Bit of a Tangent
31 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★ - 1 ratingTwo aspiring rationalists bring you mind-bending ideas from science, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and medicine. Whether you enjoy wide-ranging discussions or are looking to upgrade your reasoning and critical thinking skills, this podcast will satisfy your intellectual hunger and sharpen your skeptical eye.
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Episodes
031 | Kat Woods — Effective Altruism, Infohazards, and Brain Hacks
August 17, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 117 MBKat Woods is an effective altruist and the co-founder of Nonlinear, which incubates longtermist nonprofits by connecting founders with ideas, funding, and mentorship. Gianluca and Kat discuss brain hacks for curing imposter syndrome and being more agentic, infohazards, the simulation hypothesis, why you don’t need permission to do things, “passive impact” via automation, and Kat’s exciting new projects at Nonlinear. -------- Shownotes: -------- Kat Woods on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Kat__...
030 | Predictive Processing 3: Neurobiology, Prediction, and Computational Psychiatry
December 03, 2020 19:45 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBIn this episode, Gianluca and Jared discuss the neurobiology of predictive processing, the role of dopamine in reward signalling, satisfaction, and human desire. They also touch on the relation of reward to reinforcement learning and artificial intelligence. The podcast then shifts to discuss the clinical manifestations of the predictive brain, including the computational psychiatry of depression, autism-spectrum-disorder, and schizophrenia, and how top-down prediction, and precision-weigh...
029 | Predictive Processing 2: Where The Action Is
September 03, 2020 17:30 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis week’s episode of Bit of a Tangent is a continuation of our 3 part series on Predictive Processing - a fascinating neuroscientific account of the way our brains come to understand the world. If you haven’t already listened to part 1 (episode 028), check that out first! In this episode Gianluca and Jared discuss the importance of sensory precision, the circular causality of prediction and action, how action comes about in a counterintuitive way from high confidence predictions, the way...
028 | Predictive Processing 1: The World You Thought You Knew
August 17, 2020 17:48 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBIt's here. It's finally here! The first in a series of three episodes diving into the predictive processing theory of brain function! Jared and Gianluca discuss top-down versus bottom-up perception, Bayesian Brain hypotheses, the logic of caring only about prediction error, and the phenomenology of visual illusions!
027 | 7 Practices to Survive the 2020 Apocalypse
August 11, 2020 03:00 - 29 minutes - 40.2 MBGianluca and Jared have survived 2020 (so far) and are back for Season 3 of Bit of a Tangent. In this episode they bring you 7 new habits and techniques that can be used to iteratively upgrade yourself — even in lockdown. Forget everything else that’s going on in the world, and take a deep dive into personal optimisation. Or, as they’d put it, prepare to geek out on organisation hacks, bootstrapped learning, and motivation pumps. -------- Shownotes: -------- Jared on Twitter: www.twitte...
026 | Drink and be Rational
March 11, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 92.8 MB[Epistemic status: slightly intoxicated] Jared and Gianluca exchange rapid-fire questions whilst becoming increasingly inebriated. Think of this episode as the Ferriss/Rose “Random Show,” but with more references to Bayesian inference. It’s pretty likely to entertain you, but hopefully you’ll find it interesting too. Topics include Email response times, VR projects, and the statistical approach to an ethical diet. -------- Shownotes: -------- Jared on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jnearestn...
025 | Self-Supervised Machine Learning: Introduction, Intuitions, and Use-Cases
March 05, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBOn this episode of Bit of A Tangent, we discuss the emerging field of self-supervised machine learning. This is an immensely exciting area of active research in machine learning and AI - one which most people haven’t even heard about yet! We build up to the intuition for the topic by covering supervised and unsupervised learning; autoencoders and dimensionality reduction, and exploring how these techniques could be applied to Gianluca’s Quantified Self n=1 sleep quality dataset. We culminate...
