YANSS 203 – How to build a sailboat of self-actualization to explore the sea of human potential

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Barry Kaufman, one of the most-influential and prolific psychologists working today, to discuss his new book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. Business Insider magazine named Kaufman one of the “50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world,” and you would likely...

2w

YANSS 202 – What wins when future desires and past beliefs refuse to agree?

Confirmation bias is our tendency to seek evidence that supports our beliefs and that confirms our assumptions — when we could just as well seek disconfirmation of those beliefs and assumptions instead. It feels like we are doing the hard work — doing the research required to build good beliefs — but since we can so easily find that confirmation, when...

3w

YANSS 201 – How dogs change our behaviors, our brains, and our lives (for the better)

In this episode we sit down with journalist and author Kate Leaver to explore her new book, Good Dog, which covers “the science and history of our extraordinary relationship with dogs and focusing on the role that dogs can play in enriching and improving our mental and emotional health.” Kate Leaver Kate Leaver is a journalist,...

3w

YANSS 200 – How a divisive photograph of a perceptually ambiguous dress led two researchers to build the nuclear bomb of cognitive science out of socks and Crocs

When facing a novel and uncertain situation, the brain secretly disambiguates the ambiguous without letting you know it was ever uncertain in the first place, leading people who disambiguate differently to seem iNsAnE. This episode is about why we so often don’t understand why we disagree, which leads us to disagree even more, and we explore that through...

Feb 2021

YANSS 199 – How to explore the mystery and wonder of complex mathematical concepts without using numbers

In this episode we explore the weirdness and wonder of Math Without Numbers with mathematician Milo Beckman who wrote a book about the math behind multiple infinities, strange topologies, and extra dimensions, all without using numbers to explain some of the most fascinating and complex ideas that usually only make sense when scribbled in strange notations...

Feb 2021

YANSS 198 – The psychological mechanisms that led to the the storming of the Capitol, an event that sprang from a widespread belief in a conspiracy theory that, even weeks later, still persists among millions

Since 2016, psychologist Gordon Pennycook and his colleagues have consistently found that a lack of cognitive reflection is more correlated with believing and sharing fake news and conspiracy theories –  false information spread through Facebook, and espoused by the president himself – than any other psychological phenomenon. In this episode...

Feb 2021

YANSS 198 – The psychological mechanisms that led to the the storming of the Capitol, an event that sprang from a widespread belief in a conspiracy theory that, even weeks later, still persists among millions

Since 2016, psychologist Gordon Pennycook and his colleagues have consistently found that a lack of cognitive reflection is more correlated with believing and sharing fake news and conspiracy theories –  false information spread through Facebook, and espoused by the president himself – than any other psychological phenomenon. In this episode...

Jan 2021

YANSS 197 – Steven Novella and Jesse Walker discuss the history and psychology of conspiracy theories

Download – iTunes – Stitcher – RSS – Soundcloud – Omny – Spotify Over the last few years, this show has devoted many shows to the psychology behind what we saw in the Capitol in January 2021. So, in this episode, we re-listen to three interviews on conspiratorial thinking to gain some perspective. In this episode we discuss the history,...

Jan 2021

YANSS 198 – The psychological mechanisms that led to the the storming of the Capitol, an event that sprang from a widespread belief in a conspiracy theory that, even weeks later, still persists among millions

<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/you-are-not-so-smart/198-reflection-and-insurrection/embed?style=artwork" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="198 - Reflection and Insurrection"></iframe>   Download – iTunes – Stitcher – RSS – Soundcloud – Omny – Spotify Since 2016, psychologist Gordon Pennycook and his colleagues...

Jan 2021

YANSS 197 – Steven Novella and Jesse Walker discuss the history and psychology of conspiracy theories

<iframe src=”https://omny.fm/shows/you-are-not-so-smart/197-conspiratorial-thinking/embed?style=artwork”; width=”100%” height=”180″ frameborder=”0″ title=”197 – Conspiratorial Thinking”></iframe> Download – iTunes – Stitcher – RSS – Soundcloud – Omny – Spotify Over the last few years, this show has devoted many shows to the psychology...

Jan 2021