Modern Wisdom &#8211; Chris Williamson

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Evolutionary Ideas For Modern Problems - Sam Tatam - #539 Oct 15, 2022

Show notes

Sam Tatam is the Head of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy Growth & Innovation and an author.

When it comes to solving modern problems, it turns out that evolution might have a lot of the answers. Rather than revolutionary ideas, evolutionary ideas and solutions that already exist in the animal kingdom can help us with all manner of challenges.

Expect to learn how the wings of an owl helped fix problems in the bullet train, how the ears of a hare assist wind turbines, why Google Glass failed, how come Airline Tickets are so confusing, why all my rich friends drink sparkling water, how companies can aid customer decision without limiting choice and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (01:57) The Role of Evolution in Marketing (07:16) Different Species Evolve to Reach Same Results (16:50) Power of Simplification (27:05) Solving the Bullet Train’s Issues (35:41) How to Be Better at Making Decisions (44:38) Why do Rich People Drink Sparkling Water? (51:48) Optimising Duration & Experience (1:06:45) Where to Find Sam

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Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

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CIA Spy Explains Nukes, Wars & Double Agents - Andrew Bustamante - #538 Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

Andrew Bustamante is a Former CIA Intelligence Officer and a Private Intelligence consultant.

The CIA is one of the world's most advanced, secretive, shadowy organisations. Only 10% of their officers are field agents and actually have spent time undercover, Andrew is one of those agents. He's also been in charge of nuclear missiles and been multiple cover stories.

Expect to learn why an alarm goes off at least once per hour at every nuclear missile silo across America, how the CIA protects itself from undercover agents being turned against them, what is actually in the President's nuclear football, the levels of clearance above Top Secret, what sort of personality traits the CIA look for, why Edward Snowden got Russian citizenship and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:48) The Two Types of CIA Officers (04:48) Levels of Seniority in the CIA (13:50) Different Security Clearances (22:37) What is the Nuclear Football? (31:55) Andrew’s Thoughts on Edward Snowden (45:45) What Skills do the CIA Look For? (50:10) Would Lex Fridman Make a Good Agent? (54:24) The Reality of Cover Legends (1:03:50) Dating Rules within the CIA (1:08:06) Who is to Blame for Polarisation in the West? (1:15:16) The Anatomy of Conspiracy (1:25:11) Ultra-wealthy, Apex Predator Personalities (1:41:00) How Andrew Deals with Risk (1:52:06) Where to Find Andrew

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Learn more with Andy: https://everydayspy.com/

Find out your Spy Superpower: https://everydayspy.com/quiz

Follow Andy's Podcast here: https://everydayspy.com/podcast/

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

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Does Anyone Care About Men's Struggles? - Richard Reeves - #537 Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

Richard V. Reeves is a writer, scholar and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Men are falling behind in education, employment and family life. They're underachieving in school, dropping out of the labour market and being less useful around the house more than ever. And this isn't simply cultural as it's happening all over the world, the problem is deeper than that - it's structural.

Expect to learn why there are twice as many female fighter pilots compared with male kindergarten teachers, why a male needs to be 24 to have the same impulse control as a 10 year old girl, where the term toxic masculinity actually came from, whether a man's gain is actually woman's loss, the problem of promoting men's issues in the press and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:20) Origin of ‘Toxic Masculinity’ (04:20) Why Are Women Told to be More Masculine? (11:30) The Decline of Men in Education (20:24) Gap Between Male & Female Teachers (27:27) Solutions for the Education Imbalance (32:14) Why are Men leaving the Labour Market? (46:36) Expanding the Role of Fatherhood (58:48) The ‘Checked-out’ Men (1:04:48) Men’s Rights Vs Women’s Rights (1:13:04) Where to Find Richard

Extra Stuff:

Buy Of Boys & Men - https://amzn.to/3eb6so6

Follow Richard on Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/richardvreeves

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

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The Secret World Of Black Holes - Dr Becky Smethurst - #536 Oct 08, 2022

Show notes

Dr Becky Smethurst is an astrophysicist, author, YouTuber and a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford.

Black holes are the weirdest, densest, most mysterious objects in the universe. However they're not black, and they're not holes. In fact pretty much everything you think you know about them is probably wrong.

Expect to learn why galaxies don't actually orbit black holes, why the biggest black hole in the universe needed an entirely different name, whether black holes can form without neutron stars, what happens when two black holes collide, why nothing can go faster than the speed of light and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:23) What’s Wrong with the Name ‘Black Holes?’ (09:19) The Formation of Black Holes (16:37) Supermassive Black Holes (26:43) What Happens When Two Black Holes Meet? (29:32) The Latter Stages of the Universe (34:27) The Universe’s Speed Limit (43:38) Can Black Holes Form without a Neutron Star? (50:48) What’s Next After the James Webb Space Telescope? (55:01) Where to Find Dr Smethurst

Extra Stuff:

Buy Dr Becky's book - https://amzn.to/3SLqnZJ

Follow Dr Becky on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DrBecky

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Do You Develop Real Confidence? - James Smith - #535 Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

James Smith is an author, podcaster, online trainer and not a life coach.

Many people say that their number one personal development goal is to be more confident. But what if you don't have anything to be confident about? Is competence a required prerequisite to becoming confident or can you fake it until you make it?

