Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
313 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago - ★★★★★ - 119 ratingsClearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
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Episodes
Voting method reform in the US (with Aaron Hamlin)
August 24, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBRead the full transcript here. Does the US have one of the worst implementations of democracy in the world? Why do people sometimes seem to vote against their own interests? Is it rational for them to do so? How robust are various voting systems to strategic voting? What sorts of changes would we notice in the US if we suddenly switched to other voting systems? How hard would it be to migrate from our current voting systems to something more robust and fair, and what would be required to m...
Critiquing Effective Altruism (with Michael Nielsen and Ajeya Cotra)
August 19, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 90 MBRead the full transcript here. What is Effective Altruism? Which parts of the Effective Altruism movement are good and not so good? Who outside of the EA movement are doing lots of good in the world? What are the psychological effects of thinking constantly about the trade-offs of spending resources on ourselves versus on others? To what degree is the EA movement centralized intellectually, financially, etc.? Does the EA movement's tendency to quantify everything, to make everything legibl...
How to form habits effectively (with Jim Davies)
August 10, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 75.7 MBRead the full transcript here. How can we form good habits more effectively? What roles do reward and punishment play in the habit formation process? And what roles should they play? How should we structure our daily schedules around new habits to maximize the likelihood that they'll stick? If our goal is to do 100 push-ups a day, it's often easier to start with 10 and increase the difficulty over time; but at what level of difficulty should we start, and how quickly should we approach the...
Are scientific journals just parasites? (with Chris Chambers)
August 07, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 73.1 MBRead the full transcript here. How is outcome bias especially relevant to science publishing? What are some possible solutions for overcoming outcome bias? In what ways are the publishing and peer review processes flawed? Why do many (or maybe most) scientists perform peer reviews for free? What value do publishers add to the scientific process, especially given that the internet democratizes distribution? How do (and should) scientific journals differ from newspapers? What kinds of change...
Human bias in the definition of intelligence (with Alene Anello)
July 27, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBRead the full transcript here. Are all animals equally intelligent but in different ways? Do some animals perceive the passage of time differently from humans? Are our definitions of intelligence biased towards our own human strengths and therefore not fairly applicable to other animals? Is a baby human's pre-linguistic communication (like crying) analogous to the ways other animals communicate? Is civil litigation the best strategy for defending animal rights? Human lawyers represent thei...
Guess culture vs. ask culture (with Will Eden and Sam Rosen)
July 20, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 72.3 MBRead the full transcript here. How straightforwardly should we communicate our preferences to others? How many times does a person need to say "yes" relative to the number of times they say "no" so that a relationship can be maintained? Most people probably use a mix of asking and guessing; but under what conditions should each strategy be employed? What are the costs and benefits for the askers, guessers, and the people of whom the explicit or implicit request is being made? Since even th...
Are we all the heroes of our own stories? (with Cate Hall)
July 13, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 84 MBRead the full transcript here. Is our adoption of beliefs primarily motivated by wanting to be the heroes of our own stories? Why do we have such a hard time understanding the stories other people are telling about themselves and the world? How can we reduce political polarization? How plausible are the various theories (conspiracy or otherwise) around the origins of COVID? Why don't the EA, Rationalist, and related communities focus more on transforming political landscapes? Free speech i...
Content moderation and its dis-content-moderators (with Ada Palmer)
July 06, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBRead the full transcript here. How does the current information revolution compare to previous information revolutions? What kind of event or set of events counts as an information revolution? Why do new information technologies usually amplify the most extreme voices first? Why are intentions not very useful as a metric for determining whether a particular kind of censorship is good or bad? When, if ever, is censorship appropriate or morally acceptable? Why were officials of the Inquisiti...
Exploring sex science and pseudo-science (with Mary Roach)
June 29, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBRead the full transcript here. What are some surprising discoveries in the science of sex? What should we do when animals break human laws (e.g., when they commit manslaughter, steal, or even jaywalk)? Is a capacity for suffering the primary characteristic — or perhaps even the sole characteristic — that imbues an animal with moral status? How do science writers ensure faithful and accurate accounts of fields in which they may not be experts? Is there any evidence that humans could have ps...
