You Are Not So Smart

In this episode, the story of Clever Hans, the horse who changed psychology for the better. We also sit down with psychologist and magician Matt Tompkins. Matt is the author of The Spectacle of Illusion, a book about the long history of the manipulation of our own magical thinking and how studying deception can help us better understand perception, memory, belief, and more. How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Matt Tompkins The Spectacle of Illusion Prisoners of Silence Clever Hans Wilhelm von Osten Carl Sagan Quote Science of Magic Association Society for Psychical Research Skeptical Inquirer Magazine Houdini's Debunking Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How can two people watch the same video yet see two different things? How can two people witness the same event but arrive at two different truths about what they witnessed? How can the same evidence lead people to drastically different realities? In this episode, Dr. Jay Van Bavel at NYU explains. Kitted Executive Academy The Power of Us Website They Saw A Game Jay Van Bavel’s Twitter Jay Van Bavel’s Website How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we sit down with three disinformation researchers whose new paper found something surprising about both our resistance and our susceptibility to both true news we wish was fake and fake news we wish was true. Our guests are three of the scientists exploring a newly named cognitive distortion, one that every human being is prone to exhibiting, one that is so common and so easily provoked that nefarious actors depend on it when distributing disinformation and propaganda. Samuel Woolley, Katie Joseff, and Michael Schwalbe will share their methods, findings, and takeaways. They will also explain the troublesome nature of something they are calling concordance over truth bias – a distortion that most often appears in those who have the most (undeserved) confidence in their own (not-so-objective) objectivity. - How Minds Change - Show Notes - Newsletter - David McRaney's BlueSky - David McRaney’s Twitter - YANSS Twitter - Why Do We Share Our Feelings With Others? - Concordance Over Truth Bias - Samuel Wooley - Katie Joseff - Michael Schwalbe - Geoffrey Cohen Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Martin Carcasson tells us how he, as the Director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State, trains people how to facilitate deliberation and overcome wicked problems so that they can "spark processes that are particularly designed to avoid triggering the worst in human nature and tap into the best." Kitted Executive Academy The Center for Public Deliberation The Listen First Coalition Better Together America Martin Carcasson The Toulmin Model Wicked Problems How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter Newsletter Show Notes Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Warren Berger has made a career out of classifying, categorizing, and making sense of the many varieties of questions that we ask and in this episode he explains how we can ask more beautiful questions that can lead to all manner of better outcomes. Warren Berger's Website Warren Berger's Twitter A More Beautiful Question Carl Sagan on Asking Questions Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why The Sky Is Blue The Real Reason the Sky is Blue How Does Rayleigh Scattering ACTUALLY Work? (The Blue Sky) Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Steven Franconeri explains the powerful insights and opportunities offered by a game he and his team created for having better disagreements about just about anything, but especially about the sort of topics that often lead to arguments, fights, and terrible holiday dinners. Kitted Executive Academy Point Taken The Visual Thinking Lab Steven Franconeri How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We sit down with Jordan Ellenberg, a world-class geometer, who takes us on a far-ranging exploration of the power of geometry, which turns out to help us think better about practically everything His writing has appeared in Slate, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe, and he is the New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Be Wrong – but in this episode we will discuss his new book, Shape: The hidden geometry of information, biology, strategy, democracy and everything else. Kitted Executive Academy Jordan Ellenberg’s Website Jordan Ellenberg’s Academic Website Jordan Ellenberg’s Twitter Shape How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Philosopher, neuroscientist, and psychologist, Joshua Greene tells us how the brain generates morality and how his research may have solved the infamous trolley problem, and in so doing created a way to encourage people to contribute to charities that do the most good, and, in addition, play quiz games that can reduce polarization and possibly save democracy. Kitted Executive Academy Pods Fight Poverty Give Directly Giving Multiplier Joshua Greene's Website Moral Tribes The Trolley Problem in Real Life A Buddhist Monk Faces The Trolley Problem Alief vs Belief Tango Tango Quiz Game Research Charitable Giving Research How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We sit down with Dr. Madeleine Beekman, a professor emerita of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology at the University of Sydney, Australia, whose new book, The Origin of Language, presents a completely new and fascinating theory for how language emerged in homo sapiens, in human beings, in you and me and the rest of us. Madeleine Beekman How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode we welcome Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano, a political scientist who studies how cognitive dissonance affects all sorts of political behavior. She’s also the co-host of a podcast about activism called "What Do We Want?" and she wrote a book titled Don’t Talk About Politics which is about how to discuss politics without necessarily talking about politics. Sarah Stein Lubrano's Website Sarah Stein Lubrano's Substack Sarah Stein Lubrano's Twitter Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, the story of a doomsday cult who predicted the exact date and circumstances of the end of the world, and what happened when that date passed and the world did not end. Also, we explore our drive to remain consistent via our desire to reduce cognitive dissonance. When you notice you’ve done something you believe is wrong, then you will either stop doing that thing or stop believing it is wrong. And if you believe something is true but you come across some information that disconfirms that belief, you’ll either change your belief, challenge the validity of the challenging information, or go looking for confirmation you were right all along. Previous Episodes Kitted Shop The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter YANSS Facebook Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Harvard Psychologist Steven Pinker tells us all about his new book “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows” which explores the power of common knowledge, how it differs from common sense, and why it is the fundamental aspect of all human coordination, cooperation, and social life in general. Previous Episodes Steven Pinker's Website When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows Kitted Shop The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can intellectual humility be measured? What influences it and affects it, limits it and enhances it? What even is it, scientifically speaking? We explore all of this and then play an episode of How to Be A Better Human featuring psychologist Tenelle Porter telling comedian Chris Duffy how she is researching how to conduct better research into intellectual humility. Previous Episodes Transcript at TED How to Be A Better Human The Gateway Drugs to Intellectual Humility Tenelle Porter's Research Tenelle Porter's Website The Illusion of Explanatory Depth Kitted Shop The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

