Do you prefer Rembrandt or Rothko? The Vatican or The Shard? A Georgian terrace or a 1960s housing estate? Ever wondered why we stopped building beautiful old buildings and how architectural modernism came to dominate our skylines?

This week we discuss the theory of the Tartarian civilization. It claims that our most ornate buildings are the work of a lost civilization called the Tartarian Empire and attempts to explain the rise of architectural modernism. We set out the theories for and against modernism, deconstruct survivorship bias and new urbanism and discuss a famously anti-modernist town designed by Prince Charles. Nick presents a taxonomy of theories that may explain divergent tastes in architecture and we share our own architectural predilections.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- Whither Tartaria? https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/whither-tartaria 
- Poundbury https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poundbury 
- Celebration, Florida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration,_Florida 
- Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition https://www.driehauscompetition.com/en/ 
- Londoners grow fond of the Shard https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2014/04/13/londoners-grow-fond-shard 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com
Image: Chris Downer via Wikimedia Commons

The Tartarian Empire

At the time, the decision of what to study feels like one of the most important decisions we will ever make. It is only with the wisdom of hindsight that many of us realise the degree we studied had little bearing on our lives. But do the degrees we study have an impact on our future careers and is this impact measurable?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss choosing a degree. What motivates students to select particular degrees over others? And why does there seem to be a discrepancy between what students decide to study and getting a job in the thing they are studying? We unpack the idea of ‘risky’ degrees, weigh in on the STEM subjects vs arts degrees debate and Nick reveals which is the best degree to study if you want a successful career. Finally, we share the degrees we would do if we had our time again.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- Stereotypes about fields of study https://johnjconlon17.github.io/website/Conlon_Patel_stereotypes.pdf 
- The degrees that make you rich... and the ones that don't https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41693230 
- Employment and earnings outcomes of higher education
graduates https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/718225/SFR_18_2017_LEO_mainText.pdf 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Choosing a Degree

We’ve all come across different versions of the “just be yourself” principle at some point. Being told to “follow your dreams” or “say what you think” can often feel like empty platitudes. But what does it actually mean to be yourself and is it something you can aim for?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss being yourself. We explore evolutionary biology, Dunbar’s number, Aristotle, status hierarchies, eating olives and different cultural approaches to individualism and collectivism. We ask how to objectively disambiguate authenticity and inauthenticity and suggest some metrics for measuring our inner feelings and behaviour. Finally, we share moments from our lives where we were guilty of inauthenticity.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Trait personality and state variability https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656616300514 
- Does intraindividual variability of personality states
improve perspective taking?
https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/18452/21157/jintelligence-06-00050.pdf?sequence=1 
- Variability in state authenticity predicts daily affect and emotion regulation https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-98395-001 
- Distinguishing between authenticity and personality consistency in predicting well-being
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1162908818300379
- Tim Urban’s What’s our problem https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/tim-urbans-whats-our-problem 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Image: Clariosophic via Wikimedia Commons

Being Yourself

Do you ever scroll through Netflix or Amazon Prime and wonder where all the office sitcoms are? In the 80s, 90s and 00s the office sitcom seemed like a television staple, but if this is no longer the case, what does it tell us about contemporary culture and society?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss sitcoms. We trace back recent trends in comedy, discuss some comedy classics, speculate on whether the sitcom genre may be in decline, and reveal what we should be looking for to identify the stock comedy characters of the next five to ten years. Finally, we share our favorite sitcoms and the comedy characters we most identify with.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- Comedy and critical thought: Laughter as resistance https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41296-018-0243-2 
- Weekly top 50 shows https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/most-viewed-programmes/

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Sitcoms

One way of thinking about leadership is to separate it into two tasks: thinking and doing. But what does thinking involve and how should you lead people? In this week’s podcast, we discuss leadership with our special guest Hugo Marino.

