THUNK

The Just World Fallacy: your brain’s irrational attempt to make sense of a world where Firefly got cancelled. Video: http://youtu.be/-f2eU8t9IOE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/04/06/89.-The-Just-World-Fallacy.html

Hume saw problems using facts to justify morals. Learn about Hume’s Guillotine and where reason fits in morality! Video: http://youtu.be/UwkSA8nqmdI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/03/23/88.-Hume's-Guillotine-and-Rational-Morality.html

The FBI is asking Apple to help them crack an iPhone’s encryption, but that’s not the whole story. Learn how encryption and code signing work, and how quantum computers might pose a threat to both! Video: http://youtu.be/crT3CI8Eg5s Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/03/09/87.-Encryption-and-Quantum-Computing.html

Human thought has hundreds of hard-wired bugs. The Socratic Method gives us a fighting chance to overcome them. Video: http://youtu.be/ZO-CGN78gdY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/02/24/86.-Cognitive-Biases-and-the-Socratic-Method.html

A newly-discovered creature called “the purple sock” reveals and confirms some of the inner workings of evolution! Video: http://youtu.be/eNBxHlHBpag Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/02/10/85.-Evolution-and-the-Purple-Sock.html

Most agree that prejudice is wrong, but it’s not just an ethical problem; it’s a practical one, for everyone. Video: http://youtu.be/UO8hgsNXAPw Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/01/27/84.-Why-Prejudice-is-Impractical.html

CRISPR is making big waves in biology, and for good reason; the doors to genetic engineering are now wide open. Video: http://youtu.be/r_yqbrETO4U Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/01/13/83.-CRISPR-and-Genetic-Engineering.html

Many people think special relativity is just for astrophysics majors, but its basic assumptions are pretty easy! Video: http://youtu.be/p8ddpqm_S3s Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/12/30/82.-Special-Relativity.html

Cynics assume everything sucks until proven otherwise…should we use that approach for the new Star Wars movie? Video: http://youtu.be/2X8LB3bTaVc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/12/17/81.-Optimism-Bias,-Anticipation,-and-STAR-WARS-(Now-with-fixed-audio!).html

Why do anti-PC advocates claim that political correctness is pointless? Why do PC advocates argue among themselves? Video: http://youtu.be/ZxcdNvxCdbw Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/12/02/80.-Political-Correctness.html

Science rules, and pseudoscience drools…but which is which? Learn about Kuhn, Popper, and the demarcation problem! Video: http://youtu.be/8dmOmprI0v4 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/11/18/79.-Science,-Pseudoscience,-and-the-Demarcation-Problem.html

Steampunk is cool, but what’s cooler is how it almost happened! Learn about Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace! Video: http://youtu.be/g17dqIoK-0I Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/11/04/78.-Steampunk,-Babbage,-and-Lovelace.html

NASA fans are often asked to justify spending on space. Learn about the Overview Effect, & other good reasons. Video: http://youtu.be/f_jwKDJaoHw Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/10/21/77.-Why-Go-to-Space.html

The Copernican Principle uses the idea that we aren’t the center of the cosmos as a guideline for…everything! Learn an interesting method for estimating the remaining lifespan of just about anything! Video: http://youtu.be/na5wD0cWsVg Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/10/07/76.-The-Copernican-Principle.html

The Problem of Evil is the single most persistent issue in theology. Learn 2 of its formulations, & 1 response. Video: http://youtu.be/sNHQuCNmlbY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/09/23/75.-The-Problem-of-Evil.html

Is logic cold & impersonal? Are rational answers boring ones? Take a detour thru the Renaissance & find out. Video: http://youtu.be/1-ozUrg7HnU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/09/10/74.-What-Reason-is-For-(Critical-Thinking,.html

We rarely give the “critical” part of “critical thinking” its due. Rigor in thought is hard, but so important. Video: http://youtu.be/l3uDwNUVieQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/08/26/73.-Rigor-(Critical-Thinking,-Part-2).html

“Logic” isn’t just being reasonable; it’s a formal system of finding truth, like math. Why did nobody tell me?! Video: http://youtu.be/_P5AkmnMf4E Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/08/12/72.-Logic-(Critical-Thinking,-Part-1).html

“Sherlock” features a real mnemonic technique called a memory palace. But you don’t need to be Holmes to use it! Video: http://youtu.be/f5zYrN7wt4Y Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/07/29/71.-Memory-Palaces.html

Logical positivism ran with Hume’s analytic/synthetic distinction…turns out running with forks is a bad idea. Video: http://youtu.be/3EebMeEo91c Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/07/15/70.-Hume's-Fork,-Logical-Positivism,-and-Quine.html

The Star Wars Expanded Universe recently lost its canonicity; what does that really mean? Does John Dewey know? Video: http://youtu.be/J3TR6qmFV-c Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/06/17/68.-Star-Wars,-Canonicity,-and-John-Dewey.html

What do gun control and police brutality have in common? Some arguments for both contain the same logical fallacy. Video: http://youtu.be/uHXc6RJO9cc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/06/03/67.-Good-Guys,-Bad-Guys,-and-Fallacies.html

Many believe locks = safety. Learn how they work, how they’re picked, and why security is more about deterrence. Video: http://youtu.be/k72dPdmlC9s Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/05/20/66.-Lockpicking-and-Security.html

There are many absurd fictional AI-gone-haywire stories, but the real potential of general AI is unsettling. Video: http://youtu.be/3X-9sCYEO3s Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/05/06/65.-The-Real-Dangers-of-AI.html

If humans evolved reason to find truth, it’s weirdly flawed. But what if it evolved for the purpose of argument? Video: http://youtu.be/Cduyyif7BVY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2015/04/22/64.-The-Argumentative-Theory-of-Human-Reason.html