Cognitive Engineering

Is it possible to fall over on purpose? What does the construction of words in a sentence tell us about the way we use natural language to convey thoughts and ideas? We often think about language as being an essential part of what it means to be human, but does the rise of new artificial intelligence technologies force us to reconsider this? In this week’s podcast, we discuss language. As the popu...

One way of thinking about leadership is to separate it into two tasks: thinking and doing. But what does thinking involve and how should you lead people? In this week’s podcast, we discuss leadership with our special guest Hugo Marino. Hugo, who has had a long career in the British Army, joins us to provide an insightful account of how he adapted military-style leadership skills to develop a more...

Audiophiles, tweakers and techno-mysticists often invest incredibly large amounts of money to chase the highest level of sound production. But does spending more money on equipment actually produce higher performance or is this an irrational misconception? In this week’s podcast, we discuss audiophilia. In doing so, we explore pseudoscience and the placebo effect, information theory and power cabl...

It has been a busy few months for weird news. First there were the multiple Chinese spy balloons across North America, then the Ohio train derailments and finally the mysterious Godzilla egg that washed up on a beach in Japan. But what is it that makes news weird and is there a correct level of scepticism to meet unexplained phenomena? In this week’s podcast, we discuss weird news. We start by inv...

Do you ever scroll through Netflix or Amazon Prime and wonder where all the office sitcoms are? In the 80s, 90s and 00s the office sitcom seemed like a television staple, but if this is no longer the case, what does it tell us about contemporary culture and society? In this week’s podcast, we discuss sitcoms. We trace back recent trends in comedy, discuss some comedy classics, speculate on whether...

We’ve all come across different versions of the “just be yourself” principle at some point. Being told to “follow your dreams” or “say what you think” can often feel like empty platitudes. But what does it actually mean to be yourself and is it something you can aim for? In this week’s podcast, we discuss being yourself. We explore evolutionary biology, Dunbar’s number, Aristotle, status hierarchi...

Our relationship with temptation stretches back to stories from the bible and antiquity. Whether it is eating the forbidden fruit or opening Pandora’s box, temptation seems intimately linked to human nature. But is it our responsibility to remove temptation from others or is this an area where the so-called nanny state seeks to interfere with our personal choices? In this week’s podcast, we discus...

In the UK we have all become accustomed to living in a democratically stable country. Yet if you trace back history it reveals that even stable countries are susceptible to a coup d’etat. This got us thinking, how do you stage a successful coup? In this week’s podcast, we discuss coups. We examine recent examples of coups around the world and ask if coups are making a comeback? We reveal the diffe...

As the northern hemisphere continues to endure the depths of winter, we cast our minds back to the summer holidays of last year. Busy holidays are often filled with enduring reflections, while others that are full of rest and relaxation can feel comparatively void of memories. So what should we be optimising for holidays - fun or memories? In this week’s podcast, we discuss holiday optimisation. S...

At the time, the decision of what to study feels like one of the most important decisions we will ever make. It is only with the wisdom of hindsight that many of us realise the degree we studied had little bearing on our lives. But do the degrees we study have an impact on our future careers and is this impact measurable? In this week’s podcast, we discuss choosing a degree. What motivates student...

We often think of our leaders as serious and dignified figures that don’t engage in any fun or frivolity. Those that reach the highest levels of office are expected to remain above reproach as examples to the rest of us. But do we set unrealistic expectations for our leaders and is it acceptable for us to see them enjoying themselves? In this week’s podcast, we discuss partying prime ministers. We...

If you were an avid cinema-goer in the 1980s and 1990s, it would’ve felt like almost every blockbuster film was set in New York. But fast-forward to the present day and the number of films set in the city has declined sharply. Why aren’t films set in New York anymore and is it part of a more general trend of films not being set in the real-world? In this week’s podcast, we discuss New York in film...