024 | Replacing Guilt
February 04, 2020 13:39 - 19 minutes - 27.4 MBGianluca announces his latest project—the audio version of Nate Soares’ Replacing Guilt series—and Jared explains why it’s a notable contribution to the rationalist community. Together, they discuss how to gain the most from listening to the series and why it’s something you should strongly consider doing if you often find yourself binging Netflix until 3 AM. -------- Shownotes: -------- Replacing Guilt podcast: https://anchor.fm/guilt Rationality: From AI to Zombies podcast: www.from...
023 | Are Brains Just Neural Nets?
January 29, 2020 09:00 - 44 minutes - 61.6 MBJared and Gianluca have an uncompromising exchange about computational neuroscience and its implications for life and AI research. --------------- Shownotes: --------------- Jared on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jnearestn Gianluca on Twitter: www.twitter.com/QVagabond Bit of a Tangent on Twitter (twitter.com/podtangent) and Instagram (instagram.com/podtangent/) Last episode: www.podtangent.com/e/022-6-books-you-need-to-read-in-2020/ Ideas episode: www.podtangent.com/e/021-the-top-19-idea...
022 | 6 Books You Need to Read in 2020… and 1 You Probably Shouldn’t
January 21, 2020 10:00 - 45 minutes - 62.2 MBGianluca presents his much-requested three non-fiction and three fiction recommendations for 2020. Jared recommends a book so long and gripping that you should probably avoid it if you have anything productive to do in the next six months. --------------- Shownotes: --------------- Jared (twitter.com/jnearestn) and Gianluca (twitter.com/QVagabond) on Twitter Bit of a Tangent on Twitter (twitter.com/podtangent) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/podtangent/) Last week’s episode: www.podt...
021 | The Top 19 Ideas from 2019
January 14, 2020 07:00 - 57 minutes - 79 MBBit of a Tangent is back! In this episode, Jared shares the 19 ideas he couldn’t stop thinking about in 2019, whilst Gianluca does two B-grade Joe Rogan impressions. Together, they discuss everything from mechanism design to personal fitness hacks, and throw in some recommendations for supercharging your learning in the new year. Strap yourselves in for a taste of the fascinating conversations that lie ahead in 2020! --------------- Shownotes: --------------- Jared (twitter.com/jnearestn...
020 | Mental Models 3: Fantastic Biases and Where To Find Them
November 05, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBThis is part 3 of the series on Mental Models, in which Gianluca and Jared discuss the cognitive biases that often impede aspiring rationalists. They discuss the idea of “System 1 and 2” thinking as a framing for the entire discussion, before exploring 12 of the most deadly thinking traps and how to avoid them. This includes everything from the Planning Fallacy and Anchoring, to more esoteric pitfalls that are yet to be named. Finally, they describe meta-biases—like the Bias Blindspot and th...
019 | Mental Models 2: How To Think Like A Bayesian, Avoid Black Swans, & Know The Value of Your Decisions
October 28, 2019 15:40 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBThis is part 2 of our series on Mental Models. In it, we’re bringing you the most useful and applicable models we’ve encountered in everything we’ve read, heard or seen over the years! In part 2 we unpack models from Bayesian reasoning, calibration, and expected value. We also cover fat-tailed distributions, counterfactual reasoning, inversion, and red-teaming. Throughout, we build up each model with examples and motivations, and often found ourselves making previously unseen (by us) links t...
018 | Mental Models 1: How To Have Better Ideas and Improve Your Thinking
October 22, 2019 21:52 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBThis is part 1 of a new series on Mental Models - tips, tricks, and tools to add to your mental toolbox. In this episode we introduce the concept of a mental model but then quickly dive in to explanations of the most powerful models we’ve encountered. Join us and learn how to make better decisions (or know when a decision is not worth making), how to have more original and impactful ideas (and how to find the most promising ideas to work on out of the thousands you’ll soon have), and when ti...
