On Wisdom
What does science tell us about wisdom?
Displaying all 2 Episode of On Wisdom with the tag “motivated reasoning”.
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Episode 18: The End of the World is Nigh: Polarised Tribes, Passionate Words, and the Partisan Brain (with Jay Van Bavel)
June 29th, 2019 | 1 hr 3 mins
bias, culture, echo chambers, jay van bavel, mathematics, moral-emotional language, motivated reasoning, neuroscience, off-ramps, partisanship, perception, polarisation, politics, psychology, social media, social psychology, superheroes, wisdom
How did politics get so damn polarised? Jay Van Bavel joins Igor and Charles to discuss political polarisation, the partisan brain, the inexorable rise of superheroes in dark times, the misperceptions of polarisation levels, and how to reach out to other tribes. Igor highlights the partisanship-transcending benefits of a Watchmen-style alien invasion, Jay proposes the judicious use of ‘off-ramps’ when engaging with loved-ones from across the political divide, and Charles learns that even the abstract purity of Mathematics is not immune from the tentacles of partisanship when guns are involved. Welcome to Episode 18.
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Episode 15: Wisdom, Bullshit & Beliefs (with Gordon Pennycook)
April 7th, 2019 | 45 mins 7 secs
climate change, cognitive reflection test, dual process theory, fake news, misinformation, motivated reasoning, psuedo-profound bullshit, psychology, social psychology, wisdom, wisdom of chopra
‘Wholeness quiets infinite phenomena?’ Does it, really?! Why do some people fall for pseudo-profound bullshit and others don’t? When we share fake news stories, is this because we're motivated to think they're real, or because we don't bother to think at all? And why do scientists fight tooth-and-nail over the mechanisms involved, such as “System I vs. System II”, “Fast vs. Slow” and other frameworks? Gordon Pennycook joins Igor and Charles to discuss the critical distinction between a liar and a bullshitter, the cognitive reflection test, the random Deepak Chopra quote generator, the Ig Nobel prize, motivated reasoning, climate change beliefs, academic turf wars among dual process theorists, and how to stop yourself from compulsively retweeting fake news. Igor suggests that Gord only thought of studying bullshit after disbelief at one of Igor’s early talks, Gord reminds us that even the most enlightened social media platforms are in no hurry to help people STOP sharing news, and Charles unexpectedly finds common ground with the Chinese government. Welcome to Episode 15.