Hugo, who has had a long career in the British Army, joins us to provide an insightful account of how he adapted military-style leadership skills to develop a more analytical approach to leading teams. We discuss non-frontline personnel, the Sandhurst model of leadership, intelligence analysis and military doctrine. Finally, we share a few stories from working inside the intelligence services and recount memorable examples of how leadership can go wrong.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- What Do Leaders in Different Fields Need to Succeed? https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/industry-trend-report-final/ 
- Executive Personality Types: A Comparison of Military and Civilian Leaders in a Single Organization https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3271&context=dissertations 
- Frequencies of Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Among Military Leaders https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Frequencies-of-Myers-Briggs-Type-Indicator-(MBTI)-Williams/e4923b6b5e42b5af6ffa56a5838110200d637f82 
- Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule 
http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Leadership

Why does it always seem like it’s the people who move to the village that complain about the church bells? Or it is those that move next to a pub that are irritated by noise? It seems to indicate that there is an optimal way to live harmoniously. But how does the idea of neighbourliness work and what does it tell us about the nature of society?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss noisy neighbours. Is annoying your neighbour a tale as old as time or is it a relatively recent phenomenon? We discuss trap and drill music, Horst-Wessel-Lied, whistling, Isaiah Berlin, Coase theorem, intentional communities, Nozick’s framework for utopia and cohousing. Finally, we share when we’ve been annoying neighbours and when we’ve been most annoyed.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- Classical musician forced out of London flat after noise complaints https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/14/musician-forced-london-flat-fiona-fey-mediaeval-babes-noise-abatement 
- The Independent Society of Musicians https://www.ism.org/?/join&gclid=CjwKCAjw6vyiBhB_EiwAQJRophs1VCEGCbtO6LFdOy9-016Q1kcqeGdUrttw82iys2x3KyUfmu2qmBoCNVEQAvD_BwE 
- Forager, Farmer Morals https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/forager-vs-farmer-moralityhtml 
- Adult ADHD: How to Succeed as a Hunter in a Farmer's World https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adult-ADHD-Succeed-Hunter-Farmers/dp/1620555751 
- Robert Nozick’s Political Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nozick-political/

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Noisy Neighbours

Why does it seem like civilisations - sometimes great distances apart - made similar discoveries at almost exactly the same time? Whether it’s the invention of the wheel, agriculture or early forms of writing, there seem to be parallels everywhere you look. Does it provide evidence for a kind of cultural clock that moves civilisations towards a converged form of progress?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss ancient civilisations and progress. We take a closer look at convergent evolution, the Andaman Islands, Fermi paradox, AI, aliens and the Arecibo message and ponder if globalisation ended this phenomenon. Finally, we share our favourite moments of contact between different civilisations.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- The Aztecs - A Clash of Worlds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8JVdpWCKeM 
- Sid Meier’s Civilization Advances Chart https://forums.civfanatics.com/attachments/civ1tech-png.458650/ 
- Cradle of Civilization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization 
- Neuroscience, Evolution and the Sapient Paradox: The Factuality of Value and of the Sacred
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2606703/pdf/rstb20080010.pdf 
- Aztec Technology https://aztecsandtenochtitlan.com/aztec-civilisation/aztec-technology/ 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Ancient Progress

Is it just us, or does it increasingly feel like Britain is going to hell in a handbasket? We have industrial strikes, a cost of living and energy crisis, high inflation, political instability, perennial problems with the European Union and widespread cultural malaise. But is it true that the UK finds itself in an interminable decline or is it merely a figment of our collective imagination?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss declinism. We delve into economic data, compare the state of the nation today compared to the 1980s and discuss the British Empire, Netflix, relative decline and evolution. Finally, we share the things we are optimistic about for the future.

In this week’s podcast, we discuss declinism. We delve into economic data, compare the state of the nation today compared to the 1980s and discuss the British Empire, Netflix, relative decline and evolution. Finally, we share the things we are optimistic about for the future.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- The illusion of moral decline https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06137-x#citeas 
- Stagnation nation: how can Britain pull itself out of its economic decline? https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/economics/stagnation-nation-how-can-britain-pull-itself-out-of-its-economic-decline 
- Britain is much worse off than it understands https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/03/britain-worse-off-1970s/  
- Headlines claim Britain is declining. They aren’t new — but are wrong. https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/10/06/britain-decline/ 
- The optimism gap https://eupinions.eu/de/text/the-optimism-gap 
- Human development index https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Declinism

Nowadays it is almost a cliché to say that content is king. Content seems to have become a ubiquitous catchall term for anything and everything that populates internet web pages. But does the modern usage of content devalue creativity or does it simply draw attention to the vast amount of information stored on the internet?