The worst mistakes people make with diet and exercise (with Menno Henselmans)
June 22, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBRead the full transcript here. What is willpower, really? What are the differences among willpower, self-control, self-discipline, and other related concepts? What are the best ways to become more self-disciplined? What are the differences between enthusiasm and motivation? What are the most effective motivators? What are fixed, performance, and growth mindsets? It's possible to work too hard and thus degrade our productivity; but is it possible to be too productive? What does it really me...
Communicating what you really mean (with Misha Glouberman)
June 15, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBRead the full transcript here. Why is most communication advice so fluffy? How can we actually communicate better? Why do we sometimes fail to say what we mean or what needs to be said? What counts as "nonviolent" communication? To what extent is avoidance of conflict and confrontation a result of agreeableness versus cowardice? What aspects of divorce aren't talked about enough? Misha Glouberman helps people communicate and connect better. He teaches a course called How to Talk to People...
Taking pleasure in being wrong (with Buck Shlegeris)
June 08, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 69.7 MBRead the full transcript here. How hard is it to arrive at true beliefs about the world? How can you find enjoyment in being wrong? When presenting claims that will be scrutinized by others, is it better to hedge and pad the claims in lots of caveats and uncertainty, or to strive for a tone that matches (or perhaps even exaggerates) the intensity with which you hold your beliefs? Why should you maybe focus on drilling small skills when learning a new skill set? What counts as a "simple" qu...
A philosophical theory of jerks (with Eric Schwitzgebel)
June 01, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 68.9 MBRead the full transcript here. To what extent does thinking about ethics actually cause a person to behave more ethically? Do ethicists behave more ethically than the average person, or are they just better at justifying their unethical behavior? Why do we sometimes have strong negative reactions to people who seem "too" moral — even if they're genuinely altruistic and not just acting as though they're better than everyone else? Is morality inherently motivating? More specifically, are som...
How meanings get words and social sciences get broken (with Literal Banana)
May 25, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 73.6 MBRead the full transcript here. How do meanings get words? What is ethnomethodology? Some attempts at defining words are successful; but why do some words seem to become more slippery the more we try to pin down their meanings? What sorts of problems uniquely plague the social sciences? What subtle aspects of the placebo effect are not noticed or easily forgotten by researchers? How can social science researchers clarify and strengthen the meanings of words in their questionnaires? More bro...
Dealing with our "groupstruckness" and "boundedness" (with Katja Grace)
May 18, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 70.2 MBRead the full transcript here. What does it mean to be "groupstruck"? How does groupstruck-ness differ from the bystander effect, normalcy bias, and other related cognitive biases? How do we break people out of being groupstruck? What does it mean to be a "bounded" person? How can we build up better decision-making heuristics? What sorts of decisions do people usually not quantify but should (and vice versa)? How can we make rational relationship decisions without coming across as "calcula...
Math as a perspective on life (with Marcus du Sautoy)
May 11, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 73.2 MBRead the full transcript here. How can we have System-2-type reflection but with System-1-type speed? How can math be considered to be a "fast" way of solving problems? Is math discovered or invented? How can we use math to think better in everyday life? How can math education be improved? Do mathematicians have a snobbish preference for "pure" maths over applied maths? How can math be used to tell stories? Marcus du Sautoy is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science ...
A former Al-Qaeda recruiter speaks (with Jesse Morton)
May 04, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 105 MBRead the full transcript here. NOTE: When we published this episode a few days ago, we were unaware that Jesse had passed away back in December of 2021. We only just learned of this fact today when a listener reached out to inform us. We're saddened by this news, and we apologize for any possible confusion or hurt we may have caused by linking to his Twitter handle, email address, etc. We have removed those items from his bio but left the link to the Light Upon Light website since it conta...
