You Are Not So Smart

Psychologist Celeste Kidd discusses how semantic disagreements, like the hotdog sandwich debate, arise from conceptual misalignment. Exploring the complexities of human communication, understanding, and the impact of semantic variability on shared reality.

Psychologist Dacher Keltner discusses the benefits of awe, its evolutionary origins, and how to pursue more wonder in daily life. Topics include the impact of awe on health, the role of emotions in decision-making, and the historical evolution of awe from horror to wonder.

Psychologist Mary C. Murphy discusses creating cultures of growth to support collaboration and innovation, exploring fixed vs. growth mindsets in academic and business environments, the impact of feedback on mindset development, and the importance of prioritizing mental health in organizations.

Delving into the groundbreaking research of Kahneman and Tversky that challenged human rationality, leading to behavioral economics. Exploring the Linda problem and representativeness heuristic. Redefining rationality in economics and the synergy between pioneering psychologists. Unpacking mental heuristics and biases in decision-making. Evolution of behavioral economics and psychology in shaping human perception.

Experts discuss the impact of AI on team brainstorming sessions, challenging beliefs about AI's superiority. They explore the benefits of generating numerous ideas over focusing solely on quality. The conversation includes insights on balancing problem identification and ideation in AI-assisted problem-solving, reframing bias with General AI, and the significance of meaningful conversations with technology and humans.

Charles Duhigg, New Yorker Magazine writer and author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better, discusses the science behind forming connections through dialogue and the importance of effective communication. He explores the qualities and effects of super communicators, emphasizes active listening, and discusses the technique of looping for understanding in tough conversations.

The podcast discusses pluralistic ignorance, where people mistakenly believe they are different when they actually share the same thoughts. It explores the tragic events at Jonestown and the psychological forces behind extreme behavior. The chapter also explores linguistic relativity and its influence on perception, and discusses methods for overcoming pluralistic ignorance in society.

In this episode, Florence Hazrat, a scholar of punctuation, discusses the history and evolution of punctuation marks in the English language. She reveals that punctuation marks often have a single inventor and talks about the strange facts surrounding the creation of question marks, exclamation points, and semicolons. The episode dives into the origins of punctuation and its challenges in modern communication.

Temple Grandin, an autistic animal scientist and author, shares her journey of overcoming challenges and developing her interest in understanding animals. Topics include her inventions, gift-giving during the holiday season, coping with language challenges, concerns about education and algebra, animal cognition, and different types of thinkers.

Podcast host Andrea Chalupa interviews David McRaney about psychological research on handling contentious conversations, including tips for holiday discussions, persuasion techniques, effective communication, empathy and understanding, and the power of conversations in changing minds.