This episode is about suicide prevention and awareness. Author Kelly Williams Brown tells us about her book, Easy Crafts for the Insane, in which she recounts how, after she gained fame and success as a NYT bestselling author, her world came apart. Then an anti-anxiety-drug-induced manic state nearly ended her life. 988 Suicide Prevention Month Kelly Williams Brown's Website Easy Crafts for the Insane Kelly's Twitter Kelly's Instagram Kelly in Vanity Fair Gratitude Journaling Study Seneca on Being Wretched The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

What is misinformation? How does it differ from disinformation or just plain ‘ole propaganda? How do we protect ourselves from people with nefarious intentions using all of these things to affect our thoughts, feelings, and behavior? That’s what we discuss in this episode with Matthew Facciani, social scientist and author of Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How it Spreads, and What We Can Do About It. Matthew Facciani's Website The Misguided Podcast Misguided Kitted Shop The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney's BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

Two psychologists who study love, relationships, and human mating behavior pick apart the movie "The Notebook" and tell us what it gets right and what it gets wrong when it comes to portraying how humans actually, truly think, feel, and behave. Eli Finkel and Paul Eastwick are the cohosts of the Love Factually podcast, a show that discusses the romantic/scientific accuracy of movies, and on this episode we listen in as they examine one of the most popular romance movies of all time. Love Factually Website Love Factually Substack Eli Finkel's Website Paul Eastwick's Website Kitted Shop The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney's BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode, we sit down with therapist Britt Frank to discuss the intention action gap, the psychological term for the chasm between what you very much intend to do and what you tend to do instead. It turns out, there's a well-researched psychological framework that includes a term for when you have a stated, known goal – a change you'd like to make in your life – something you wake up intending to finally do or get started doing, but then don't do while knowing full well you are actively not doing what you ought and wish you had done by now. After we discuss this phenomenon and how to deal with it, we get into procrastination and how to escape all manner of dead-end behavioral loops. The Getting Unstuck Workbook The Science of Stuck Kitted Shop The Story of Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

Sarah Stein Lubrano tells us about her new book, Don't Talk About Politics, which urges us not to lose hope or become frozen in frustration when it comes to polarization and faulty discourse because the good news is that we don't just know, scientifically, why the marketplace of ideas is currently failing us, we know how, scientifically, we can do better. Sarah Stein Lubrano's Website Don't Talk About Politics Motivated Numeracy Paper How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode we welcome psychologist Mary C. Murphy, author of Cultures of Growth, who tells us how to create institutions, businesses, and other groups of humans that can better support collaboration, innovation, performance, and wellbeing. We also learn how, even if you know all about the growth mindset, the latest research suggests you not may not be creating a culture of growth despite what feels like your best efforts to do so. Mary Murphy’s Website Cultures of Growth Carol Dweck at Google Paper: A Culture of Genius How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

Alex Edmans, a professor of finance at London Business School, tells us how to avoid the Ladder of Misinference by examining how narratives, statistics, and articles can mislead, especially when they align with our preconceived notions and confirm what we believe is true, assume is true, and wish were true. Alex Edmans May Contain Lies What to Test in a Post Trust World How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter YANSS Facebook Newsletter Kitted Patreon