Cognitive biases and animal welfare (with Leah Edgerton)
April 27, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 88.8 MBRead the full transcript here. What are some of the tensions between short-term and long-term thinking about how best to reduce animal suffering? Why spend time and energy working on animal welfare when human welfare hasn't even been secured? Why do so many animal rights activists and organizations have such negative reputations and elicit such strongly negative emotional reactions from the population at large when they're just trying to reduce suffering? How does animal rights activism fr...
Is it bad to coerce yourself to do unpleasant things? (with Matt Goldenberg)
April 20, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBRead the full transcript here. What is non-self-coercion? What's so bad about coercing ourselves to do things we don't want to do? What is "the reconsolidation pyramid"? What are the differences between being heaven-oriented and enlightenment-oriented? What does it mean to scale trust? Matt Goldenberg is the creator of Procrastination Playbook and the Head of Marketing at the Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth. He spends his time meditating, helping people heal their e...
Our 100th episode! (with Uri Bram and Spencer Greenberg)
April 13, 2022 23:59 - 58 minutes - 53.1 MBRead the full transcript here. Is it possible to be both agreeable and skeptical in conversations? How can you give feedback and challenge people constructively without triggering their automatic self-defense mechanisms? More generally, how can you challenge people intellectually without riling them up emotionally? What skills are needed to be able to have detailed, productive conversations across a wide range of topics? How can you push through plateaus in the process of self-improvement?...
Volunteering to be infected with COVID — for science! (with Josh Morrison)
April 06, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBRead the full transcript here. How can we develop vaccines more quickly? What kinds of study designs are used (or could be used) during vaccine development? In pandemic situations, we need to roll out vaccines quickly; but even if we can develop and test a vaccine quickly and thoroughly, how confident can we be that there won't be long-term risks? Between ethics and pragmatics, which facet should communicators emphasize when trying to convince organizations and institutions to adopt certai...
What we really mean when we say that something will "probably" happen (with Walt Hickey)
March 30, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBRead the full transcript here. Graphic novels have been around for a long time, so why have graphic novel sales skyrocketed suddenly in the last year or two? Is that growth representative of a possible trend away from reading text-only books? Do animated movies and TV shows allow for greater suspension of disbelief than their live-action counterparts? Does animation make it easier for movies and TV shows to push the boundaries of what's culturally acceptable? What is "soft" power, and why ...
Why is self-compassion so hard? (with Kristin Neff)
March 23, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBRead the full transcript here. What is self-compassion? Why do people struggle so much to show themselves the same kind of compassion that they regularly show to others? How can parents find a successful middle ground between authoritativeness / harshness and permissiveness / love? Should our love for ourselves be unconditional? What's the difference between shame and guilt? What should we make of people who are neither compassionate nor cruel to themselves because they simply don't practi...
Why it's so hard to have confidence that charities are doing good (with Elie Hassenfeld)
March 16, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 159 MBRead the full transcript here. How does GiveWell's approach to charity differ from other charitable organizations? Why does GiveWell list such a small number of recommended charities? How does GiveWell handle the fact that different moral frameworks measure causes differently? Why has GiveWell increased its preference for health-related causes over time? How does GiveWell weight QALYs and DALYs? How much does GiveWell rely on a priori moral philosophy versus people's actual moral intuition...
Shovelgloves and extreme moderation (with Reinhard Engels)
March 09, 2022 23:59 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRead the full transcript here. What is "extreme" moderation? What is the "No S" diet? What is a "shovelglove"? Why be a luddite only on the weekend? What are some better alternatives to traditional habit tracking? In the real world, Reinhard Engels is a librarian, software engineer, and father of three. But on the Internet, he's a diet, exercise, and productivity guru. His shtick is something called "Systematic Moderation": simple, common-sense, psychology-based rules for building sustain...
