002 - The Illusion of Knowledge

Jesse Richardson wants to improve our critical thinking about AI risk through the gamification of our rampant speculation. In this episode he explains AI safety isn't just one thing, there are a bunch of different risk profiles and each needs to be considered critically.Previous ... Show More

We return to The Dress and the psychological lessons offered by one of the most viral moments in the history of the internet via an episode of Decoder Ring in which David McRaney shares some insights from his book, How Minds Change, with Willa Paskin, the host of Decoder Ring.Dec ... Show More

Astronomer Phil Plait joins us to discuss his new book, Under Alien Skies, in which he describes what it would be like (through human eyes and real physical experiences) to actually travel to Saturn, Mars, asteroids, and distant stars. Also, we discuss the recent surge in UFO sig ... Show More

<p>Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power...right? In this episode of Hidden Brain, we explore why we sometimes avoid information that's vital to our well-being.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> fo ... Show More

“You are what you eat,” the saying goes -- but does that apply to memories as well? In this Stuff to Blow Your Mind two-parter, join Robert and Joe on a journey through the world of Planaria worms, controversial research, regineration, behaviorism and even the machinations of the ... Show More

How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss The Moses Illusion, one persistent example from a class of mental phenomena known as “knowledge neglect.” (originally published 2/23/2021) Learn more about ... Show More

<p>Is it possible to make something invisible? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore transparency, how we measure time on Earth, and how airplanes have changed. </p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.</p><p>Thanks to our Pat ... Show More

Today we welcome Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris to the podcast. Daniel Simons is a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois where he heads the Visual Cognition Laboratory. His research explores the limits of awareness and memory, the reasons why we often are u ... Show More

<p>You probably know someone who thinks they know more about something than they really do. But you could never be described that way . . . could you? This week, cognitive scientist <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/business/leeds-directory/faculty/philip-fernbach">Phil Fernbach< ... Show More

Sam Harris speaks with Robert Sapolsky about his work with baboons, the opposition between reason and emotion, doubt, the evolution of the brain, the civilizing role of the frontal cortex, the illusion of free will, justice and vengeance, brain-machine interface, religion, drugs, ... Show More

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss our psychological tendency to overestimate our control over events, with implications for everything from gambling and paranormal beliefs to our movements through everyday life.See omnystudio.com/listener for priv ... Show More

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the psychological, economic and decision theory phenomenon known as ambiguity aversion. Find out how it relates to the Ellsberg paradox, madman theory and the balance of power in our world.See omnystudio.com/liste ... Show More

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss our psychological tendency to overestimate our control over events, with implications for everything from gambling and paranormal beliefs to our movements through everyday life. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri ... Show More