THUNK

Skepticism is an essential tool for rational thought, but knowing when & how to use it is hard…I think??? Video: http://youtu.be/N5fQo2k6CFs Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/03/22/114.-Shades-of-Skepticism.html

In the constant struggle between memes, the punching of Nazis barely scratches the surface of the conflict. Video: http://youtu.be/whX5P7V-H78 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/03/08/113.-Memetics-and-Punching-Nazis.html

Quantum physics is weird as hell, but this entanglement experiment using stars is simply beautiful. Video: http://youtu.be/OGPJKJWY-7o Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/02/22/112.-Quantum-Entanglement-and-the-Cosmic-Bell-Test.html

Donald Trump’s election is another victory for a worldwide trend of populism…what is it & why is it happening? Video: http://youtu.be/F0imwBfI3DI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/02/08/111.-Populism.html

Even if the mind is totally entailed by the physics of the brain, we’ve got a long way to go to understand it. Video: http://youtu.be/IasBfYOnxcY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/01/26/110.-Physicalism-and-Decoding-Minds.html

Some say that transparency is the ideological future of journalism, but our brains might not be up to the task. Video: http://youtu.be/Sa_wktKBdNQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2017/01/11/109.-Psychology,-Transparency,-and-Journalism.html

Scientists excel at finding patterns, but statistical significance isn’t always enough to create policy. Video: http://youtu.be/MEr-gEWXJxM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/12/28/108.-Statistical-vs.-Clinical-Significance.html

NOTE: My description of parsing up-arrow notation is incorrect; please see my correction here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN-MpWNsXw0 Video: http://youtu.be/qqudsTimGzI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/12/14/107.-Graham's-Number-and-Number-Sense.html

Think you may get into some arguments during the holidays? Steven Toulmin & Reddit can help. Video: http://youtu.be/1vArfwlX04I Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/11/30/106.-The-Toulmin-Method-of-Argumentation.html

The most recent presidential election has spawned mass protests, & not just because many are dissatisfied with the results - the process itself is being called into question. Video: http://youtu.be/41seuPIA9yI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/11/16/105.-Why-Elections-Suck.html

Some believe that voting a certain way this election is right/wrong. Let’s look at some ethics and see why. Video: http://youtu.be/VcFyef0eUXM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/11/02/104.-Ethics-Overview-and-Moral-Voting.html

Dimensional analysis is awesome, but human brains are depressingly easy to distract with number-crunching. Video: http://youtu.be/Z9lBig8Hs2U Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/10/19/103.-Dimensional-Analysis.html

NOTE: The purpose of this video is to explain why Rand’s ideas are mocked & rarely taken seriously, NOT why they are wrong. If you are looking for a systematic analysis of her work, please examine the SEP link below. Video: http://youtu.be/UN7_eCxsuUU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/10/05/102.-On-Rand-Bashing-(Please-Read-Video-Description).html

Problem-solving? Well I’m no Mark Watney, but if you’re looking for answers, I do have a few tricks. #potato Video: http://youtu.be/oskXOEqkPeo Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/09/21/101.-'The-Martian'-and-Problem-Solving.html

THUNK viewers have questions, I have answers…or at least some pretty terrible puns. Video: http://youtu.be/Vh_8jJNSucI Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/09/07/100.-Q-and-A.html

Braitenbergs Vehicles, Searles Chinese room, and Coles Virtual Minds” - some thoughts on thinking machines. Video: http://youtu.be/m7K7LZbSXwE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/08/24/99.-Braitenberg's-'Vehicles'-and-the-Chinese-Room.html

Maybe VR isn’t a specific thing, but part of a continuum of physical/virtual experience called “mixed reality.” Regardless of how you think about it, the virtual already plays a significant role in your life, and game designers (as terrible a name as that is) are the ones building your future. Video: http://youtu.be/HkiGKdOHPTE Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/08/10/98.-Mixed-Reality-and-'Ga...

There’s a lot of talk about the ethics of autonomous vehicles…but maybe it’s not as big a deal as people are making it. Video: http://youtu.be/qyGZ35OF4to Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/07/27/97.-Autonomous-Vehicle-Ethics.html

The sciences are dealing with a crisis of replication…and that’s a good thing. How might we learn from them? Video: http://youtu.be/DeGMHK300I8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/07/13/96.-The-Replication-Crisis-and-Belief-Perseverance.html

This election is divisive, both in and between parties. Unfortunately, our brains don’t work too well in groups. Video: http://youtu.be/K1v8zK39MIY Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/06/29/95.-Duverger's-Law-and-Ingroup-Bias.html

Occam’s Razor is an important philosophical tool, and it played a central role in the #parsimonygate kerfuffle on Twitter. Learn exactly how it works! Video: http://youtu.be/2TszS9CyK_8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/06/15/94.-Parsimonygate-and-Occam's-Razor.html

Is mathematics discovered or invented? Is it the language which encodes the cosmos, or an imaginary human tool? Does mathematics, in its pure abstraction, tap the inherent nature of the universe…or is it just our imagination? In the longest THUNK video yet, we dive into the metaphysics of mathematics, & the seemingly unanswerable questions therein. Video: http://youtu.be/Jwrf59L-xsM Show Notes...

Fermat’s Last Theorem: a fairy tale of dramatic mathematics. Video: http://youtu.be/q1wjWlJ53nc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/05/18/92.-Fermat's-Last-Theorem.html

A recent study shows spanking probably isn’t a good idea, but almost everyone has a story that says otherwise. Learn where anecdotal evidence is useful, and (perhaps more importantly), where it isn’t. Video: http://youtu.be/-hlGKudCCnc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/05/04/91.-Spanking-and-Anecdotal-Evidence.html

Many scientists call philosophy pointless pondering. They may not know they’re reading a very old script. Learn about the empiric & rationalist schools of medicine from ancient Greece, & how their ideologies play into thought in the modern world. Video: http://youtu.be/8CGQrt_5n60 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2016/04/20/90.-Science-vs.-Philosophy-An-Ancient-(Non-)Debate.html