Each year, the World Happiness Report ranks countries based on their citizen's life satisfaction. My home country, Finland, tends to come at the top. Sure. But lessons can we draw from all this? Beyond patting Finns on the back, can we distil some more insights from the report? I got to discuss this with Lara Aknin, co-editor of the World Happiness Report. In this previously unpublished clip, Aknin explains the major findings from the World Happiness Report and reveals the “single best predictor of happiness” across countries.  If you want to hear more about Aknin’s work, see episode 47. Support the show ⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠ Keywords Happiness | Life satisfaction | Economics | Social Science | World Happiness Report | Finland | Latin America | Nordic countries | Scandinavia | Welfare state | Well-being | Freedom | Equality | Generosity | Altruism

Many traditional societies accept polygyny (one man, many wives). Monogamy, too, is practised across the globe. But what about polyandry — one woman, many husbands? Is this a "dubious idea" as sometimes suggested by evolutionary theorists? In this bonus clip, anthropologist Katie Starkweather offers interesting examples of formal and informal polyandry from around the world. She also brings nuance to theories about jealousy in men and women. (This is a previously unpublished clip from my conversation with anthropologist Katie Starkweather, as published in episode 43.) LINKS Scholars mentioned Donald Symons (author of Evolution of Human Sexuality), Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (author of Father Time, see episode 40), Brooke Scelza, Sean Prall Articles mentioned See the list and links here. This and other resources are available for free at OnHumans.Substack.com Support the show Patreon.com/OnHumans Keywords Monogamy | Polygamy | Polyandry | Mating | Pairbonding | Anthropology | Ethnography | Jealousy

Happy New Year 2025! To celebrate, here is an encore of what proved to be the most popular episode of 2024. This rerun combines episodes 30 and 31 into one epic journey towards the frontiers of human understanding. My guest is Donald Hoffman. Our topics are consciousness, cosmos, and the meaning of life. Enjoy! Original show notes Laws of physics govern the world. They explain the movements of planets, oceans, and cells in our bodies. But can they ever explain the feelings and meanings of our mental lives? This problem, called the hard problem of consciousness, runs very deep. No satisfactory explanation exists. But many think that there must, in principle, be an explanation. A minority of thinkers disagree. According to these thinkers, we will never be able to explain mind in terms of matter. We will, instead, explain matter in terms of mind. I explored this position in some detail in episode 17. But hold on, you might say. Is this not contradicted by the success of natural sciences? How could a mind-first philosophy ever explain the success of particle physics? Or more generally, wouldn't any scientist laugh at the idea that mind is more fundamental than matter? No — not all of them laugh. Some take it very seriously. Donald Hoffman is one such scientist. Originally working with computer vision at MIT's famous Artificial Intelligence Lab, Hoffman started asking a simple question: What does it mean to "see" the world? His answer begins from a simple idea: perception simplifies the world – a lot. But what is the real world like? What is “there” before our perception simplifies the world? Nothing familiar, Hoffman claims. No matter. No objects. Not even a three-dimensional space. And no time. There is just consciousness. This is a wild idea. But it is a surprisingly precise idea. It is so precise, in fact, that Hoffman’s team can derive basic findings in particle physics from their theory.  A fascinating conversation was guaranteed. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, consider becoming a supporter of On Humans on ⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠.  MENTIONS Names: David Gross, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Edward Whitten, Nathan Seiberg, Andrew Strominger, Edwin Abbott, Nick Bostrom, Giulio Tononi, Keith Frankish, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker, Roger Penrose, Sean Carroll,  Swapan Chattopadhyay Terms (Physics and Maths): quantum fields, string theory, gluon, scattering amplitude, amplituhedron, decorated permutations, bosons, leptons, quarks, Planck scale, twistor theory, M-theory, multiverse, recurrent communicating classes, Cantor’s hierarchy (relating to different sizes of infinity... If this sounds weird, stay tuned for full episode on infinity. It will come out in a month or two.) Terms (Philosophy and Psychology): Kant’s phenomena and noumena, integrated information theory, global workspace theory, orchestrated objective reduction theory, attention schema theory Books: Case Against Reality by Hoffman, Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker Articles etc.: For links to articles, courses, and more, see ⁠https://onhumans.substack.com/p/links-for-episode-30⁠

Join MIT Professor Yasheng Huang, an expert on modern China and author of influential works, as he dives into fascinating aspects of Chinese history. He tackles the Needham Question, revealing the paradox of ancient innovations and modern stagnation. Discover how footbinding links to technological decline and why increased Buddhism spurred inventions. Huang shares personal reflections from the Tiananmen Square protests and discusses economic reforms versus political setbacks in the 1980s, shedding light on contemporary China's ongoing challenges.

