Very Bad Wizards

Debunking the myth of the reptilian brain, exploring the concept of truth in the movie Rashomon, analyzing Watchmen and Rashomon, the wife's testimony and conflicting perspectives, the significance of the dagger as a plot device and its portrayal in different narratives, perceived reality and the concept of truth, the Rashomon effect and the accessibility of truth, reflections on the movie and the portrayal of humanity

David and Tamler wrap up the decade with an episode on trash-talking that morphs into a debate over the value of experimental inquiry. Participants in a lab put more effort into a slider task after they’re insulted by a confederate. Do experiments like these tell us anything about trash-talking in general? Can it explain the effect of Mike Tyson telling Lenox Lewis he’d eat his children, or of Larry Bird looking around the locker room before the 3-point contest saying he was trying to figure out who’d finish second? Can it tell us how football players should talk to their opponents? Does it give us a more modest but still valuable insight that we can apply to the real world? This is our first real fight (or disagreement) in a while. Plus, some mixed feelings about Mr. Robot Season 4 Episode 11 and some tentative predictions (recorded before the finale which aired by the time this episode is released). Happy holidays! Sponsored By: GiveWell: This holiday season, open your heart to those in need, and consider donating through Givewell.org. Givewell.org is an organization that cares about finding the most effective charities in the world, so that you can make each charitable dollar work as hard as possible. And for our listeners who are first time donors, Givewell.org will match your donation (up to $1,000). Promo Code: Verybadwizards Blinkist: Fit reading into your life. Key takeaways from the world’s best nonfiction books in text and audio. Visit blinkist.com/verybadwizards for a special offer for our listeners. Promo Code: verybadwizards Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Yip, J. A., Schweitzer, M. E., & Nurmohamed, S. (2018). Trash-talking: Competitive incivility motivates rivalry, performance, and unethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 144, 125-144. Kniffin, K. M., & Palacio, D. (2018). Trash-talking and trolling. Human Nature, 29(3), 353-369.

Discussing Borges' 'The Zahir,' the hosts explore its themes of obsession, love, and idealism. They analyze the microcosm concept, Christian theology critique, and Borges's fascination with obsession. The episode also features a lively Thanksgiving debate with Christina Hoff Sommers and various topics like Bernie for President, Melinda Gates, and movie reviews.

Tamler learns something new about menstruation. David weighs in on the democratic debates and the impeachment hearings. Then we map the various social and political factions onto the factions in our respective fields. Who are establishment neoliberals of philosophy, and who are the white feminists? What about the IDWs of psychology – and the Chads and Stacys? Finally we get serious and break down the article by Alan Fiske in Psychological Review called “The Lexical Fallacy in Emotion Research.” Does language affect how we understand the emotional landscape? Do the words we happen to use deceive us into thinking we have “carved nature at its joints”? What is a natural kind anyway when it comes to emotions? Plus, after the outro, a quick unedited Mr. Robot discussion of the revelation in season 4, episode 7. Sponsored By: GiveWell: This holiday season, open your heart to those in need, and consider donating through Givewell.org. Givewell.org is an organization that cares about finding the most effective charities in the world, so that you can make each charitable dollar work as hard as possible. And for our listeners who are first time donors, Givewell.org will match your donation (up to $1,000). Promo Code: Verybadwizards Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Fiske, A. P. (2019). The lexical fallacy in emotion research: Mistaking vernacular words for psychological entities. Psychological review. UCLA Anthropology Natural Kinds (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) "Mr. Robot" 407 Proxy Authentication Required (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb

David and Tamler discuss famous 'split brain' experiments pioneered by Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga. What happens when you cut off the main line of communication between the left and right hemispheres of our brain? Why under certain conditions do the the left and right brains seem like they have different abilities and desires? What does this tell us about the ‘self’? Do we have two consciousnesses, but only that can speak? Does the left brain bully the right brain? Are we all just a bundle of different consciousnesses with their own agendas? Thanks to our Patreon supporters for suggesting and voting for this fascinating topic! Plus, physicists may be able to determine whether we’re living in a computer simulation – but is it too dangerous to try to find out? Sponsored By: GiveWell: This holiday season, open your heart to those in need, and consider donating through Givewell.org. Givewell.org is an organization that cares about finding the most effective charities in the world, so that you can make each charitable dollar work as hard as possible. And for our listeners who are first time donors, Givewell.org will match your donation (up to $1,000). Promo Code: Verybadwizards Outlier.Org: Enrich your mind and earn college credits with one of the new courses from Outlier.Org. From the co-founders of MasterClass, Outlier.Org brings you beautifully crafted and filmed courses taught by some of the top professors in the world. Spaces are limited, so sign up today for classes beginning in January 2020. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Opinion | Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out - The New York Times Physicists find we’re not living in a computer simulation | Cosmos Nagel, T. (1971). Brain bisection and the unity of consciousness. /Synthese/, /22/(3), 396-413. CGP Grey video - You Are Two Split brains - Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Gazzaniga, M. S. (1995). Principles of human brain organization derived from split-brain studies. /Neuron/, /14/(2), 217-228. Split brain: divided perception but undivided consciousness | Brain | Oxford Academic Interaction in isolation: 50 years of insights from split-brain research | Brain | Oxford Academic Dennett, D. C. (2014). The self as the center of narrative gravity. In /Self and consciousness/ (pp. 111-123). Psychology Press.

