Why do smart people do dumb things?

This is one of the many questions my guest has explored during his writing career. His name Malcom Gladwell, writer at the New Yorker, author of several New York Times Bestselling books, and now host of the podcast Revisionist History. Today on the podcast, Malcom and I explore the question of smart people doing dumb things by looking at the basketball career of Wilt Chamberlin. We discuss how Wilt discovered a way to increase his free-throw shooting percentage dramatically, but why he consciously decided not to continue using that technique.

#224: Why Smart People Do Stupid Things With Malcolm Gladwell

elvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt. She developed many of her ideas in response to the rise of totalitarianism in the C20th, partly informed by her own experience as a Jew in Nazi Germany before her escape to France and then America. She wanted to understand how politics had taken such a disastrous turn and, drawing on ideas of Greek philosophers as well as her peers, what might be done to create a better political life. Often unsettling, she wrote of 'the banality of evil' when covering the trial of Eichmann, one of the organisers of the Holocaust.

With

Lyndsey Stonebridge
Professor of Modern Literature and History at the University of East Anglia

Frisbee Sheffield
Lecturer in Philosophy at Girton College, University of Cambridge

and

Robert Eaglestone
Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought at Royal Holloway, University London

Producer: Simon Tillotson. Feb 02, 2017

Hannah Arendt

Face That Glows II

Background, context, and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/03/23/regina-spekgor-the-everyday-enchantment-of-music-mark-strand/

Recorded at "Poetry & the Creative Mind," hosted by The Academy of American Poets at Lincoln Center: https://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/programs/poetry-creative-mind

POEM TEXT / CONTEXT

Regina Spektor reads "The Everyday Enchantment of Music" by Mark Strand

Méditation : Café de Flore

In this episode, we sit down with negotiation expert Misha Glouberman who explains how to talk to people about things -- that is, how to avoid the pitfalls associated with debate when two or more people attempt to come to an agreement that will be mutually beneficial.

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

SPONSORS

• The Great Courses: www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/smart
• Squarespace: www.squarespace.com/sosmart

167 - How to Talk to People About Things (rebroadcast)

Dissolution

All That You've Got

How well did you do in completing projects last year? Not just work projects, but also personal projects surrounding family, fitness, or hobbies. If you didn't accomplish as much as you'd like, then maybe you need to change up your mindset and tactics in the new year.  

My guest today has written a guide to making those changes. His name is Charlie Gilkey and he's a former Army officer with a PhD in philosophy who's spent over a decade studying productivity, writing about it on his website Productive Flourishing, and coaching clients in what he's learned. He now has a book out as well: Start Finishing: How to Go From Idea to Done. Charlie and I begin our conversation going through the most common roadblocks that prevent people from completing their projects, including following other people's priorities and dealing with what he calls "head trash." We then discuss how we waste a lot of time doing what Charlie calls "thrashing' and what we can do to overcome it. We then dig into why you sometimes have to quit things to move forward, how to create effective goals, and why it's crucial to know which of three levels of success you're aiming for. We also talk about how to do what Charlie calls "momentum planning" and the importance of creating focus blocks in your schedule. 

Get the show notes at aom.is/startfinishing.

#573: Why You Don't Finish What You Start (And What to Do About It)

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/05/31/spell-to-be-said-against-hatred-jane-hirshfield

Amanda Palmer reads “Spell to Be Said against Hatred” by Jane Hirshfield

Poem text and crucial background: https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/07/05/singularity-marissa-davis

Marissa Davis reads her poem "Singularity (after Marie Howe)"

"Each And Every Day" written by Tinsley Ellis (Heartfixer Music, BMI)

Tinsley Ellis - Each And Every Day

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.

167 - How to Talk to People About Things (rebroadcast)

You Are Not So Smart

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