In this week’s episode, we discuss content. We unpack the Web 2.0 movement, legacy vs new media, genetics and large language models. Finally, we share our favourite content containers and pieces of content.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- “Content is King” — Essay by Bill Gates 1996 https://medium.com/@HeathEvans/content-is-king-essay-by-bill-gates-1996-df74552f80d9 
- Understanding the Cost of Packaging https://packmojo.com/blog/understanding-packaging-pricing-economies-of-scale/ 
- The Drum: 'Content' is a terrible term. Please stop using it. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2018/05/08/content-terrible-term-please-stop-using-it
- Web 2.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Image: Niall Kennedy via Flicker

Content

At a time when marketing has infiltrated our physical and virtual worlds, how should we think about it? Is it just advertising in different clothing or can it reveal deeper insights into our psychology and social interactions?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss marketing with special guest David Folkman, who has had a 20-year career in marketing and entrepreneurialism. We discuss the impact of technology, the psychology of advertisers, advertising models, Tinder, canned water, AI, creativity and the future. Finally, we ask David about his biggest marketing disasters and industry takeaways.

David has a long career working for consumer brands including Mars, Nestle, and Innocent Drinks, and co-founded a number of food and drink businesses including CleanCo and Cheesies. He has also advised numerous companies on sales and marketing strategy. His new website is coming soon and can be found at www.davidfolkman.com

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Marketing

History is replete with infamous grudges. Invasions launched by Julius Caesar, political rivalry between Gladstone and Disraeli and musical enmities that turn tragic in the case of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. But are grudges good or bad? What is the best way to deal with them and why do we have them in the first place?

In this week’s episode, we discuss grudges. We define the key characteristics of a grudge, compare them to feuds and vendettas, explore the notion of a good grudge and touch upon the animal kingdom, first impressions and justice. Finally, we reveal our favourite and longest-held grudges.

- Werner Herzog anecdote about Klaus Kinski's "egomania" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCaTAGNkYQc 
- Grudge: the emotional side of resentment https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/emsoc/5/2/article-p139.xml#:~:text=Following%20this%20perspective%2C%20Max%20Scheler,25 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Grudges

Do you prefer a Georgian terraced house or a new build? Classic cars or a Tesla? We often assume that because something is old it must hold intrinsic value. But is there a downside to valuing the old over the new? How old do things have to get before age becomes a defining feature?

In this week’s episode, we discuss the old and new. We speak about architecture, pubs, psychology, technological progress, house prices, John Betjeman, Chesterton’s fence and Peter presents an idea for an old vs new thought experiment. Finally, we share our favourite old and new things.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- The Ancient House, Walthamstow: London’s oldest house https://lookup.london/walthamstow-ancient-house/ 
- List of demolished buildings and structures in London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_demolished_buildings_and_structures_in_London 
- Buying a new build vs old house: Which is better? https://www.comparemymove.com/advice/new-build-homes/new-build-vs-old-build#:~:text=More%20Expensive%20%E2%80%93%20Although%20new%20builds,could%20affect%20the%20completion%20date 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Old Vs New

Have you ever yearned to pull off a grand escape or run away from your current life to start anew? The recent high-profile prison escape by Daniel Khalife got us thinking - how do you disappear in the modern world and is it even possible to do it successfully?

In this week’s episode, we discuss great escapes. We discuss famous disappearances, statistics on missing people and prison escapees in the UK, CCTV cameras, Nick presents a framework for optimising disappearance and we describe our theories for successful evasion of the authorities.


Image: Terry Fincher via Wikimedia Commons

Great Escapes

What would the world be like if we could instantly teleport to different places and parts of the world in seconds? How might it work and what impact would it have on society? What kinds of questions does it raise about the identity of the teleported entity?

In this week’s episode, we discuss teleportation. We explain how teleportation could theoretically work and discuss matter manipulation, 3D printers, Hisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, Tsar Bomba, anti-matter, energy requirements, the history of transportation, Derek Parfit’s Teleportation Paradox and on-demand streaming services. Finally, we discuss our most memorably awful travelling experiences.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Collisions of Light Produce Matter/Antimatter from Pure Energy https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=119023 
- Teletransportation Paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletransportation_paradox 
- To infinity and beyond: Teleporting humans into space https://phys.org/news/2013-07-infinity-teleporting-humans-space.html 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Image: Jason Jacobs via Flickr

