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Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg — Science
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Clearer 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?

Latest Episodes:

Happiness and Hedonic Adaptation (with Rob Smith) Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

Why do we seem to get less and less pleasure from some things over time? And what can we do about it? Are there dimensions along which some people can't be satiated (e.g., perhaps narcissists can't get "enough" adoration)? What are the structures of needs and incentives in cults? How should we think about the pursuit of long-term happiness, which sometimes requires us to sacrifice some amount of short-term happiness? Are people more likely to make choices that verify their identities or that improve their identities?

Robert Smith is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. He has previously taught at the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. He does research on enjoyment and the many ways that people learn about themselves. You can learn more about him here.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Decision-Making Under Uncertainty and Entrepreneurship (with Miles Lasater) Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

How can we better make decisions under uncertainty? What are some of the different ways of being uncertain? What are some powerful venture patterns? How can founders and venture capitalists reduce risk in their startups and portfolios? What is the nature of innovation? How can investing be used to do good in the world?

Miles Lasater has started 3 companies, 2 nonprofits, and 1 family with 4 kids. He has been a founder, VC, angel investor, business school professor, board member, donor, improv comedian, and dancer. He currently is Founding Partner of Purpose Built Ventures and serves on the board of tech nonprofit Curious Learning. Miles also hosts a podcast called Startups for Good (which you can also follow on Twitter at @startups4good). Find out more at mileslasater.com.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Sexuality and Dominance Hierarchies (with Malcolm Collins) Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

Are our brains equipped to handle the increasing velocity of information exchange? What's going on psychologically when we take offense to an idea? Should some kinds of research results be suppressed or hidden? Should some kinds of research be avoided altogether? What are some of the faults in the old paradigms and models in sexuality research? What are some of the surprising findings in the research of sexual attraction? What are dominance hierarchies, and how do they relate to governance?

As a neuroscientist-turned-entrepreneur-and-investor, Malcolm leverages day jobs in VC, private equity, and business operations in a passionate battle to bring Gentleman Science back into vogue. He founded and directs The Pragmatist Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to encouraging pragmatic approaches to life's big challenges—all of which he personally likes to tackle arm-in-arm with his wife, Simone, who he met while getting his MBA at Stanford. Together, they co-founded an art commission startup (ArtCorgi) and subsequently raised a miniature private equity fund to acquire a travel management business (Travelmax), which the couple now operates. Their books are:

You can reach Malcolm via email at collinsmalcolm@gmail.com. And you can learn more about Malcolm and Simone's company at witan.io.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Self-Improvement and Research Ethics (with Rob Wiblin) Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

What are the best strategies for improving ourselves? How are line managers useful? Why does Rob prefer long-form content for the 80,000 Hours podcast? What are the sorts of things humans value and why? In what ways do research ethics considerations fail to achieve their stated objectives? Why are prediction markets useful?

Rob Wiblin is the Head of Research at 80,000 Hours where he investigates how people can do more good in the course of their career and produces a long-form interview show called the 80,000 Hours Podcast. He studied genetics and economics in Australia before moving to the UK to help develop the emerging field of effective altruism. You can learn more about Rob at robwiblin.com, learn more about his research work at 80000hours.org, and follow him on social media at @robertwiblin.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Antagonistic Learning and Civilization (with Duncan Sabien) Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

Why do "antagonistic" teachers exist in popular culture but not in the classroom? What happens to student outcomes when "antagonistic" learning is implemented in real classrooms? What is the Field Theory of Parenting? What are things that we can do for others but can't do for ourselves? How can we notice and utilize costly and unfakeable signals? What is the core definition of civilization? How can we influence others ethically? Is explicit communication always better than implicit?

Duncan wants to leave the universe noticeably different than it was before he arrived, and he's currently trying to do this through making things and teaching people. He has a background in LEGO, parkour, and middle grades education, and is easily manipulated by people quoting Ender's Game. You can find out more about him at thirdfoundation.github.io.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Worldviews and Framing (with Elizabeth Kim) Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

How are ideologies like snowglobes? What is "convert communication"? What are some algorithms for creativity? How can framing help us to make better decisions?

Elizabeth Kim is an applied behavioral scientist designing products to help people be happier, healthier, and wealthier. She is the music streaming industry's first Behavioral Scientist at Spotify where she uses experimentation to understand and improve user experience. Previously, she has designed experiments at Jet.com/Walmart, the Fabulous (a Google award-winning habit tracking app), and Dan Ariely's behavioral science lab at Duke University. In her free time, she runs studies for prosocial initiatives and spontaneous curiosities.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Intelligence and Creativity (with Scott Barry Kaufman) Dec 15, 2020

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

What are the various components of intelligence? How does intelligence relate to IQ? Can IQ be trained or improved? What is creativity, and how does it relate to intelligence? Can creativity be trained or improved? What is self-actualization, and how does it relate to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? What is transcendence?

Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity, and well-being at Columbia University, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. He hosts The Psychology Podcast, and is author and/or editor of 9 books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. In 2015, he was named one of "50 Groundbreaking Scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. Find out more at ScottBarryKaufman.com.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Scientific Progress and the Replication Crisis (with Geoff Anders) Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

NOTE: The beginning of this conversation touches on some of the same themes that were discussed in the recent episode with Michael Nielsen. After that, though, this conversation heads off in other directions.

Is scientific progress speeding up or slowing down? How can we understand and explain the replication crisis in the social sciences? In the context of research, does speed have a quality all its own in the same way that quantity has a quality all its own? What are Geoff and Spencer doing in the social science field that's significantly different from what others are doing?

Geoff Anders is the founder of Leverage Research, a non-profit research institute that studies the history of science to learn how a better understanding of early stage science can inform scientific efforts today. Geoff is also the co-founder of Paradigm, a training and coaching organization that uses knowledge of learning, thinking, and motivation to help people think better and better pursue their missions. Geoff has a PhD in Philosophy from Rutgers University. You can learn more about Geoff via his website and can follow him on Twitter at @geoffanders.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Enlightenment and Sex Work (with Aella) Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

What is enlightenment? What are the different kinds or definitions of enlightenment? What was Aella's religious upbringing like, and why did she lose her faith? How did Aella get into sex work, and what has her career as a sex worker been like? How do we ask great questions, and what is Askhole?

You can find out more about Aella on her website, knowingless.com.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

Scientific Progress and Political Feedback Loops (with Michael Nielsen) Nov 24, 2020

Show notes

Read the full transcript here.

Is scientific progress speeding up or slowing down? What are the best strategies for funding research? What is "para-academia," and what are the pros and cons of being a para-academic researcher? What are the feedback loops in politics that cause politicians and their constituents to react to each other?

Michael Nielsen is a scientist who helped pioneer quantum computing and the modern open science movement. He also has a strong side interest in artificial intelligence. All are part of a broader interest in developing tools that help people think and create, both individually and collectively. His most recent book is Quantum Country, an introduction to quantum computing. Find out more at his website, michaelnielsen.org, or follow him on Twitter at @michael_nielsen.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Uri Bram — Factotum

Music

Affiliates

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