My conclusion is everything is inconclusive...

Benjamin Franklin knew how to deal with haters, and in this episode we learn how he turned his haters into fans with what is now called The Benjamin Franklin Effect.

Listen as David McRaney reads an excerpt from his book, "You Are Now Less Dumb," explaining how the act of spreading harm forms the attitude of hate, and the act of spreading kindness generates the attitude of camaraderie.


018 - Inbetweenisode - The Benjamin Franklin Effect

Flatten the curve.

That idea has spread through the population faster than COVID-19 ever could.

That’s the power of culture, of human psychology, of brains interacting with brains. Of course, culture and human psychology and brains interacting with brains are also how the virus spread to begin to with, and that is what this show is about — the psychology behind the spread, and the prevention of the spread, of COVID-19.

When I asked followers on Twitter what kind of show they would want if I did a show about the psychology of this moment, the answer I received the most was, “Why aren’t people staying at home?” so, that’s the first thing we talk about (even though we may soon be asking, "Why DIDN'T people stay at home?")

The second most-asked question was “how do we persuade people, in times like this, to take precautions and follow guidelines?" so that is segment two. And the other topic most requested was how do to deal with anxiety and loneliness and relationships right now. So, that is segment three.

This is a show with six experts, answering all of this, across three segments: Why we respond to situations like this in the way that we do, how to encourage people to respond differently both now and in the future, and how to take care of yourself during a long period of isolation?

- SEGMENT ONE: 5:00
- SEGMENT TWO: 50:00
- SEGMENT THREE: 1:18:00

Oh, and #GoVictorian

- Show notes at: www.youarenotsosmart.com
- Become a patron at: www.patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

SPONSORS

• The Great Courses Plus -- www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/SMART

• BetterHelp -- Offer code: YANSS -- www.betterhelp.com/YANSS

177 - COVID-19

You Are Not So Smart is a show about psychology that celebrates science and self delusion. In each episode, we explore what we've learned so far about reasoning, biases, judgments, and decision-making.

018 - Inbetweenisode - The Benjamin Franklin Effect

You Are Not So Smart

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