Cognitive Engineering

What makes a good analogy? Is Tyrion Lannister a good comparison for Michael Gove? Things mentioned in this podcast Michael Gove is like Tyrion Lannister: https://news.sky.com/story/is-environment-secretary-michael-gove-really-like-his-game-of-thrones-soulmate-tyrion-lannister-11559555 Funes, the Memorious by Borges: https://marom.net.technion.ac.il/files/2016/07/Funes-the-Memorious.pdf Cartesian...

Is being polite better than being rude? Does civility really cost nothing and buy you everything? What are the costs of being polite? Image by Jean-Étienne Liotard via Wikipedia Things mentioned in this podcast: Links between agreeableness and outcomes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845351/ Punshing people who are too nice: http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-14719-007 Psychology To...

Are Preppers mad? Or are they wise to get ready for Britain to crash out the EU? Should we stock up on beans and UHT? Image: Vaciando el supermercado via Wikimedia Commons

Why do builders get such a bad rep? What makes us trust some trades people and not others?

What things do we take for granted? Will new riches make us happier? Image: Daderot via Wikipedia Things mentioned in this podcast Great Expectations by Dickens: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm Brickman and Campbell (1971) on the hedonic treadmill: http://faculty.som.yale.edu/ShaneFrederick/HedonicTreadmill.pdf Kahneman and Tversky (1981) on framing effects: http://science.s...

Were Dynasties camera crews right to rescue wild engines? Should we give iPhones to uncontracted peoples? What could possibly go wrong? Image: Christopher Michel via Wikipedia

Are personality tests any use? What can they tell us if anything? Or is it like a star-sign? Take the test! https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

What is Remembrance for? How long should it be observed? Image: Philip Stevens via Wikipedia

Are we more polarised than ever before? Things mentioned in this episode: - Recent Pew Research on polarisation: http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/political-polarization/2018/ - Jonathan Wheatley on voter clustering: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-polarisation-of-party-supporters-since-2015/ - Poole and Rosenthal’s original paper proposing metrics for polarisation in the US legislatu...

Would you wear cycling shorts to the office? Image: fourway333 via flickr

Lies damn lies and profiles! You're going to exaggerate, that's a given. So what's the best strategy? Image: Carlo Chiostri via Wikimedia commons

Why do we have so many remakes? Why are some movies remade and others are not? Why are some so bad? https://stephenfollows.com/ Image: Everett Collection

Why did it take 100 years to find the #49? In a world where everything is digitized, will we ever lose anything? If things don't have a digital record, will they may as well not exist? Inverted Jenny: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_Jenny Data created per day: https://blog.microfocus.com/how-much-data-is-created-on-the-internet-each-day/ How does the Wayback Machine work?: https://www.forbe...

Can you be both interesting while being professional? Will humor always offend someone? Signalling theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics) Countersignalling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countersignaling Image: Chris McAndrew via Wikipedia

Can big firms be innovative? Peter, Nick and Fraser are joined by a special guest Roland Hardwood. Image: Carsten Ullrich via Wikipedia

What makes a hero? Image: United States Congress

What is up with Elon Musk? Is he OK? How bad for a business is it if the CEO goes off the rails? Image: JD Lasica via Flickr See http://blog.alephinsights.com/ for shownotes more episodes and other interesting things.

What is fun? Is organised fun actually fun? Can fun be manufactured? Image: Heather Cowper via Flickr

What is balance in media? Why is it important? How do we find it? Should we give air time to climate change deniers? Image: Gridge via Wikipedia

Do you suffer from digital alzheimer's? Are young folk wired differently? Does instant communications on many platforms impact productivity? Image: The People Speak! via Flickr

What are 'Gentlemen's agreements'? How binding are they? What happens if they are broken? Why do the hold sometimes, but not others? Image: MachoCarionca via Wikipedia

Flat Earthism, what is that all about? Why do people with strange beliefs bother us so much? Do they really mean it or are they joking? Image: Orlando Ferguson via Wikipedia

What makes a cult? What makes a cult different from a religion? Are they damaging or dangerous? Image: Scientology Media via Wikipedia

Are the British stuck in the past? Why do we keep going on about old victories and defeats? Do we look back more than other nations? Image: National Media Museum via WIkipedia

What is political capital? Can you touch it, measure it? How does it work? Image: Number 10 via Wikipedia