017 | Bronwyn Williams: Universal Basic Income & Individual Sovereignty
October 14, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 78 MBThis episode features the much-anticipated conversation with Bronwyn Williams on the topic of Universal Basic Income (UBI). Bronwyn is a futurist and trend analyst with a background in marketing and economics. Gianluca and Jared pick her brain about the economic viability of UBI, the influence of politics and big tech, and the trends in automation that will shape the future of humanity. Regardless of your fiscal intuitions or political leanings, this episode will equip you with the core argu...
016 | Free Will, Compassion, and Reinforcement Learning
September 24, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBThis is part 2 of our series on free will! In this episode we reconcile how it is that we can feel like we have free will (even when we don’t), give an evolutionary argument for why this might be the case and show how knowing this makes us more compassionate people who are (paradoxically) better at achieving our goals. Along the way, we explain what a Bayesian Network is (and why you should care about yours), and give an introduction to some of the key ideas and concepts in the field of Rein...
015 | You have no Choice in the Matter
September 18, 2019 13:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBThis is Part 1 of the series on Free Will. In this episode, Gianluca and Jared dispel the assumption that humans have Free Will by presenting the argument from Determinism—popularised by Sam Harris. They discuss the evidence from physics, neurology, and the famous Libet experiments; before laying the groundwork for later conversations about what this implies morally and societally. You have no choice but to listen. -------- Shownotes: Sam Harris’s “Free Will: https://www.goodreads.com/boo...
014 | The Art of Looking - Part 1 of ??
September 09, 2019 09:12 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBJared and Gianluca try something new on this episode! We read passages from Robert Pirsig’s wonderful novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, reacting and discussing as we go! Along the way, we explored the limits of conceptual understanding (a.k.a. Shut up and taste the wine!), how the words we use to describe reality also end up defining it, limiting it or expanding it, and why cliches are so easy to dismiss and when they shouldn’t be (hint: your gran was right - there’s nothing a...
013 | How To Learn Anything!
September 02, 2019 11:27 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBWe’ve all heard about the importance of learning. We’ve all heard about the importance of learning how to learn. Well, on this episode Gianluca and Jared dive into both of these topics. They discuss the philosophies of learning they’ve encountered on their own journeys, and share several key tricks that they’ve found most helpful over the years! Along the way they discovered a new way to think about how to keep your knowledge up to date in an ever changing world! Listener feedback can be re...
012 | How Deep Learning Does Magic
August 26, 2019 14:00 - 1 hour - 85.9 MBThis is a discussion about why deep neural nets are unreasonably effective. Gianluca and Jared examine the relationships between neural architectures and the laws of physics that govern our Universe—exploring brains, human language, and linear functions. Nothing could have prepared them for the territories this episode expanded to, so strap yourself in! ---------- Shownotes: AlphaGo beating Lee Sedol at Go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaGo_versus_Lee_Sedol OpenAI Five: https://opena...
011 | Slack, attention and focus - or why more is less
August 19, 2019 09:11 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBThis week on Bit of A Tangent we discuss the little known but unbelievably important concept of ‘slack’ - what it is, why having too little of it can be deadly and how to get more of it! We also discuss the difference between attention and awareness and how can help you live a more engaged life, a simple rule of thumb to know when you’re using your time on earth well, and a quick trick to train your mind to dive straight into deep focus when you need to! Lastly, we discuss how we’ve set up...
010 | Flow states, optimal performance, and PhD hunter-gathering
August 12, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 65.6 MBA deep-dive into the Flow state. Gianluca and Jared discuss the physiology and psychology of being in “the zone,” and the decades of research behind this state of optimal cognitive and physical performance. They also trade hypotheses about how and why the Flow state may have evolved, using the model of cultural evolution within hunter-gatherer tribes. ---------- Shownotes: Flow psychology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) 6 components of Flow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
009 | How to Win Friends and Influence Reality
August 05, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBThis episode looks at how to disrupt social dynamics. Gianluca and Jared consider the properties of social modes and narratives, examine Don Hoffman’s theory of fictitious reality and its evolutionary origins, and discuss ways to overcome your social limits through psychological hacks like self-characterisation and frame shifting. ---------- Shownotes: The Seven Basic Plots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots The Hero’s Journey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_jo...