Mental models that apply across disciplines (with Blas Moros)
March 02, 2022 23:59 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBRead the full transcript here. What is a mental model? What are "the three buckets"? How can Galilean relativity and alloying apply to non-science parts of life? What is the goal-gradient hypothesis? Why is it useful to know about signalling, especially in a social context? How can the concept of marginal safety apply outside of investing? More generally, why should people learn about mental models? Blas Moros is writer, thinker, and entrepreneur. He's the CEO of Frontier and the founder ...
Accessing pure consciousness at any moment (with Loch Kelly)
February 23, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 87.6 MBRead the full transcript here. What is "awakening"? What is a "stateless" state? What is nonduality? Why and how do some spiritual practitioners experience a dissolution of their sense of self? Do these altered or enlightened states require thousands of hours of practice to achieve, or are they always inside us, waiting to be noticed and accessed at any time? Can these states be accessed through a variety of paths and methods? Is there a certain kind of person that does better or worse at ...
Fight, flight, freeze, fawn (with Sasha Raskin)
February 16, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 70.1 MBRead the full transcript here. When does positivity become toxic? When is it appropriate (or not) to give advice? Can depression really be healed without systemic changes? What are some ways that society at large gaslights people? Why do women sometimes not come forward after sexual assault? What is "freeze or faun"? Do men suffer as much under patriarchy as women? Sasha Raskin is the Founder of A Beautiful Mess (ABM), a mental health organization that runs corporate talks and events to c...
The science of addiction (with Crystal Dilworth)
February 10, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBRead the full transcript here. Why do people get addicted to cigarettes? Should people use nicotine as a stimulant (without smoking it, of course)? What percent of people have a hard time quitting smoking once they start? What genetic factors predispose a person to nicotine addiction? How addictive is alcohol relative to nicotine? Is vaping less addictive and/or less negatively impactful on cardiovascular health than smoking? How can we train scientists to be better leaders? How valuable a...
Evidence, reason, and compassion for all sentient beings (with Jamie Woodhouse)
February 02, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 70.9 MBRead the full transcript here. How can we encourage people to increase their critical thinking and reliance on evidence in the current information climate? What types of evidence "count" as valid, useful, or demonstrative? And what are the relative strengths and weaknesses of those types? Could someone reasonably come to believe just about anything, provided that they live through very specific sets of experiences? What does it mean to have a "naturalistic" epistemology? How does a philoso...
Can the economy grow indefinitely? (with Alyssa Vance)
January 26, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 70.2 MBRead the full transcript here. How is the economy like a differential equation? Can the economy grow indefinitely? Are there economic attractor states? Or are economic outcomes chaotic and/or extremely sensitive to certain variables? What should we know about progress in genetic engineering? Can you (and should you) do genetic engineering in your garage? What are some common mistakes people make when thinking about AI? Should we expect AI abilities to converge in some domains and diverge i...
How many minds do you have? (with Kaj Sotala)
January 19, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 120 MBRead the full transcript here. What are the advantages of viewing the mind through the multi-agent model as opposed to (say) the rational / optimizing agent model? What is the "global workspace" theory of consciousness? What's going on during concentration meditation according to the global workspace theory? If our brains are composed of multiple sub-agents, then what does it mean when I say, "I believe such-and-such"? Are beliefs context-dependent (i.e., you believe P in one context and n...
Are you a wamb or a nerd? (with Tom Chivers)
January 12, 2022 23:59 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBRead the full transcript here. What is a "wamb"? What are the differences between wambs and nerds? When is it appropriate (or not) to decouple concepts from their context? What are some common characteristics of miscommunications between journalists and writers / thinkers in the EA and Rationalist communities? What are "crony" beliefs? How can you approach discussions of controversial topics without immediately getting labelled as being on one team or another? What sorts of quirks do membe...
Behind the scenes of the online dating world (with Tom Quisel)
January 05, 2022 23:59 - 1 hour - 74 MBRead the full transcript here. How do men and women differ in their approach to online dating? How do online dating services deal with the fact that men send many times more messages to women than women send to men? How can online dating services' recommendation algorithms avoid merely recommending the most attractive people over and over to everyone? To what extent do users of such services agree about what makes a person attractive? How do transactions and interactions on these platforms...