Expect to learn why most entrepreneurs are miserable, how leaving unasked questions can eat up your mental energy, the relationship between anxiety and confidence, how to deal with fear and failures, the heritability of confidence, whether women are actually more confident than men, the simplest way to build genuine confidence and much more...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (03:17) Are Healthy Foods a Form of Oppression? (11:17) New Things Learned about Confidence (17:12) The Power of Rejection Therapy (23:20) Does Fake It ‘Til You Make It Work? (34:40) The Matthew Principle (44:20) Relationship Between Confidence & Anxiety (55:10) Celebrating Wins Vs Maintaining Focus (1:03:50) Preparing for Fatherhood & Family (1:08:15) James’s Relationship with Alcohol (1:18:07) Imbalances in Self-Judgment (1:26:45) Bullying Chris into Writing a Book (1:37:00) Where to Find James

Extra Stuff:

Buy How To Be Confident - https://amzn.to/3C0gBfe

Check out James' Academy - https://www.jamessmithacademy.com/

Follow James on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jamessmithpt

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Is Behavioural Genetics Such A Hated Science? - Dr Stuart Ritchie - #534 Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

Dr Stuart Ritchie is a psychologist and science communicator known for his research in human intelligence and an author.

The influence of our genes on the outcomes we get in life has been long established and replicated in science. However the public response to this has been very unhappy, making Behavioural Genetics one of the most heated areas of research there is.

Expect to learn why some people dislike behavioural genetics so much, what happened with the recent SSRI rug pull, whether Emotional Intelligence is an actual thing, how to be skeptical without becoming nihilistic, which psychological phenomenon were debunked during the replication crisis and much more...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:25) Why People Distrust Behavioural Genetics (11:10) Creating an Uneven Playing Field (19:35) Evidence of IQ Heritability (22:09) Impact of Replication Crisis on Behavioural Genetics (31:33) Is EQ Real? (38:48) Dying Psychological Concepts (45:39) The Placebo Effect in Psychology (51:54) Treating Depression with SSRIs (1:07:55) How to be Effectively Sceptical of Science (1:18:14) Where to Find Dr Ritchie

Extra Stuff:

Buy Science Fictions - https://amzn.to/3y666Wl

Follow Stuart on Twitter - https://twitter.com/stuartjritchie

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should We Genetically Edit Human Life? - Matthew Cobb - #533 Oct 01, 2022

Show notes

Matthew Cobb is a zoologist, professor of zoology at the University of Manchester and an author.

Genetic engineering has given humans the ability to modify crops to be resistant to disease and synthesise insulin without needing to kill and extract it from animals. But what are its dangers? Especially in a world where CRISPR and human gene editing is just around the corner.

Expect to learn whether we can select and edit embryos to increase IQ or athletic abilities, the biggest close calls we've faced with bioweapon leaks from labs, why there has been 4 complete stops on genetic engineering worldwide when the research community has got scared at what they've discovered, the dark truth behind those two Chinese gene edited girls and much more...

Sponsors:

Get 10% discount on your first month from BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)

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Get 15% discount on the amazing 6 Minute Diary at https://bit.ly/diarywisdom (use code MW15) (USA - https://amzn.to/3b2fQbR and use 15MINUTES)

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (01:29) Will Gene Editing be a Net-Positive? (08:05) Can We De-Extinct Animals? (12:10) Addressing Concerns about Bioweapons (22:51) The Biggest Close Calls in Gene Editing (30:11) How to Make Labs More Secure (36:04) When the Research Community Fear Discoveries (50:33) Concerns about IVF (57:11) How Close We Are to Human Gene Selection (1:05:09) The Ability to Manipulate Eco-Systems (1:20:33) Where to Find Matthew

Extra Stuff:

Buy The Genetic Age - https://amzn.to/3RmYHZx

Follow Matthew on Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/matthewcobb

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do We Know What Turns Women On? - Catherine Salmon - #532 Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

Catherine Salmon is an evolutionary psychology researcher, professor of Psychology at the University of Redlands and an author.

Women can be a mystery, sometimes even to themselves. Modern culture is making many proclamations about what women like and why they should like it, but are these new headlines accurate, or even desirable?

Expect to learn why women love erotic stories so much, whether evolutionary psychology is sexist, why Catherine did a study where people rated the attractiveness of faces which had jizz on them, why feminine men are being pushed in media but don't feature in dark romance novels, the role of commitment in female attraction and much more...

Sponsors:

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Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D and Free Shipping from Athletic Greens at https://athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:21) Why People Enjoy “Facial Deposits” (09:44) What is the Psychology Behind Rough Sex? (15:57) Why So Many Niches of Porn Exist (29:02) Is there an Agenda Towards Feminine Men? (35:55) Women’s Obsession with True Crime (46:52) Is Evolutionary Psychology Sexist? (53:23) How Having Babies Impacts Sex Drive (1:02:33) Where to Find Catherine

Extra Stuff:

Follow Catherine on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CatherineSalmon

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast

Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Economist’s Guide To Life’s Big Decisions - Russ Roberts - #531 Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Russ Roberts is an economist, a research fellow at Stanford University, an author and a podcaster.

Economics promised us a model which works for all of life's decisions. From what to buy for lunch to investing in a company. But when you're faced with decisions like where to live, how many children to have, whether to get married or what sort of person you want to be, it falls short. Thankfully Russ has a new toolkit.

Expect to learn why Charles Darwin made a checklist before marriage which said his wife was slightly better than a dog, why the decision about whether to have children is so difficult to predict, whether rationality is totally incompatible with the decisions that define us, why happiness is overrated as an optimising function, whether tradition is any use and much more...

Sponsors:

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Get 15% discount on all VERSO’s products at https://ver.so/modernwisdom (use code: MW15)

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:29) How Economists Make Decisions (05:35) Learning Happiness (17:45) The Story of Charles Darwin’s Marriage (25:56) Anxiety Cost of ‘What Ifs’ (33:55) How to Have a Life Well Lived (48:26) Principles for Big Decisions (59:54) Where to Find Russ

Extra Stuff:

Buy Wild Problems - https://amzn.to/3qWTzRa

Follow Russ on Twitter - https://twitter.com/EconTalker

To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠

How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

Get in touch.