As loyal listeners to the podcast will know, we regard the Conservative politician Sir Gavin Williamson as a source of almost endless fascination. His personal idiosyncrasies and unusual career path seem unique. But do politicians play by the same rules as the rest of us or are they held to an entirely different standard? In this week’s podcast, we discuss Sir Gavin Williamson. We sketch out the s...

Nick recently made the surprising discovery that Mrs. Brown’s Boys continues to attract millions of viewers each week on prime-time television. So, we asked ourselves, why are there films, music and television programmes that appear to be universally loathed, but are inexplicably popular? Are there any identifiable traits or patterns that can lead us closer to explaining this phenomenon? In this w...

We’ve all experienced that feeling after a long, perhaps arduous, journey of finally arriving back home. In fact, it may not even matter if it was a trip down to the local supermarket or halfway across the world, the feeling of arriving back at home safely and securely feels universal. But have we invented this idea of home? In this week’s podcast, we discuss going home. How does the feeling of ho...

Some of our listeners will only know the late Robbie Coltrane from his performances as Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series, despite a long and varied career in film and television. But what happens when one of our cultural references dies? Is it our responsibility to find new ones, and if so, where do we start looking? In this week’s podcast, we discuss cultural references. We explore the measu...

Historians often refer to the Renaissance, the Enlightenment period in England and 1960s pop music as golden ages. These are seen as periods of great advancement in the arts and scientific discovery. But how do you get one? In this week’s podcast, we discuss golden ages. How do you foster a golden age, what are the required conditions and can we predict one in advance? We explore the history of go...

Do high budgets for films and television series lead to high-quality productions? Or does spending too much money actually make the end product worse? In this week’s podcast, we discuss big budgets. We use Amazon’s Rings of Power series to question whether a large budget is a necessary condition for success in film and television. We discuss the economic theory of resource scarcity, hubristic plan...

What are the ingredients of a good conversation? Does it require a balance between conversational givers and takers or is it simply down to taking an interest in what your interlocutor is saying? In this week’s podcast, we discuss conversations. We debate whether there is an optimal way to conduct a conversation and put forward a series of explanations based on our own idiosyncratic approaches. We...

There seems to be an ever-growing list of examples that reminds us we are living through an age of nostalgia for past media. Black and white photography, vinyl records and the iPod Classic are all experiencing renewed popularity, but what can we put this down to? In this week’s podcast, we discuss future nostalgia. What are the technologies and media we will feel nostalgic about in the future and...

It’s a question that has left many puzzled. What, in fact, is a sandwich? Is it the classic two slices of bread, Earl of Sandwich creation? Or is it simply anything in a similar arrangement? In this week’s podcast, we discuss sandwiches. Tom harks back to his Swedish heritage by posing the question, is an open-sandwich a sandwich? From here we discuss logical positivism, neural networks and Quine’...

As King Charles III was proclaimed the new monarch of the UK and the Commonwealth realms, we were left questioning if the era of deference is a thing of the past or if it does still hold some meaning today. In this week’s podcast, we discuss deference. Do kings and queens deserve the level of deference they receive or is it an anachronism? We attempt to define the key components of deference, spec...

What makes certain types of crime cool and are there any rules? Why is it that the arts and media glorify different forms of criminality over others? In this week’s podcast, we delve into the world of cool criminals. We discuss the difference between pirates and privateers, the Byronic hero, the mafia, Baader Meinhof and Narco ballads. Nick presents his theory on how to make crimes cool and we spe...

As Britain enters a new era with the passing of the Queen, we revisit a previous podcast on the past, tradition and nostalgia. We even make mention of the new King. ------------------------ Do you prefer Rembrandt or Rothko? The Vatican or The Shard? A Georgian terrace or a 1960s housing estate? Ever wondered why we stopped building beautiful old buildings and how architectural modernism came to d...

Do you remember the Suez Crisis, Soviet Union, using a phone box, smoking on planes or 9/11? In this week’s podcast, we discuss the historical present. When does our historical frame of reference start and when does it end? We look at why young people seem to overgeneralise from their experience and whether knowledge and values are generation-specific. We discuss the Beloit College Mindset Lists,...