The clash between social justice and anti-wokeness (with Amber Dawn and Holly Elmore)
December 22, 2021 23:59 - 2 hours - 127 MBIs it okay for anyone to have opinions about marginalized communities even if they're not a part of those communities? Do people in marginalized groups have special knowledge (especially tacit knowledge) about their groups that can't be known or experienced from the outside? To what extent can we know and empathize with others' experiences regardless of differences in race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, etc.? Do oppression and discrimination tend to be caused more by act...
Tyler's three laws and twelve rules (with Tyler Cowen)
December 15, 2021 23:59 - 56 minutes - 52 MBRead the full transcript here. Why might it be the case that "all propositions about real interest rates are wrong"? What, if anything, are most economists wrong about? Does political correctness affect what economists are willing to write about? What are the biggest open questions in economics right now? Is there too much math in economics? How has the loss of the assumption that humans are perfectly rational agents shaped economics? Is Tyler's worldview unusual? Should people hold opinio...
Freezing to (not) death: cryonics and the quest for immortality (with Max Marty)
December 08, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 86.4 MBRead the full transcript here. What is cryonics? And how does it work? What do we know right now about reversing death? And what would we have to learn to make resurrection from a cryogenically frozen state feasible? How much does cryonics cost? What incentives would future people have for reviving a cryo-frozen person? How likely is it that a cryo-frozen person will be brought back in the future? Why do people (even pro-cryonics people) "cryoprastinate" and put off considering cryonics fo...
Freezing to (not) death: cryonics and the quest for immortality
December 08, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 86.4 MBWhat is cryonics? And how does it work? What do we know right now about reversing death? And what would we have to learn to make resurrection from a cryogenically frozen state feasible? How much does cryonics cost? What incentives would future people have for reviving a cryo-frozen person? How likely is it that a cryo-frozen person will be brought back in the future? Why do people (even pro-cryonics people) "cryoprastinate" and put off considering cryonics for a later time? What sorts of ris...
The pre/trans fallacy, and why you should learn the skill of coaching (with Eben Pagan)
December 01, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 76.5 MBRead the full transcript here. What is the vertical conception of cognitive development? Do developmental stages always occur in a predictable order? To what extent are adult humans able to continue their cognitive development? Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? What is the "pre/trans" fallacy? What is the importance of coaching as a meta-skill? What sorts of questions precipitate insights and/or clarifications of values? Eben Pagan is a well-known entrepreneur, teacher, and...
What does humanity need to survive after a global catastrophe? (with David Denkenberger)
November 24, 2021 23:59 - 56 minutes - 51.6 MBRead the full transcript here. What kinds of catastrophic risks could drastically impact global food supply or large-scale electricity supply? What kinds of strategies could help mitigate or recover from such outcomes? How can we plan for and incentivize cooperation in catastrophic scenarios? How can catastrophic and existential risks be communicated more effectively to the average person? What factors cause people to cooperate or not in disaster scenarios? Where should we be spending reso...
To be successful, should you focus on your strengths or your weaknesses? (with Anna Paley)
November 17, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 66.9 MBRead the full transcript here. To increase our chances of success (in whatever domain and using definition of success), should we focus on boosting our strengths or shoring up our weaknesses? Are we harsher in our critiques of ourselves than in our critiques of others? What should an ideal inner monologue be like? What are some useful taxonomies of pain? Are there times when irrational, magical, emotionally-driven, and/or delusional types of thinking are useful? Anna Paley is insatiably c...
To be successful, should you focus on your strengths or your weaknesses? (with Anna Paley)
November 17, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.9 MBTo increase our chances of success (in whatever domain and using definition of success), should we focus on boosting our strengths or shoring up our weaknesses? Are we harsher in our critiques of ourselves than in our critiques of others? What should an ideal inner monologue be like? What are some useful taxonomies of pain? Are there times when irrational, magical, emotionally-driven, and/or delusional types of thinking are useful? Anna Paley is insatiably curious about how best to live our...