Explore why Eurasia became the breeding ground for the world’s largest empires and technological breakthroughs. Delve into the intriguing hypothesis that Ice Age ancestors may have shaped these lands for agriculture and societal development. The discussion challenges genetic explanations for Eurasian dominance and critiques simplistic views like environmental determinism. Highlighting the resilience of humanity, the podcast invites listeners to rethink historical patterns and our evolving relationship with the environment.

David C. Kang, a USC professor and co-author of "Beyond Power Transitions," explores the complexities of war and peace in East Asia, highlighting how historical interactions among China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam challenge Eurocentric theories of international relations. He argues that many conflicts stem from internal dynamics rather than external aggression. Kang also critiques the notion of the 'Thucydides trap' in U.S.-China relations and emphasizes the importance of understanding longstanding regional stability alongside the continuous influence of historical legacies in shaping modern conflicts.

Luke Glowacki, a Boston University anthropology professor specializing in the evolution of war, dives into the ancient origins of warfare. He challenges the belief that peace was the default state of early humans, discussing the roles of hunter-gatherers and archaeological evidence. The conversation touches on the absence of war in ancient cave art and comparisons between humans and primates like chimpanzees and bonobos. Glowacki emphasizes understanding conflict's evolutionary roots to foster cooperation and peace in contemporary society.

Daron Acemoglu has been awarded the 2024 Nobel-prize for Economic Science. This is a great testament to his impressive career. But the award was given for his early work on global inequality, together with Johnson and Robinson. The Swedish Riksbank did not pay attention to his new work on inequality within rich countries. Should we? And is his new theory even consistent with the old? I got to ask this from Acemoglu during our 2023 interview. I thought this would be a good time to re-post his answer. In this highlight, we also discuss: The hidden tragedy behind growing wages Is automation the problem? Why we need a more "pro-human" direction of technology Lessons from (an imperfect) Germany Why fixing the economy starts from celebrating humanity If you want to enjoy the full show, head to episode 26 of this feed. You can also read my essay breakdown of Acemoglu's theory here. Get these and other resources at ⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠. Thank you to all the patrons who make On Humans possible! You can join the club at Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can get in touch for other ways to support at ⁠makela.ilari@outlook.com⁠⁠⁠. KEYWORDS Economics | economic history | wage-stagnation | wage growth | inequality | economic inequality | automation | AI | robotics | US economy | German economy | Nobel-prize | labour unions | worker power | Elon Musk | Tesla | car manufacturing | co-determination | humanity

You are given 20 dollars in cash. You can use it as you wish, but with one condition: you have to use it to treat yourself. Now imagine getting another 20 dollars next week. This time, the rules have changed: you must use the money to treat someone else.  Which do you think will make you feel better? Contrary to many people's predictions, we tend to feel much better after spending the money on others. Whether we act it out or not, it seems that the human psyche is fine-tuned for generosity. Why? And why am I so confident about this anyway? Is the effect really a universal part of humanity? Does it take place across cultures and ages? What about those who give too much and experience a burnout? And if giving feels good, why don’t we do it more?  Lara Aknin is one of the world’s leading scientists working on generosity. Her master’s thesis led to a publication in Science — something I used to think was undoable — and she has studied generosity ever since. In this episode, Prof Aknin and I discuss: The original evidence / Cross-cultural research / Alternative explanations / Do toddlers like giving? / Why does generosity feel good? / Why don’t we give more then? / What about giving too much (or caring for someone with dementia)? / Selfish generosity? As always, we finish with my guest's reflections on humanity. LINKS You can read my essays and get the On Humans newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. Feeling generous on the 2nd annviersary of On Humans? Join the wonderful group of my patrons at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or get in touch for other ways to support! Get in touch: ⁠⁠makela.ilari@outlook.com⁠⁠. MENTIONS Scholars Elizabeth Dunn | Tania Broesch | Josh V. Kane | Benjamin J. Newman | Richard Dawkins Articles Links to articles is available here. Get these and other resources at OnHumans.Substack.com. Episodes 16 | Does Poverty Make Us Selfish ~ Jacqueline Mattis 20 | Distorting Darwinism – Or Why Evolution Does Not Prove That We Are Selfish ~ Solo 22 | Do Young Children Care About Others? ~ Amrisha Vaish Keywords Psychology | Anthropology | Behavioral Economics | Prosociality | Generosity | Happiness | Warm glow | Altruism | Charity | Prosocial spending | Cross-cultural research | Reciprocity | Cultural similarities | Spending choices | Happiness experiments | Emotional well-being | Social connection | Financial generosity | Helping behavior

Yasheng Huang, an MIT professor specializing in Chinese history and economics, engages in a critical analysis of China's current trajectory. They discuss Xi Jinping's rise and the potential pitfalls of his repressive government. Huang reveals misconceptions held by both Chinese leaders and Western analysts about China's economic miracle. The conversation hints at the looming threat of political chaos as the country grapples with its complex governance issues. The episode wraps up with profound reflections on humanity's unpredictable nature.