We try (with varying success) to wrap our heads around Thomas Nagel’s classic article “What is it Like to be a Bat?" Does science have the tools to give us a theory of consciousness or is that project doomed from the outset? Why do reductionist or functionalist explanations seem so unsatisfying? Is the problem that consciousness is subjective, or is it something about the nature of conscious experience itself? Is this ultimately an epistemological or metaphysical question? What are we talking about? Do we even know anymore? Plus, the return of Mr. Robot! We talk about the big new mystery at the heart of the new season. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Mr. Robot - Season 4 - IMDb Nagel, T. (1974). What is it like to be a bat? The Philosophical Review, 83, 435-450. [pdf] What Is it Like to Be a Bat? - Wikipedia Mortal Questions by Thomas Nagel

Is character destiny, or can fluky decisions or tiny shifts in weather patterns fundamentally change who we are? Does the existence or non-existence of alternate universes have any bearing on freedom and responsibility? David and Tamler conclude their discussion of Ted Chiang’s “Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom” along with another very short piece by Chiang called “What’s Expected of Us” that was first published in Nature. Plus, do you have low likability in the workplace? It could be because you’re too moral and therefore not that funny. But don’t worry, we have a solution that’ll help you increase your humor production and likability with no reduction in morality. All you have to do is listen! Sponsored By: GiveWell: Givewell searches for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar. Consider a donation this holiday season--your dollar goes a lot further than you might think! Promo Code: verybadwizards Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Richard Brody Reviews "Joker" | New Yorker Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia Falling Down (1993) - IMDb People with high moral standards 'less likely' to be funny | The Independent Yam, K. C., Barnes, C. M., Leavitt, K., Uhlmann, E. L., & Wei, W. (2016). Why So Serious? Experimental and Field Evidence that Morality and a Sense of Humor are Psychologically Incompatible. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Aquino, K., & Reed, I. I. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 83(6), 1423. Exhalation by Ted Chiang [amazon.com affiliate link] What's Expected of Us by Ted Chiang | Nature

David and Tamler dive back into the Ted Chiang well and explore the fascinating world described in "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom." What if you could interact with alternate versions of yourself - versions that made different choices, had different jobs, or different partners? Would you get jealous of your other selves if they were more successful? Would you want them to be unhappy so you could feel better about your own choices and path? If your alternate self was in a good relationship with a woman, would you try to track down the version of that woman in this world? If you made an immoral choice but your other self made the moral one, what does that say about your character? And what does it say about free will and responsibility? So many questions, such an interesting story - turns out we need to dedicate another segment next time to conclude the discussion. Hope you enjoy it! If you haven't bought Exhalation (Ted Chiang's new collection) We can't recommend it highly enough. This is the last story in that collection. Plus – we select the topic finalists for our beloved Patreon listener-selected episode. Will Denial of Death make the cut again? Sponsored By: GiveWell: Givewell searches for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar. Consider a donation this holiday season--your dollar goes a lot further than you might think! Promo Code: verybadwizards Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Ted Chiang's "Exhalation" [amazon.com affiliate link] Eddy Nahmias, Close calls and the confident agent: Free will, deliberation, and alternative possibilities - PhilPapers

David and Tamler start out with a discussion of the new Chappelle special and the negative reaction from many critics. Is Chappelle trolling his audience? Has he lost touch with the powerless people he used to champion? Or have critics missed his larger point, and failed to approach the new special as an art form? Then they address the latest development in the literature around Benjamin Libet's famous study that, according to some people, proved that free will doesn't exist. How did that study get so much attention in the first place? Tamler proposes a Marxist analysis. Plus, David teaches Tamler how to pronounce Bereitschaftspotential antisemitically. This episode is sponsored by Simple Habit. Sponsored By: Simple Habit: Try out Simple Habit--the meditation app that can make your life better in as little as 5-minutes per day. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Does Free Will Exist? Neuroscience Can't Disprove It Yet. - The Atlantic Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action by Benjamin Libet Neuroscience of free will - Wikipedia Break Music: Cold Stares by peez | SoundCloud

David and Tamler discuss the perplexing Book of Job and its exploration of the problem of evil. They question why Job suffers and debate the persuasiveness of his friends' speeches. The hosts also delve into the concept of transhumanism and the potential benefits and ethical concerns of technological advancements.