how feelings can shape technology usage. The duo highlights the challenges posed by interconnected systems and advocates for a more holistic, human-centric design approach. They also discuss innovative solutions to anticipate design problems and the importance of embracing uncertainty in technology development.

Renowned behavioral economist Cass Sunstein discusses fame, skill vs. luck, Bach vs. Taylor Swift as the greatest composer, social influences on fame, business implications, and the art of manipulating information and reputation cascades.

Michael Norton, a Harvard Business School professor and expert in behavioral economics, delves into the fascinating world of rituals versus habits. He discusses how small rituals can bring purpose and pleasure to life, especially in the wake of COVID's disruption. Norton emphasizes the emotional significance of rituals for bonding and coping, and he shares innovative practices that have emerged during remote interactions. He also explores how rituals can enhance teamwork and even play a role in corporate mergers, redefining connections through shared actions.

Rebecca Homkes, a business strategy expert, shares her framework for leading through uncertainty - survive, reset, thrive. She discusses how to navigate uncertainty, survive shocks, reset strategies, and thrive long-term. Topics include the impact of AI on strategy, implementing the framework in personal life, and the balance between creative and competitive aspects of strategy.

Leading futurists Rita McGrath, Esther Dyson, and Gary Shteyngart discuss past predictions, the digital age, social media, science fiction, and methods for sensing the future. They explore predicting future trends, dystopian inspiration, human connections, and methods for contemplating the future. The podcast also touches on challenges in Korea's advanced economy, re-enchantment, permissionless organizations, potential disruption in advertising, and upcoming books and foresight.

Renowned author and Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein discusses the power of reevaluating the familiar with Martin Reeves. They explore habituation, dishabituation, and strategies to avoid mental models that limit adaptability in corporations and personal life.

Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan discusses aging, longevity, and potential breakthroughs in prolonging healthy life. Topics include mechanisms of aging, interventions for longevity, societal implications, and the importance of clear communication in science.

Doyne Farmer challenges traditional economic models, advocating for complex systems thinking to improve predictions. Topics include limitations of standard economics, benefits of agent-based modeling, applying alternative modeling in business, and how CEOs can embrace complexity thinking.

Professor Ethan Mollick discusses the impact of AI on business and education, emphasizing the importance of coexisting with AI. Topics include training people to use AI effectively, substituting vs complementing workers with AI, generating long-term value with AI, AI regulation, and AI's transformation of education.

Gerd Gigerenzer, an expert on human decision-making, challenges the view of intuition as inferior to rationality. Topics include heuristics, power of intuition, using intuition in business, distinguishing right intuition, and AI using intuition. The podcast explores intuition as unconscious intelligence shaped by experience, the role of biases, and the relationship between intuition, improvisation, and problem-solving.