Teleportation

If you’re a fan of JK Rowling, Jack Vettriano or Manchester United you’re probably not surprised by the denigration they receive from critics. There is a whole host of cultural artefacts that seem to be universally popular yet despised by critics. Is it just gatekeeping or do the critics have a point?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss criticism. We speak about the role of the critic, James Wood, Matthew Arnold, Richard Feynman, status-seeking, thrifting, gatekeepers and wargaming. Finally, we share examples of art and media where we are undecided on whether it is good or bad.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Upset by Einaudi? https://interlude.hk/upset-by-einaudi/ 
- Twilight vampires? Bah! Fangs ain't what they used to be… https://www.theguardian.com/global/booksblog/2009/jan/08/twilight-vampire 
- The Premium Mediocre Life of Maya Millennial https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/08/17/the-premium-mediocre-life-of-maya-millennial/ 
- Unpopular Opinions https://xkcd.com/2184/ 
- Geeks, MOPs, and sociopaths in subculture evolution https://meaningness.com/geeks-mops-sociopaths 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Image by Jack Vettriano / PA Wire via Flickr

Criticism

Models are widely used in science to represent complex real-world phenomena in simplified forms to advance understanding. Though often overlooked, models can facilitate analysis by reducing scale and complexity and help to visualise things that are difficult to understand. But what makes for a good model and how does an approximation of something tell us more about the thing itself?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss models. We explore the desert kites of Asia and Africa, discuss heuristics, cartography, Borges, AI and machine learning, the historical development of models and examples of models that may surprise you. Finally, we describe some of our favourite model memories.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- The oldest plans to scale of humanmade mega-structures https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0277927 
- On Exactitude in Science https://kwarc.info/teaching/TDM/Borges.pdf 
- Spinal Tap - Stonehenge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAXzzHM8zLw 
- Bourton-on-the-Water model village https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourton-on-the-Water_model_village 
- Mary Poppins: Let’s Go Fly a Kite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyhJhf6Q7lg

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Models

Incentives and punishments are opposite ends of the same spectrum. In their opposing ways, both attempt to steer people towards a prescribed set of goals and behaviours. But which is most effective in getting people to behave better? Or is a society of universally well-behaved individuals simply a utopian fantasy?

In this week’s episode, we discuss the carrot and stick approach. We unpack the carrot and stick metaphor, discuss the concept of zero tolerance, toilet passes in schools, Plutarch, dictatorships, corporal punishment and data on punishments.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- Parents say strict Spilsby school is breaching human rights https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-67139220 
- Carrot and Stick https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-car4.htm 
- Blame https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/blame/ 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Stick Vs Carrot

Many of our listeners will be familiar with Black Swan events - rare occurrences that have significant, often unforeseen consequences - yet fewer will be aware of Grey Rhinos. Like a large, lumbering rhino charging towards us, these are highly probable threats that we can see coming, but choose to ignore. So how can we communicate risk more accurately? Are there ways to improve our powers of predictability to mitigate the associated risks?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss Grey Rhinos with our special guest Jerry Smith from CHC Global. We discuss the UK inquiry into Covid-19, pandemics, insurance, the psychology of risk, short-termism, probabilistic thinking, black jellyfish events and the climate crisis. Finally, we nominate some of our own Grey Rhino events.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- Healthcare Capacity, Health Expenditure, and Civil Society as Predictors of COVID-19 Case Fatalities: A Global Analysis https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00347/full 
- The Animals in the Jungle of Risk https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/animals-jungle-risk-aminath-shaeera-cpa-irmcert/ 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Grey Rhinos

What springs to mind when you think of McDonalds, Apple or BT? When it comes to the reputation of companies, first impressions seem to matter. But how does a reputation work? Is a negative reputation stickier than a positive one? and how long does reputation last?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss reputation. We unpick company and football statistics and data for listed companies. We also discuss the relationship between reputation and quality, Apple vs Microsoft, the scale vs quality trade-off, the concept of reputation in the judicial system and OBEs. Finally, we present what we consider to be some of the most glaring mismatches between reputation and quality.

