Spencer Greenberg, mathematician, founder of Clearer Thinking, and co-author of The 12 Levers, joins Jim O'Shaughnessy on Infinite Loops to talk about which self-help techniques hold up to evidence, why memory works like autocomplete, how exposure therapy cured his lifelong social anxiety, why the law of attraction can backfire, how to design hiring interviews that predict performance, and what his team found replicating new studies from top psychology journals.
Show Notes
Spencer Greenberg & Jim O'Shaughnessy
Spencer Greenberg: Mathematician and entrepreneur, founder of ClearerThinking.org and Spark Wave, and host of the Clearer Thinking podcast. Clearer Thinking
The 12 Levers: Spencer and Jeremy Stevenson's evidence-based toolkit for improving your life. The 12 Levers
Clearer Thinking podcast: Spencer's interview show, where Jim has been a guest. Listen
Transparent Replications: Spencer's project that randomly picks and re-runs new studies from top psychology journals. Transparent Replications
Importance hacking: Spencer's essay on the problem his replications uncovered. Read the essay
Jim O'Shaughnessy: Host of Infinite Loops, founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, and author of the New York Times bestseller What Works on Wall Street. Follow Jim on X
Full transcripts: Transcripts and highlights from every Infinite Loops conversation. OSV newsletter
Books & Ideas Mentioned
Reality tunnels: Robert Anton Wilson's idea that everyone perceives a different version of reality. Reality tunnel
The Challenger memory study: Research showing how far people's memories of a major event drift over time. Flashbulb memory
Spaced repetition: Spencer's recommended method for remembering what matters. Spaced repetition
My Dinner with Andre: The film that shaped how Jim designed Infinite Loops. My Dinner with Andre
Behavioral activation: The evidence-based depression technique Spencer describes. Behavioral activation
Daniel Kahneman: Whose work for the Israeli military showed which interview methods actually predict performance. Daniel Kahneman
Pre-mortem: The technique of imagining a plan has failed and working out why. Pre-mortem
Replication crisis: The finding that many published psychology results don't hold up when re-run. Replication crisis
John Sarno: The NYU physician whose work on the mind's role in chronic pain Jim credits with curing his frozen neck. John E. Sarno
Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert: Jim's reference on how emotions show up physically in the body. Candace Pert
Mirror box therapy: The phantom limb treatment Spencer uses to show the brain can reinterpret a pain signal. Mirror box