When is suffering good? (with Paul Bloom)
November 11, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 78.7 MBRead the full transcript here. When (if ever) can suffering be good? Is there an optimal ratio of pleasure to pain? What is motivational pluralism? Can large, positive incentives be coercive? (For example, is it coercive to offer to pay someone enormous amounts of money to do something relatively benign or even painful or immoral?) How can moving from making judgments about a person's actions to making judgments about their character solve certain moral puzzles? Why do we sometimes make se...
What causes progress? And how can we stop it from slowing? (with Jason Crawford)
November 03, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 78.8 MBRead the full transcript here. What is progress? How do we (and should we) measure progress? What are the most important questions to ask in progress studies? What are the factors that lead to progress? Why has large-scale progress taken so long (i.e., why did we not see much progress until the Industrial Revolution)? Why did industrial revolution, scientific revolution, and democratic revolution all seem to start within a relatively short period of time of each other? How can we prevent p...
What causes progress? And how can we stop it from slowing? (with Jason Crawford)
November 03, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 78.8 MBWhat is progress? How do we (and should we) measure progress? What are the most important questions to ask in progress studies? What are the factors that lead to progress? Why has large-scale progress taken so long (i.e., why did we not see much progress until the Industrial Revolution)? Why did industrial revolution, scientific revolution, and democratic revolution all seem to start within a relatively short period of time of each other? How can we prevent progress from slowing down, stoppi...
Clearer paths and sharper ideas (with Lynette Bye)
October 28, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBRead the full transcript here. What are "forward-chaining" and "backward-chaining", and how do they connect with theory of change? What sorts of mental habits and heuristics prevent you from brainstorming ideas effectively? How can you harness feedback effectively to sharpen your ideas? From whom should you solicit feedback? How can you view your own products with fresh eyes? What are some common struggles people encounter when starting or changing careers, and how can they be overcome? Wh...
How to measure impact, and why we may have all been doing it wrong (with Michael Plant)
October 24, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 96.7 MBRead the full transcript here. Researchers in the Effective Altruism movement often view their work through a utilitarian lens, so why haven't they traditionally paid much attention to the psychological research into subjective wellbeing (i.e., people's self-reported levels of happiness, life satisfaction, feelings of purpose and meaning in life, etc.)? Are such subjective measures reliable and accurate? Or rather, which such measures are the most reliable and accurate? What are the pros a...
How to measure impact, and why we may have all been doing it wrong (with Michael Plant)
October 24, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 96.7 MBResearchers in the Effective Altruism movement often view their work through a utilitarian lens, so why haven't they traditionally paid much attention to the psychological research into subjective wellbeing (i.e., people's self-reported levels of happiness, life satisfaction, feelings of purpose and meaning in life, etc.)? Are such subjective measures reliable and accurate? Or rather, which such measures are the most reliable and accurate? What are the pros and cons of using QALYs and DALYs ...
Major and minor scales of consciousness (with Andrés Gomez Emilsson)
October 13, 2021 23:59 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBRead the full transcript here. Should pleasure and pain be measured on logarithmic scales? How might such a scale affect utilitarian calculations? How do harmonic energy waves in the brain correspond to states of (or intensities of) consciousness? What sorts of conclusions can we draw about brain states given the resolutions and sampling rates of tools like fMRI, EEG, and MEG? What is the symmetry theory of homeostatic regulation, and how does it connect to pleasure and pain? Are uncomfort...
Major and minor scales of consciousness (with Andrés Gomez Emilsson)
October 13, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBShould pleasure and pain be measured on logarithmic scales? How might such a scale affect utilitarian calculations? How do harmonic energy waves in the brain correspond to states of (or intensities of) consciousness? What sorts of conclusions can we draw about brain states given the resolutions and sampling rates of tools like fMRI, EEG, and MEG? What is the symmetry theory of homeostatic regulation, and how does it connect to pleasure and pain? Are uncomfortable or confused mental states co...