THUNK

Rhetorical jousting has its place, but so does good faith argumentation. Video: http://youtu.be/WrzCpqgQ5uE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2018/03/16/139.-Good-Faith.html

Whats the harm in a little white lie? Well, if you tell enough of them, you may be able to steer an electorate. Video: http://youtu.be/Z9pyJN6iQG0 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2018/02/27/138.-Misinformation.html

Is a brain all you need to have a functional mind? Is the body just peripheral to cognition? Many researchers think so, but advocates of embodied cognition have different ideas. Video: http://youtu.be/NDw_1UyNTKI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2018/02/10/137.-Embodied-Cognition.html

Engineering is a highly technical field, but it makes use of exceedingly useful and straightforward ideas. Video: http://youtu.be/9AYuXNz_0Fc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2018/01/24/136.-Engineering-Wisdom-Tolerance-and-Failing-Gracefully.html

Aumanns Agreement Theorem suggests that rational folk shouldnt be able to continuously disagree…so why do we? Video: http://youtu.be/hR5Bp7oCidI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2018/01/10/135.-Aumann's-Agreement-Theorem-and-Arguing-to-Learn.html

Is a hot dog a sandwich? Let’s examine one of the hardest problems in metaphysics to find out. Because THUNK. Video: http://youtu.be/WE4mXY42OBM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/12/30/134.-The-Problem-of-Universals.html

Power structures: Hobbes thought we’d murder each other w/o ‘em, but there’s a great game-theoretic reason, too! Video: http://youtu.be/HlA0xzm4XaM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/12/14/133.-Game-Theory-and-Power-Structures.html

I will never understand why people X. Oh really? Lets turn that dial up to 11 and see what happens. Video: http://youtu.be/wxO2FVh18a8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/11/30/132.-On-Understanding-Others.html

Gettier problems, radical skepticism, the closure principle - knowledge is one hell of a rabbit hole. Let’s take a look at some fun epistemology! Video: http://youtu.be/mxxOanHdpGk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/11/15/131.-Puzzles-of-Epistemology.html

Bayesian statistics - what are they? Do I want them? What do they have to do with epistemology, rationality, and prediction? Is it possible theyre happening inside me RIGHT NOW? Video: http://youtu.be/pLcIT3kjsW0 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/11/01/130.-Bayesian-Epistemology-and-Predictive-Processing.html

Coping with the knowledge of our own mortality is often tricky – what if we just tried a different angle? #YOLO Video: http://youtu.be/KqhJnbI7DnE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/10/18/129.-Immortality.html

Boredom isn’t just murderously frustrating, it’s a psychological trait with surprisingly far-reaching effects. Video: http://youtu.be/AIuME_wu_Gk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/10/04/128.-Boredom.html

Predicting the future is hard. Weirdly enough, you can sometimes do better with less information! Video: http://youtu.be/jsYf7vz6fMI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/09/20/127.-Overfitting-and-Reference-Class-Forecasting.html

Critical thinking is well and good, but it only really helps if you’re willing & able to change your mind! Video: http://youtu.be/dfLWnbEI59w Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/09/06/126.-Debiasing-How-to-Change-Your-Mind.html

There’s much ado about “consciousness,” but what even is it? What’s the big deal? How hard could it be? @_@ (At least as hard as FOCUSING THE CAMERA GAH) Video: http://youtu.be/2ZN3BiRV_Xc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/08/23/125.-What-Is-Consciousness.html

All work & no play make Jack not only dull, but also evolutionarily disadvantaged… Video: http://youtu.be/NQ0j-gOLNUk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/08/09/124.-Play-Theory.html

What makes me “me?” How can I still be me, even though I change over time? Is Starfleet taking applications yet? Video: http://youtu.be/Bbp_e9UT2mk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/07/26/123.-Personal-Identity-and-the-Transporter-Paradox.html

Is discovery the work of genius, or an inevitable social process? The data suggest neither; maybe its chance! Video: http://youtu.be/yuezK1FpuR8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/07/13/122.-The-Stochastic-Model-of-Scientific-Discovery.html

Teleology: explaining things via their intended purpose. Turns out we’ve a tendency to use it everywhere. Video: http://youtu.be/A1fKXub-SiI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/06/28/121.-Teleological-Bias.html

Networking is an essential part of career advancement in business today, but should it be? Video: http://youtu.be/qHU-kucCxMk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/06/14/120.-Business-Networking.html

Un/satisfying gif albums are scratching a very human itch. Where does it come from, and does it mean anything? Video: http://youtu.be/hSjp46Pmcdc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/05/31/119.-The-Limits-of-Order-and-Harmony.html

The Antikythera Mechanism: ancient mechanical astrological calendar, & reminder of the fragility of knowledge. Video: http://youtu.be/zM3BDiKQdc4 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/05/17/118.-The-Antikythera-Mechanism.html

Why are so many smart people interested in finding alien intelligence…and where should we look for them? Video: http://youtu.be/lzRXKrxavm8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/05/03/117.-SETI-and-Dyson-Spheres.html

The so-called “War on Science” isn’t about hostility, it’s a simple case of forgetting how science is different. Video: http://youtu.be/UfXxhu5CbPk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/04/20/116.-The-War-on-Science.html

HI THERE, QUILLETTE READERS! Holly seems to have used my video (without my permission) to explain the Motte-and-Bailey fallacy, in an article defending some half-baked TERF ideology. I invite you to think critically about why it’s so important for TERFs that the legal protections afforded to women are never extended to trans women, why TERFs (at best) insist on separate-but-equal treatment, and wh...