Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler return after an end of summer hiatus to finally talk about the ethics of deception….eventually. But first they break down a recent article in the journal Science documenting an attempt to replicate 100 recent psychology experiments. What does it mean that just over 1/3 of the studies were successfully replicated? Is social psychology in crisis or is this just how science works? Will David somehow try to pin the blame on philosophers? Plus--a brief and almost certainly regrettable foray into the Ashley Madison hack, the neuroscience of lying to your kids about Santa, and we announce a new way to contact us to help celebrate our 75th anniversary. Links Authors, Shitload of (2015) Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science, Science, 39. The Bayesian Reproducibility Project post by Alexander Etz [alexanderetz.com] Harris, S. (2013). Lying. Four Elephants Press. Buy on Amazon Bok, S. (2011) Lying: Moral choice in public and private life. Vintage, 2011. Buy on Amazon Santa on the Brain by Kelly Lambert [nytimes.com] James Randi (aka "The Amazing Randi") [wikipedia.org] An Honest Liar [anhonestliar.com] (Available on Netflix in the U.S.) The Honest Truth about Dishonesty [amazon.com affiliate link] (Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies [thedishonestyproject.com] Exit Through the Gift Shop [wikipedia.org] F for Fake [imdb.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

In what is possibly our most repugnant first segment ever, David and Tamler break down the ethics of zoophilia and investigate the true nature of consent. In the second segment we answer some listener emails and address our first question in our new capacity as International Ethics Experts.™ If your family is religious, how honest should you be with your children about your non-belief? Do the comforting aspects of religious belief outweigh the fears and anxieties? What's the deal with Christians and hell? Plus, sex-ed from a female perspective, a brief nostalgic trip to The Electric Company, and David overcomes his horror of self-promotion to thank some people for praising the podcast. Links Top 25 Podcasts for Men [hiconsumption.com] People Behind the Science podcast episode featuring David [peoplebehindthescience.com] Radio Tatas! Episode 37: "In a Row?!?" (their review of VBW starts at around the 30:00 mark) [radiotatas.libsyn.com] Cecil the Lion [wikipedia.org] New York Court: Chimps Are Still Property, Not People [npr.org] The Electric Company Intro [youtube.org] Suggestions for our listeners for the next podcast episode: Santa on the Brain by Kelly Lambert [nytimes.com] James Randi (aka "The Amazing Randi") [wikipedia.org] An Honest Liar [anhonestliar.com] (Available on Netflix in the U.S.) The Honest Truth about Dishonesty [amazon.com affiliate link] (Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies [thedishonestyproject.com] F is for Fake [imdb.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

It finally happened: David and Tamler welcome special guest Joshua Weisberg to the podcast to talk about Turing machines, Chinese Rooms, and AI. What does it mean for a machine to acquire intelligence? What is the proper test? How much processing power would it take? Do computers shed light on how human beings think? Why is John Searle trapped in a Chinese room, anyway? Plus, a spoiler-filled discussion (beginning at 58:20) of the recent movie Ex Machina. David tries to assert his feminist bonafides but Tamler takes Eva's side, proving once again that he is the real feminist. And we have a quick 5-minute discussion of Mr. Robot Episode 4 (beginning at 1:24) and respond to a couple of emails from the authors of the Inside Out article we discussed in our previous episode. Links Turing Test [wikipedia.org] Chinese Room thought experiment [wikipedia.org] Artificial Intelligence [wikipedia.org] Weisberg, J. (2009). It stands to reason: Skynet and self-preservation. In Irwin, W., Brown, R., & Decker, K. S. (Eds.) Terminator and philosophy: I'll be back, therefore I am (Vol. 13). John Wiley & Sons. Ex Machina [IMDB.com] Special Guest: Josh Weisberg. Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler go deep into the best TV show of the summer, "Mr. Robot. They talk about the moral ambiguity of its central character, the distorted vision of reality it portrays, and play a round of "Real or Not Real" with all the main characters. Plus, what the swooning critics ignore about Pixar's "Inside Out"--its irresponsible failure to reference the relevant literature in cognitive science and philosophy of mind. Links Two philosophers explain what Inside Out gets wrong about the mind [vox.com] The James/Lange theory of emotion [wikipedia.org] Mr. Robot [IMDB] Unreliable Narrator [wikipedia.org] Shoot the Dog Trope [tvtropes.org] Support Very Bad Wizards

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, papers by Williams and movies from Sweden. Long graphic novels that celebrate being. These are a few of our favorite things. Dave and Tamler offer some moral psych-themed recommendations to help you get your summer off to a good start. Plus, is porn bad for you now that it doesn't come in brown paper packages tied up in string? Links Pornucopia by Maria Konnikova [aeon.com] Maria Konnikova on Twitter [twitter.com] Zhana Vrangolova [zhanavrangolova.com] Books Daytripper by Fabio Bá and Gabriel Moon [amazon.com affiliate link] [comixology link] Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro [amazon.com affiliate link] Movies Force Majeure [imdb.com] Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter [imdb.com] Academic Papers Kahane, G., Everett, J. A., Earp, B. D., Farias, M., & Savulescu, J. (2015). 'Utilitarian' judgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas do not reflect impartial concern for the greater good. Cognition, 134, 193-209. Williams, B. A. O., & Moore, A. W. (2006). Philosophy as a humanistic discipline. Princeton University Press. [verybadwizards.com] TV Shows Mr. Robot [usa.com] Louie [imdb.com] Deadwood [imdb.com] The Americans [imdb.com] Sherlock [imdb.com] Podcast (David's Extra) Robot or Not? Podcast [incomparable.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

The podcast explores the concept of objectivity, discussing beliefs, aesthetics, ethics, and cultural variations. It delves into the challenges of determining objective truth in science and the objectivity of film judgments. The hosts also touch on topics like trolling behavior, the nature of preference, and diverse themes such as Kant's philosophy, lying, and reflective equilibrium.