008 | Design Your Workouts, but Evolve Your Algorithms!
July 29, 2019 15:38 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBIn this episode, Jared and Gianluca throw caution to the wind and discuss their most controversial topic yet: what they think might be the best way to exercise! Specifically, they summarise the thesis behind the book ‘Body By Science’ by John Little and Doug McGuff and reveal their own workout routines. Along the way they also explore the field of evolutionary programming and genetic algorithms (hint: Gianluca just published his research paper on the topic!) and what these techniques could b...
007 | Game Theory, Alignment, and Civilisational Inadequacy
July 22, 2019 13:00 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MBIn this episode, Jared and Gianluca introduce the fundamentals of Game Theory; before examining the AI alignment problem, civilisational inadequacy, and Moloch—the mythical characterisation of all things suboptimal. This episode makes heavy reference to an article called "Meditations on Moloch", from Scott Alexander’s SlateStarCodex blog. We highly recommend it. ---------- Shownotes: SlateStarCodex article on Moloch : https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ Backgroun...
006 | Libra, crypto, and the future of humanity
July 15, 2019 14:16 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBGianluca and Jared are joined by crypto expert Thomas Tumiel in a discussion about the details of Facebook’s new Libra cryptocurrency. They give a brief primer on the fundamentals of blockchains and cryptography, examine how Libra is implemented (compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum), discuss Facebook’s strategy for rollout, consider possible failure modes, and contrast the dystopian and utopian outcomes of a truly global cryptocurrency. ---------- Shownotes: Mined For Change: https://mine...
005 | Habit Frameworks and Sleep
July 08, 2019 07:38 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBGianluca outlines his new Habit Formation Framework and future habit-related projects, Jared discusses his heuristics and hacks for a good day, and they both examine the consequences of sleep deprivation—especially on (medical) students. ---------- Shownotes: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear : www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits Loving Kindness meditation : https://www.headspace.com/meditation/compassion Oak meditation/breathing app : https://www.oakmeditation.com/ ASMR : ...
004 | Don't Ask a Genie to Cure Cancer
July 05, 2019 18:00 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBGianluca and Jared speak about absurdism, existentialism, and an antidote to becoming bored with the world. They then think out loud about direction versus random walks as well as their visions for the long term future of humanity and how to even think about these kinds of massive questions. They also touch on attention and what it would mean to use it well, all things considered, some of the basics of Transhumanism, and what single thing each of us would wish for to give humanity its best c...
003 | Synaesthesia and the Butterfly Effect of Remembrance
July 03, 2019 16:00 - 1 hour - 90.7 MBGianluca and Jared record their first face-to-face episode! They think out loud about how to deduce germ theory as a hunter gatherer, why having interesting conversations is about making people interesting, not meeting interesting people, and finally speculate about why we might have a sense of self and whether it's outlived its usefulness! Shownotes: The (minimal) effects of creatine on cognitive performance : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21118604 and https://link.springer.com/a...
002 | Self-aware doorways & dog-space
July 02, 2019 19:54 - 1 hour - 76.3 MBJared and Gianluca compare notes on their favourite productivity strategies and mindfulness techniques. They also explore the rhetorical bias of wisdom and the rationalist interpretation of cached thoughts; before making ill-advised attempts at explaining the nebulous concepts of "Idea Space" and "Short Inferential Distances". Shownotes: ‘Getting Things Done’ book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1633.Getting_Things_Done?from_search=true ‘Eat That Frog’ book: https://www.goodread...
001 | You don’t want to be the people in Friends
June 30, 2019 09:27 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBJared and Gianluca dive into the ethics of lying and the effects of trying really hard not to, as well as some of the concepts and thoughts which changed the course of their lives. They also discuss religion, Santa and whether you only have a limited window to overcome limiting beliefs. Shownotes: The book in which Sam Harris talks about the difference between LSD and meditation : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774981-waking-up Eliezer Yudkowsky’s essay “Crisis of Faith” : https://...