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Reputation

Political returns are not unusual, but there are varying degrees of success. With the recent return of David Cameron to politics as Foreign Secretary, we started to think about how to stage a triumphal return. Are there predictable pitfalls that must be avoided? How do you know the time is right? Why are we so intrigued by the idea of a return in the first place?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss the art of the return. We discuss the return of David Cameron, the history of political returns, the theme of returns and homecomings in literature, Lord of the Rings, Homer’s Odyssey, prisoner’s dilemma and Nick presents typologies for different categories of return. Finally, we share examples of our own returns and future returns we would like to see happen.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- David Cameron returns to cabinet table after seven years https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67411550 
- British Prime Ministers who returned to government https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-prime-ministers-who-returned-to-government   
- TV Tropes: One Last Job https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneLastJob  

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

The Art of the Return

Some of our listeners may be familiar with the popular Roman Empire meme doing the rounds on TikTok recently. The meme illuminates many nebulous concepts from our collective psychology in a humorous way, but there seems to be one central principal: we are sharing the world with people who often have radically different thoughts to our own. So, what does it mean to think about the Roman Empire? Why does it appear to be gendered? What does it mean to think about something in the first place?

In this week’s episode, we discuss thinking about the Romans. We speak about gender disparities in thoughts and interests, thought as a philosophical concept, thought modelling, computational thinking, narrative and storytelling, data scarcity, AI and Peter shares his wishlist of thought-enhancing technologies.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:


- How Often Do You Think About the Roman Empire? https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/how-often-do-you-think-about-the-roman-empire 
- How Often Do Women Think About … ? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/arts/roman-empire-women-tiktok.html 
- Men and things, women and people: a meta-analysis of sex differences in interests https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19883140/ 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Thinking About Romans

People who spread lies and deceive others are treated with contempt by society, and rightfully so. But what happens when the people we lie to and deceive are ourselves? Using the case of Walter Mitties as a starting point, we explore the prevalence of exaggeration, fantasy and our inner selves.

In this week’s episode, we look at figments of the imagination. We discuss Herbie Popnecker, differences between US and UK attitudes to military valorisation, virtue imposters, intention vs self-delusion, cosplay, Aesop’s Fox and the Grapes fable, catfishing, authenticity and status. Finally, we reveal the biggest self-serving exaggerations we committed ourselves

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- The military imposters who can’t resist wearing an unearned medal https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/01/military-imposters-unearned-medal-nick-adderley/ 
- Waltenkommando https://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Waltenkommando 
- Alan Mcilwraith https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alan_Mcilwraith&oldid=25222978 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Figment of the Imagination

When we go on holiday or experience an interruption to our daily lives, we are often reminded that a change can be as good as a rest. But is doing something different actually better than doing nothing? If true, what kind of implications would this have for our society?

In this week’s episode, we discuss change vs rest. We discuss the origins of the proverb, models of fatigue, data on industrial productivity, psychology of rest, and ego depletion. Finally, we share the best and most recent change we’ve experienced.

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Change vs Rest

When we think of good and evil the picture appears obvious. The side of good is attractive, righteous and persuasive while the bad side is ugly, flawed and fallible. But does the way we intuitively expect good and evil to work line up with how it is portrayed in popular fiction and the arts? Are literature and film teaching us that might is right or is something else at play?

In this week’s episode, we discuss baddies with special guest Jamie Lear. We speak about Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Thomas Midgley, consequentialism and deontological philosophy, Rousseau and Hobbes and Nick presents a taxonomy for good and evil. Finally, we reveal our favourite fictional baddies.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Hobbes vs Rousseau: are we inherently evil? https://iai.tv/articles/hobbes-vs-rousseau-are-we-inherently-evil-or-good-auid-1221 
- TV Tropes: Always Chaotic Evil https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlwaysChaoticEvil 
- How do Orcs breed? https://www.vintageisthenewold.com/game-pedia/how-do-orcs-breed

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Image by jasonwang7 via Deviant Art

Baddies

What do Trump, Johnson, Wilders and Milei all have in common? No, it’s not politics, it’s an eccentric and recognisable coiffure. Do these examples allow us to draw a theory between politics and hair or is it just a happy coincidence? If there is a connection, why might it exist?

