Cognitive Engineering

With a case of the bubonic plague being contracted in Mongolia after consumption of a wild marmot, we consider whether disgust at certain foodstuffs serves a protective purpose. We all experience disgust, but do we really think about it? In our latest podcast, we list some of the more disgusting foods we've come across while discussing why we find somethings more repugnant than others. A few thing...

In the age of music streaming, does the idea of an album make sense any more? In this podcast we discuss the conceptual origins of the album and talk about the implications of its evolution from vinyl, to tape and CD, and finally to the cloud. We also touch on the artistic purpose of an album, and whether this has been destroyed or merely altered by the move to digital streaming. Fundamentally, we...

“Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise” - so definitely don’t listen to us, as we discuss what to do with others’ wisdom. In this podcast we explore the value of intergenerational advice, whether age equates to wisdom and what makes someone receptive to advice, regardless of its quality. We also address the areas in which people seek advice and how this has altered over time....

An American makes tea badly and suddenly the British are up in arms. What does the way you make tea tell someone about you? This podcast addresses the information we obtain from little shibboleths such as making tea, and discusses whether it is accurate, valid and useful. Does it merely foster class and cultural exclusion, or do these ceremonies and their preservation still serve a valuable social...

With our current pandemic related concerns, we seem to have forgotten about other scary things, like terrorism or environmental catastrophe. Should we be concerned by our lack of worry? We discuss whether we worry about the right things, whether we are worrying less than we used to and whether worry can even be accurately measured. What is the right amount to worry and what is the purpose of worry...

How bad or good is 2020 by historical comparison? Should we stop moaning and just be glad we weren’t living through 536 AD or 541 AD? We mull over how to go about determining the overall amount of suffering in a given year and what constitutes the worst year ever. How should it be measured? Is the size of the human race at the time relevant? And are we predisposed to recency bias, where terrible e...

Is it better to live one day as the comic singer of a novelty number one, than 100 years as a respected indie band with a cult following? Nick, Chris and Fraser discuss what constitutes a one-hit wonder, how it applies to other art forms and areas of human endeavour, and whether we should aim for sustained mediocrity or concentrated brilliance. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - UK one-h...

Do pre-digital relics have a purpose in our technology-driven world? How have digital technologies changed our world and what pre-digital relics are worth hanging on to. And for the sake of nostalgia, here are some things that we grew up with that are unknown today because of the evolution of digital technology: writing a letter, calling someone on the phone for a chat, reading the papers, looking...

Is there wisdom in crowds and is group decision-making effective? Fraser, Nick and Peter reach a swift and conclusive judgement. Image: by Tia Dufour via the Whitehouse https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/48937685671 Things mentioned in this podcast: - How group dynamics affect decisions https://news.stanford.edu/features/2015/decisions/group-dynamics.html - ‘Officially official’ https://www....

Does fame and an ability to pretend to be someone else qualify you to be an expert on other matters? Image: Kurt Kulac via Wikimedia Commons Things mentioned in this podcast: - Hugh Grant’s views on the government’s reaction to COVID-19 https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/hugh-grant-this-morning-matt-hancock-coronavirus-lockdown-phillip-schofield-twitter-a9511531.html - Cog...

According to the adage, you can’t change the past, but can you or should you change the record of the past? Things mentioned in this podcast: - Dominic Cummings changed his blog https://fullfact.org/health/cummings-blog-coronavirus/ - Historical Negationism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism - Our World in Data, ‘Books’ https://ourworldindata.org/books - List of pages removed fro...

It gets everywhere - but what is it and where does it come from? Image: by Pattadis Walarput via Pixabay. Things mentioned in this podcast: - Where does all this dust come from? https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028114023.htm - Sand crisis https://www.businessinsider.com/world-running-out-sand-resources-concrete-2018-6?r=US&IR=T - Space dust https://www.universetoday.com/94392/getti...

