Episode

#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational
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46:55
Published: Thu Jan 20 2022
Description

Steven Pinker is a Cognitive Psychologist at Harvard University, a psycholinguist and a Best Selling Author. It would be nice to always make the right decision. To escape the prison of human emotions and biases and operate from a purely rational place. Steven's new book breaks down rationality into it's components in an attempt to understand just what we're all missing from our mental makeup. Expect to learn why betting websites are the most accurate forecasters of the future, why learning lists of cognitive biases won't always make you more effective, whether smart people are more or less rational on average, whether politics makes you dumber, how to balance rationality with a desire to be intuitive and present and much more... Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get 10% discount on your first month from BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Buy Rationality - https://amzn.to/3qtQ84X  Follow Steven on Twitter - https://twitter.com/sapinker  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
Steven Pinker talks about the importance of knowing cognitive tricks to avoid biases and how naming fallacies and normative models can help deal with novel situations.
00:00 - 06:27 (06:27)
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Rationality
Summary

Steven Pinker talks about the importance of knowing cognitive tricks to avoid biases and how naming fallacies and normative models can help deal with novel situations. The episode contains ads for BetterHelp and LMNT.

Episode
#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational
Podcast
Modern Wisdom
This podcast discusses the concept of Bayes Rule and how it can be used to calibrate beliefs based on evidence, as well as the correlation between intelligence and rationality.
06:27 - 21:55 (15:27)
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Bayes Rule
Summary

This podcast discusses the concept of Bayes Rule and how it can be used to calibrate beliefs based on evidence, as well as the correlation between intelligence and rationality.

Episode
#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational
Podcast
Modern Wisdom
The concept of expected utility theory or rational choice theory provides a guideline for making the best choice under risky situations, but conspiracy theories and other unfalsifiable beliefs often subvert rationality due to their contagious and moralistic nature.
21:55 - 39:40 (17:44)
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rationality
Summary

The concept of expected utility theory or rational choice theory provides a guideline for making the best choice under risky situations, but conspiracy theories and other unfalsifiable beliefs often subvert rationality due to their contagious and moralistic nature. However, people tend to rationalize their decisions by finding evidence to support their choice, rather than admit they made the wrong decision.

Episode
#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational
Podcast
Modern Wisdom
The episode discusses the origin of conspiracy theories, the effect of lack of knowledge and the important role of institutions in shaping public opinion.
39:40 - 46:06 (06:25)
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Conspiracy Theories
Summary

The episode discusses the origin of conspiracy theories, the effect of lack of knowledge and the important role of institutions in shaping public opinion.

Episode
#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational
Podcast
Modern Wisdom