Dave drags Tamler into the nerd abyss by making him watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Tapestry," from the 6th season. It's available on Netflix instant in the US, and likely worldwide on many sites of varying legality). We talk about the themes of the episode: regret, risk aversion, the arrogance of hindsight, and the dream of living your past "knowing what you know now." What are the things that shape our character? Should we embrace our mistakes or would we change something if we could? How should we think of our lives--as one long continually unfolding story or as a series of unrelated episodes? And speaking of regret, we reflect on our comedy episode and some listener dissatisfaction (we agree with much of it) and talk about yet another fraudulent study with sexy results. Plus, Dave finally learns what 'chuchma' means. "Science Retracts Troubled Gay Marriage Study." [retractionwatch.com] "Michael Lacour Responds to Critics." [latimes.com] "The Strangest Thing about Lacour's Response" (nymag.com) Star Trek: The Next Generation. "Tapestry" [en.memory-alpha.wikia.com] Best Episode Ever #30: Star Trek: The Next Generation [craveonline.co.uk] Patrick Stewart on Extras [youtube.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler break the cardinal rule of comedy by trying to analyze it. What are the origins and functions of humor? Can a theory explain what makes us laugh? Is humor entirely subjective? Why would anyone find Mr. Bean funny? Plus, we lose some geek cred by confessing some iconic comedians that we never liked, and ask why the American Psychologist Association loves to torture people. Links Report Claims American Psychological Association Secretly Supported Torture Policy [time.com] The philosophy of humor [iep.utm.edu] Key and Peele: Gay Wedding [youtube.com] Key and Peele: Awesome Hitler Story [youtube.com] Goodfellas: How the Fuck Am I Funny? [youtube.com] Steven Wright: Birthday Present [youtube.com] Hannibal Burress: Pickle Juice [youtube.com] George Carlin on Fat People [youtube.com] Jerry Seinfeld on Airport Security [youtube.com] Louis CK: Pig Newtons [youtube.com] Curb Your Enthusiasm: Rash [youtube.com] Eddie Murphy: Barbecue [youtube.com] Bill Burr on Trying to Buy a Pumpkin [youtube.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Special guest Yoel Inbar (author of Hitchcock's Women: From Margaret Sullivan to Tippi Hedren) joins us to talk about Hitchcock's long take masterpiece/gimmick Rope. Based loosely on the case of Leopold and Loeb, Rope tells the story of two young men who have read Nietzsche and decide to murder a schoolmate in order to cement their Übermensch status. Did they read Nietzsche correctly? Is conventional morality nothing but a construct to keep the inferior masses in line? Are professors accountable for what they teach? (Please God, no.) Plus, we delve deeper into Julie and Mark's motivation, and Yoel plays a round of "Does the government deem this trademark scandalous?" Links Yoel Inbar [yoelinbar.net] Very Bad Wizards Episode 22: An Enquiry Concerning Slurs and Offensiveness [verybadwizards.com] Rope [IMDB.com] Leopold and Loeb [wikipedia.org] Leopold and Loeb's Criminal Minds (Smithsonian Magazine) The Leopold and Loeb Trial Page (UMKC Law) Paul Gauguin [wikipedia.org] The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham [wikipedia.org] Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy [plato.stanford.edu] Damasio, A. "Remembering When," Scientific American, 2002. [antonellapavese.com] What's the matter with a little brother sister action? by Tamler Sommers [psychologytoday.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Holy crap, it's the apocalypse!!!! ...for philosophy. Maybe. Has this 2500 year old discipline become too technical, too disconnected from the real world? Is it just a handmaiden to the sciences? (Which would make Tamler Dave's handmaiden.) And what the hell is conceptual analysis? Plus, a short excerpt of Tamler's interview with Simon Blackburn, and definitive proof that worms have free will (sorry Sam). And only one more week to buy our t-shirt! Links Free Will? Analysis of worm neurons suggest how a single stimulus can trigger different responses [sciencedaily.com] Strawson, P. F. (1962). Freedom and resentment. [princeton.edu] Doomen, J. (2015). The end of philosophy. Think, 14(39), 99-109. [verybadwizards.com] For a Non-Ideal Metaphysics by Justin Smith [jehsmith.com] Concepts [plato.stanford.edu] Harry Frankfurt says Philosophy is in the Doldrums [http://leiterreports.typepad.com] Simon Blackburn's Website [phil.cam.ac.uk] Support Very Bad Wizards