In this week’s episode, we discuss populist hairstyles. We talk about the relationship between populism and hairstyles, data on hair and physical condition, the connection between shoes and personalities, signalling, Donald Trump’s hair, and Jordan presents a typology for populism. Finally, we share the people from history we most admire who have a distinctive hairstyle.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- The Guardian: ‘Populism is all about hair’ https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/dec/03/populism-is-all-about-hair-what-rightwing-leaders-are-trying-to-tell-us-with-their-wild-coiffures 
- Hair Analysis in Health Assessment https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0009898113000405 
-Cue masking and cultural signals https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/121656045/Cue_masking_and_cultural_signals_Testing_contextspecific_preferences_for_balding_leaders.pdf 
- Politico: ‘Boris Johnson’s hair shows he’s too posh to fail’ https://www.politico.eu/article/how-boris-johnsons-hair-defined-britain/ 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Populist Hair

You would be forgiven for missing it, but late last year Google Maps changed its colour scheme. This caused an outcry across the Twittersphere and social media platforms, with many outraged the change took place without their endorsement or consent. After observing this spectacle unfold we thought that it prompted some thought-provoking ideas - should we just swallow our discontent with technical features to enjoy free services? Do we complain too much in this day and age? Have we forgotten how difficult life was without recent technological advances?

In this episode, we discuss moaners. We speak about Google Maps, Google Earth, cartography, complaining, the origins of legal liability, journalism and newspapers, the concept of gratitude and a crisis in open-source software. Finally, we share some of our favourite maps.

- Is Gratitude a Moral Affect? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230896629_Is_Gratitude_a_Moral_Affect#:~:text=Gratitude%20is%20conceptualized%20as%20a,such%20as%20empathy%20and%20guilt 
- First World Problems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World_problem 
- Map of Southern Sommerlund from Lone Wolf https://shop-magnamund.com/cdn/shop/products/Screenshot2022-03-23at19.33.11.jpg?v=1668683483 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Moaners

The observant among us will have noted that 2023 ended on a Sunday. For those who believe Sunday marks the end of the week, this seems like a logical day to end the year. But why do we find these types of phenomena satisfying? Is it slightly obsessive or should we strive for this symmetry in our daily lives? The bigger question might be: is it even possible to produce neatness in our messy world?

In this week’s episode, we discuss neatness. We debate which day is the first day of the week, and discuss the universal three-act structure, epicycles, special relativity, Kolmogorov complexity, prime numbers, crosswords, emergent complexity and the metric system. Finally, we share our best and worst attempts to impose neatness on the world around us.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Kolmogorov Complexity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolmogorov_complexity 
- Sabbath https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat 
- A Mathematician’s Apology: https://archive.org/details/AMathematiciansApology-G.h.Hardy 

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Neatness

The pursuit of immortality is a tantalising idea that appears in science and technology as well as works of art and literature. But who actually wants to live forever? What does it mean to ‘cure’ ageing? And what might be some unforeseen consequences of perpetual longevity?

In this week’s episode, we discuss the age-old problem of ageing. We discuss the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents dataset, demographics, education, governance, resource allocation, economics, intergenerational social interactions, family life, monogamy and cultural stagnation vs innovation. Finally, we share our best examples of the elderly.

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Eternal Youth

Where is the much vaunted line between genius and madness? At a glance, it seems like they could be two sides of the same coin. Is the opposite of genius simply sheer stupidity? Is there a difference between the two or are they outputs of the same phenomenon? And where might there be some overlap?

In this week’s episode we discuss genius and madness. We discuss mental health conditions, historical figures and concepts that were considered quackery or fraudulent during their time, neurodiversity, Copernican heliocentrism, the germ theory of disease, AlphaGo and correlations between personality traits and levels of intelligence. Finally, we share examples of where we felt we were in the presence of genius.

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

Madness Vs Genius

Are we more polarised than ever before?

Things mentioned in this episode:
- Recent Pew Research on polarisation: http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/political-polarization/2018/ 
- Jonathan Wheatley on voter clustering: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-polarisation-of-party-supporters-since-2015/
- Poole and Rosenthal’s original paper proposing metrics for polarisation in the US legislature: http://k7moa.com/pdf/Upside_Down-A_Spatial_Model_for_Legislative_Roll_Call_Analysis_1983.pdf
- American Interest article proposing causes of polarisation: https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/05/16/the-top-14-causes-of-political-polarization/
- Brookings Institute on polarisation: https://www.brookings.edu/research/thinking-about-political-polarization/
- YouGov survey of unrepresented views: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2018/08/01/where-most-fertile-ground-new-party/

Image: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil

Polarisation

Welcome to the Cognitive Engineering podcast. Occasionally coherent musings of Aleph Insights. We hope you like listening to them as much as we like recording them.

Cognitive Engineering

Popular tracks