THUNK

We normally think of our beliefs as being held up by a structure of supporting evidence & justification, ultimately based in some fundamental, irrefutable, “given” facts, but Wilfred Sellars thinks “givens” are a myth. Video: http://youtu.be/3uUYeZu1DIQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/09/21/214.-The-Myth-of-the-Given.html

Many think the specific nature of a technology depends on the humans wielding it, but that tech ultimately serves humanitys interests. Philosopher John McDermott challenges this view with a simple question: whose interests does tech serve? Video: http://youtu.be/riVrcxRs0YM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/08/23/213.-Techno-Optimism.html

We judge our laws by a yardstick of formal equality - so long as theres no discrimination in how laws are applied, we pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. Legal philosopher Martha Fineman thinks we should apply a different yardstick: the immutable nature of human fragility. Video: http://youtu.be/IopKrghhcPs Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/07/26/212.-Vulnerability-Theory.html

In order to understand this text (as you are doing) you must understand the individual words that make it up…but the overall meaning isn’t contained in the words themselves. It’s almost like you have to consider the whole & its parts simultaneously. Curious. Video: http://youtu.be/8VhZ76TdMvU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/07/06/211.-The-Hermeneutic-Circle.html

Programming in the sense of developing algorithmic instructions isnt just for computers - all rigorously-defined human systems are programmed after a fashion. But what is it that programmers (instruction-writers, legislators, chefs) are doing , exactly? Video: http://youtu.be/TmXsNV3r6DI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/06/20/210.-Programming-and-Theory-Building.html

It’s hard to imagine two subreddits more different than IAmVerySmart & Change My View, & the difference is clear: intellectual arrogance/humility. But what is that, exactly? Video: http://youtu.be/WohsIy61-4k Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/05/28/209.-Intellectual-Humility.html

Engineering disasters often highlight how bad decisions can wreak havoc, but Dr. Richard Cook’s model of complex systems & how they fail paints a different picture. Video: http://youtu.be/dPFw2ckWZyY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/04/30/208.-How-Complex-Systems-Fail.html

A lot of sci-fi skirts around substantive questions of politics - is this a coincidence, or is there something about the genre that encourages it? Video: http://youtu.be/zgzoZckSXEQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/04/16/207.-The-Anti-Politics-of-Sci-Fi.html

Individual humans are demonstrably irrational, & no amount of training or debiasing has been shown to make a dent in that irrationality, which leads us to ask: if I can’t think rationally on my own, why do I think at all? Video: http://youtu.be/ncylgXtWaRE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/03/29/206.-Social-Rationality.html

Sometimes, getting an expert to tell you what they really think is like pulling teeth - if it’s their job to give advice about their field, why are they often cagey about it? In a word: rhetoric. Video: http://youtu.be/EcQvVI2Gk-A Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/03/18/205.-Expert-Advice-and-Rhetoric.html

Deliberate ignorance of subjects that seem useless is a common and self-fulfilling attitude, but for postmodern philosophers Deleuze and Guattari, its not just misguided, its missing the point of thinking. Video: http://youtu.be/A73sx8p3PKU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/02/09/204.-Ignorance-and-'A-Thousand-Plateaus'.html

We expect a certain amount of bullsh t in our politics, but little fibs have given way to bewildering, unbelievable fictions. Thankfully, some recent philosophers have insights as to why all bullsh t isnt created equal. Video: http://youtu.be/9VrkFmMkzwc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/01/13/203.-Bullshit-and-Truthlikeness.html

“I can’t measure it, so it must not be important.” And then: disaster. Video: http://youtu.be/FM7ZxlyH20s Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/12/29/202.-The-McNamara-Fallacy.html

We experience our emotions as instantaneous reactions to the world around us, but what if fear, happiness, & anxiety arent the result of dedicated, hardwired circuits in our brains? The Theory of Constructed Emotion suggests an alternate explanation. Video: http://youtu.be/AZrqJiHg38M Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/12/14/201.-Theory-of-Constructed-Emotion.html

A seven-year retrospective on viewer-selected THUNK episodes, MST3K style! Video: http://youtu.be/Oy7HvWOLxWM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/11/23/200.-Retrospective.html

If you’re currently worrying about everything that could possibly go wrong: welcome to the club! Thankfully, engineers have been fretting about catastrophe for a long time, & have a useful tool to do it productively: FMEA. Video: http://youtu.be/_z2s9Ornp6U Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/11/06/199.-FMEA-Dodging-Disaster.html

Many struggle with the seemingly inconsistent & slippery nature of morality - do moral facts exist? What are they? How can we verify them? Pragmatists sidestep many of these issues by bailing on the whole “truth” thing and asking instead: what works? Video: http://youtu.be/geKt2shs5y8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/10/26/198.-Pragmatic-Ethics.html

“Humans evolved big brains to be better problem-solvers.” is a popular notion, but it has some conspicuous holes. Evolutionary biologist Joseph Henrich has an alternate hypothesis: what if we’re evolved to be culture machines? Video: http://youtu.be/DMvneRu3imc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/10/04/197.-Cultural-Evolution-Theory.html

Medical residents & interns work absurd hours in high-stress environments with little time off for comparatively low wages. When they have nothing left to give, it’s called “burnout.” We should call it what it is: abuse. Video: http://youtu.be/sCK14W1Py8k Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/09/20/196.-'Burnout'-is-Abuse.html

Strong Opinions, Weakly Held is a well-known mantra in tech, intended to quickly guide teams to reasonable predictions. But many have beef with SOWH - might there be a better method? Video: http://youtu.be/kcAQ94RpDyU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/08/23/195.-Strong-Opinions,-Weakly-Held.html

Why don’t you want your snow shovel’s handle to be long and springy? Why do you push on someone’s back to help them swing, rather than on the swing supports? Engineers & architects have an answer: load paths! Video: http://youtu.be/kWUfO3Ia8Io Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/08/09/194.-Load-Path-Analysis.html

Occam’s Razor urges us not to multiply entities beyond necessity - it seems like a decent rule, but why does it work? And what should we do when it doesn’t? Video: http://youtu.be/HkgNFG-YLqM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/07/28/193.-Honing-Occam's-Razor.html

Research, Experimentation, Analysis. It’s a simple rhythm, but it’s amazing how often someone will forget one of the beats & waste time instead of making progress on solving the problem. Video: http://youtu.be/_5m9Cgteung Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/07/12/192.-Three-Modes-of-Inquiry.html

Programmers routinely “refactor” code, clarifying its purpose & reorganizing its structure without changing how it works. What else can be refactored, I wonder? Video: http://youtu.be/uARhhLW8FhQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/06/28/191.-Refactoring-the-Real-World.html

What if…guys, are you listening? What if the subjects of scientific theories…ACTUALLY EXIST?! OOOOOOH SNAP Video: http://youtu.be/lTouTijlfhg Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/06/15/190.-Scientific-Realism.html