Why is that some technologies are perennially about to transform our lives, but never really take off. Do they have something in common? Image: Antonio Zugaldia via Wikicommons. Things mentioned in this podcast: - When corporate innovation goes bad https://www.cbinsights.com/research/corporate-innovation-product-fails/ - The Death of the E-Reader https://justpublishingadvice.com/the-e-reader-devic...

Should we be suspicious of successful people? Is high performance related to dishonesty? Image: justlego1O1 via Flickr Things mentioned in this podcast: - My Mother Thinks Bill Gates is Trying to Kill Us All https://medium.com/honestly-yours/my-mother-thinks-bill-gates-is-trying-to-kill-us-all-bfd47e483e9a - ‘Corrupt Corporate Executive’ on TV Tropes https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Cor...

Is there a wisdom in crowds, or are we all heading over the cliff like lemmings? Image: Sérgio Valle Duarte via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - The Great Battle of Fire and Light, Wait But Why https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/fire-light.html - ‘Sourdough’, xkcd https://m.xkcd.com/2296/ - Mass panics of 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/29/panic-at-los-angeles-airport-...

Does the way different nations have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic tell us anything about the international balance of power? Image: priyampatel4 via pixabay Things mentioned in this podcast: - Correlates of War dataset https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/national-material-capabilities - Thomas Cole, the Course of Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Course_of_Empire_(paintings) - Harari...

Heated argument or reasoned discussion? Is there an optimal way to frame debate? Image: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor Things mentioned in this podcast: - Agreeableness and outcomes https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845351/ - Marital conflict behaviours https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777640/ - Relational models theory https://www.iep.utm.edu/r-models/ - Is it bad to bottle...

Explaining the situation or avoiding your responsibilities - are excuses valid and is there an art to them? Image: Kārlis Dambrāns via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - ‘Sorry about the speeding, I was having sex’ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11143817/businessman-fled-police-rolls-royce/ - Dr Paulina Sliwa on the philosophy of excuses https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/what-makes-a...

How would we know if the world was ending? Image: Daniel Case via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - Ministerial reassurance over food supplies? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51775980 - A Journey to the End of Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD4izuDMUQA - Fifteen Signs before Doomsday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifteen_Signs_before_Doomsday - Timelapse of the future https://ww...

Are there any positives to emerge from the global pandemic? How can we make the most of a bad situation? Image: jamiemusialek via pixabay Things mentioned in this podcast: - The upside of Tube strikes: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/cp455.pdf For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player h...

Penicillin, the printing press, and cheese and onion crisps - What makes an invention well known rather than merely successful? Image: anaterate via Pixabay Things mentioned in this podcast: - ‘TRIZ’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ - BBC poll on the ‘best invention’ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4513929.stm - Top inventions of the last 25 years https://www.productfocus.com/top-25-invent...

Fraser, Nick and Peter discuss health data and measuring medical outcomes with special guest Neil Bacon. Image: IWM via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - Neil Bacon’s web page https://neilbacon.wordpress.com/ - Doctor’s Net UK https://www.doctors.net.uk/ - iWantGreatCare https://www.iwantgreatcare.org/ - Asthma facts and statistics https://www.asthma.org.uk/about/media/facts-and-stat...

Here lies Matt Goss: look on his works, ye mighty, and despair. Image: Christian Lanegger via Flickr Things mentioned in this podcast: - Tim Ferris - reasons to not become famous https://tim.blog/2020/02/02/reasons-to-not-become-famous/ - ‘One in four millennials would quit their job to become famous’ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2017/01/24/one-in-four-millennials-would-quit-thei...

Does experience make us wiser or simply more boring? Three middle aged men will tackle the question with a total lack of bias. Image: Republican Party via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - ‘Young people tend to be more liberal than older people.’ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3501174 - The politics of ageing https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkne...

Small doses, or all or nothing - what is the best way to live life? Image: Moine buvant du vin dans une cave. Artist: Unknown via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - ‘Moderation is the Key to Life’ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201707/moderation-is-the-key-life - Bill Hicks, ‘Smoking’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOdXA5GrGhs - Personality traits of binge drinkers https...