Episode
#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
1:39:50
Published: Mon Jun 13 2022
Description
Gurwinder Bhogal is a programmer and a writer. Gurwinder is one of my favourite Twitter follows. He’s written another monstrous thread exploring human nature, cognitive biases, mental models, status games, crowd behaviour and social media. It's one of the best things I've read this year, so I just had to bring him on. Expect to learn why stupidity is more dangerous than evil, why most content has to appeal to midwits, why political debates are essentially mass-scaled ventriloquizism, how lower stakes lead to more vicious arguments, why the word retard is a strange choice as an unspeakable slur, why being a mess is more likeable than being perfect and much more… Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get 2 weeks Free Access to the State App at https://bit.ly/statewisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 2 weeks free access to Wondrium by going to https://www.wondrium.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D and Free Shipping from Athletic Greens at https://athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Follow Gurwinder on Twitter - https://twitter.com/G_S_Bhogal Gurwinder's MegaThread: https://twitter.com/G_S_Bhogal/status/1527720869191114756 Subscribe to Gurwinder’s Substack: https://gurwinder.substack.com/ Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/
Chapters
Programmer and writer Gwinder Bogle joins the show to discuss concepts such as the danger of stupidity, the appeal of being a mess, and the viciousness of lower-stakes arguments.
00:00 - 01:11 (01:11)
Summary
Programmer and writer Gwinder Bogle joins the show to discuss concepts such as the danger of stupidity, the appeal of being a mess, and the viciousness of lower-stakes arguments. He also delves into cognitive biases, mental models, status games, crowd behavior, and social media.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The online learning platform offers courses on various topics including university courses, documentaries, and tutorials on hobbies, cooking, crafting, health, and wellness.
01:11 - 05:52 (04:41)
Summary
The online learning platform offers courses on various topics including university courses, documentaries, and tutorials on hobbies, cooking, crafting, health, and wellness. It is also lifestyle-friendly, catering to different diets and is low in sugar without compromising taste.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The internet has facilitated the growth of individuals who take pleasure in the suffering of others or those who lack empathy, hence the reason why social justice has been easily adopted by corporations to tap into younger people's need for brand loyalty.
06:10 - 17:41 (11:31)
Summary
The internet has facilitated the growth of individuals who take pleasure in the suffering of others or those who lack empathy, hence the reason why social justice has been easily adopted by corporations to tap into younger people's need for brand loyalty. These online interactions often result in labeling people with differing opinions as evil.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
Consuming news online can lead to the formation of like-minded blocks and a false narrative, causing constant distortion of reality and creating midwits.
17:41 - 26:23 (08:41)
Summary
Consuming news online can lead to the formation of like-minded blocks and a false narrative, causing constant distortion of reality and creating midwits. The most shocking and unrepresentative stories are pushed by others and the algorithm, making it important to beware of the dangers of constantly keeping up with what's going on.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The two step flow theory is more apparent on social media, and political opinions spread, especially amongst the political classes.
26:23 - 31:33 (05:10)
Summary
The two step flow theory is more apparent on social media, and political opinions spread, especially amongst the political classes. Most people posting opinions online are just thoughtlessly reposting other people's opinions as their own.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The speaker discusses how people might believe things just for social approval and highlights how we don't know everything there is to know about human behavior.
31:33 - 38:01 (06:27)
Summary
The speaker discusses how people might believe things just for social approval and highlights how we don't know everything there is to know about human behavior.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The low stakes of politics often drive individuals to be ruthless and petty due to the compensation of trivial struggles.
38:01 - 43:03 (05:02)
Summary
The low stakes of politics often drive individuals to be ruthless and petty due to the compensation of trivial struggles. By reflecting on our experiences and beliefs, we can identify flaws and correct them towards genuine beliefs.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The seriousness of a problem online is inversely related to the language used to describe it.
43:03 - 49:53 (06:49)
Summary
The seriousness of a problem online is inversely related to the language used to describe it. Due to the exaggeration of struggles, the Twitter culture war has taken on an apocalyptic tone.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The left's inaction on extremist views has led to powerful individuals in academia, boardrooms and Hollywood holding such views.
49:53 - 56:35 (06:42)
Summary
The left's inaction on extremist views has led to powerful individuals in academia, boardrooms and Hollywood holding such views. However, wokeness is more visible as it controls Western cultural institutions resulting in liability to the left, whereas right-wingers can browse through platforms to laugh at the other side.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The wokeness movement still holds power in cultural institutions, but there is a gradual turn against it, making it more acceptable to call out its flaws.
56:36 - 1:00:25 (03:48)
Summary
The wokeness movement still holds power in cultural institutions, but there is a gradual turn against it, making it more acceptable to call out its flaws. Although the left needs to be strong, people are beginning to realize the importance of calling out the problematic aspects of wokeness.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The speaker realizes the importance of having civil conversations with people of different political beliefs and how it changed his perception of right wingers, making him realize they are not simply evil or stupid.
1:00:25 - 1:05:29 (05:04)
Summary
The speaker realizes the importance of having civil conversations with people of different political beliefs and how it changed his perception of right wingers, making him realize they are not simply evil or stupid. He encourages people to have more conversations instead of getting all their news from biased sources.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The use of "people of color" is preferred over "colored people" because it centers people first.
1:05:29 - 1:15:29 (09:59)
Summary
The use of "people of color" is preferred over "colored people" because it centers people first. However, many common words such as "idiot" or "moron" have a historical context of being used to refer to mentally disabled individuals, which many people find reasonable to be offensive.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The belief that a certain group is the source of all evil is a dangerous mindset, as seen with how Nazi SS guards believed the Jews were corrupting Western civilization and needed to be removed.
1:15:29 - 1:26:33 (11:03)
Summary
The belief that a certain group is the source of all evil is a dangerous mindset, as seen with how Nazi SS guards believed the Jews were corrupting Western civilization and needed to be removed.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
The multi vector attack strategy involves bombarding the enemy with information in order to confuse and distract them, causing a kind of ideological chaos that makes them unsure of what they stand for, while those who are willing to learn from their mistakes are the people who get things right a lot.
1:26:34 - 1:38:05 (11:31)
Summary
The multi vector attack strategy involves bombarding the enemy with information in order to confuse and distract them, causing a kind of ideological chaos that makes them unsure of what they stand for, while those who are willing to learn from their mistakes are the people who get things right a lot.
Episode#486 - Gurwinder Bhogal - 14 Mental Models To Understand Human Nature
PodcastModern Wisdom
This transcript contains advertisements for Athletic Greens, Modern Wisdom newsletter and reading list, and OneDream.
1:38:05 - 1:39:47 (01:42)
Summary
This transcript contains advertisements for Athletic Greens, Modern Wisdom newsletter and reading list, and OneDream.