Modern Wisdom &#8211; Chris Williamson

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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Legacy Media Is Lying To You - Balaji Srinivasan - #519 Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Balaji Srinivasan is an entrepreneur and essayist, he was co-founder of Counsyl, former chief technology officer of Coinbase and former general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Our information diets are making us mentally fat. Whether it's fake news, mis or disinformation, state propaganda or conspiracy theories, the world is very difficult to navigate. Balaji also wants to start a new type of country, he has views on how to optimise your working day and he generates more new ideas than almost anyone. Today we get an insight into his thought process behind all of this.

Expect to learn why socialism always continues to arise across the world, how Balaji tracks all of the ideas he has in his head, why Singapore is a powerhouse of a new country, how immigration will deal with remote VR workers in India, why everyone should use a dashboard to track what's going on in their life, the key trick that the legacy media uses to manipulate you and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:17) Mental Information Management (11:43) How to Become More Discerning with Media (18:08) Men Are Losing Testosterone (19:43) The Death of Legacy Media (23:38) Maintaining a Healthy Information Diet (34:27) Balaji’s Social Media Habits (39:20) How does Balaji Predict the Future? (51:11) How will Immigration Deal with Remote Working? (1:00:50) Technology’s Impact on Conflict (1:09:24) Lessons from Living in Singapore (1:22:00) The Problem with American Politics (1:45:56) Where to Find Balaji

Extra Stuff:

Read The Network State - https://thenetworkstate.com/

Check out Balaji's website - https://balajis.com/

Follow Balaji on Twitter - https://twitter.com/balajis

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

What Will Alien Life Look Like? - Lee Cronin - #518 Aug 27, 2022

Show notes

Lee Cronin is the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, Head of the Cronin Group Lab and CEO of Chemify.

The job of deciding what life is, how it originates and the different forms it could take might sound like a task for UFO theorists but it's actually in the realm of chemists like Lee. This means that some of the biggest questions humanity has rest on his lab's shoulders.

Expect to learn why Lee believes that there is life everywhere in the universe, his theory on the origin of life here on earth, why we haven't seen any aliens yet, whether Robin Hanson's Great Filter hypothesis is true, what common traits all types of life will have, the most exotic types of life forms Lee has imagined and much more...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:53) The Universe’s Memory (04:31) Transitioning to Being Alive (12:52) Defining Life (20:52) The Energy of the Universe (28:45) Where did Life Originate? (35:20) Other Forms of Exotic Life (40:37) The Great Filter Hypothesis (49:38) Do Viruses Exist on Other Planets? (53:43) Where to Find Lee

Extra Stuff:

Lee's Lab - http://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin/

Follow Lee on Twitter - https://twitter.com/leecronin

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 Elite Performers Build Toughness - Steve Magness - #517 Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Steve Magness is a world-renowned expert on performance, an author and a consultant on mental skills development for professional sports teams.

All elite performers have the rage to master their chosen pursuit. But the difference between the ones who continue to succeed and those who fall away is their toughness and durability. Thankfully, Steve has spent his career deconstructing the mental habits of the world's best athletes and executives.

Expect to learn how to accept your achievements without believing your limitations, why Steve blew the whistle on Nike Oregon Project's unethical practises, why your emotions are messengers not masters, how obsession can be both a tragedy and a gift, the difference between responding and reacting to difficulties and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (01:56) The Nike Whistleblower (11:33) Becoming Elite at a Young Age (19:23) How Advantageous Is Obsession? (28:43) Self-Awareness of Elite Performers (35:39) Fascinating Studies in Steve’s Book (49:21) The Importance of Picking One Thing (1:01:02) Where to Find Steve

Extra Stuff:

Buy Do Hard Things - https://amzn.to/3QwNupI

Follow Steve on Twitter - https://twitter.com/stevemagness

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

16 Surprising Psychology Truths - Gurwinder Bhogal - #516 Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

Gurwinder Bhogal is a programmer and a writer.

Gurwinder is one of my favourite Twitter follows. He’s written yet another megathread exploring human nature, cognitive biases, mental models, status games, crowd behaviour and social media. It's one of the best things I've read this year, so I just had to bring him on.

Expect to learn how bad things can sometimes feel better than good things, why people die on the hill of opinions they've only just begun believing, why intelligence plus ideology is a nightmare, how comedy can be a troll's last line of defence, the biggest lesson I learned from Joe Rogan, why regret minimisation should be a priority, why authoritarians lose sight of rationality and much more...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (01:20) Bespoke Bullshit (06:35) Ideology Makes Wise People Stupid (10:46) The Fading Affect Bias (16:58) Naval’s Razor (21:42) Poe’s Law (26:48) Chris’s Biggest Insight from Joe Rogan (33:54) The Nova Effect & Modern Complacency (53:16) Apatheia (1:04:23) Regret Minimisation (1:12:36) Howard Hughes Syndrome (1:22:33) Deferred Happiness Syndrome (1:27:37) Does Beauty Cause Prejudices? (1:35:43) Alder’s Razor (1:45:56) Where to Find Gurwinder

Extra Stuff:

Check out Gurwinder's Substack - https://gurwinder.substack.com/

Follow Gurwinder on Twitter - https://twitter.com/G_S_Bhogal

Gurwinder's new MegaThread - https://twitter.com/G_S_Bhogal/status/1545510413982474253

Adam Mastroianni's post - https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/p/underrated-ideas-in-psychology

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

Evolved Psychology Vs The Modern World - David & Douglas Kenrick - #515 Aug 20, 2022

Show notes

David Lundberg Kenrick is the Psychology Program Manager at Arizona State University and Douglas Kenrick is a Professor of psychology at Arizona State University.

Our brains were designed to exist in a very different environment to the one they find themselves in. Managing modern problems with stone-age operating systems causes us to act in strange, suboptimal, silly ways. Which is why it's so important to understand how our minds developed.

Expect to learn just how violent humans were ancestrally, why more people die of obesity than starvation in 2022, whether dominance or prestige is more important at getting ahead, whether ancient humans felt love the same way we do now, why human females go through menopause, the relationship between dominance and attraction and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (03:03) The New Pyramid of Human Motives (12:24) Why Society’s Issues are Becoming More Complex (17:25) Ancient Minds with Modern Problems (30:44) Why We Feel More Unsafe Today (35:51) How the Human Psyche Will Change in the Future (42:29) Purpose of Friendship (52:29) Differences Between Ancient & Modern ‘Love’ (1:04:26) Why Females Go Through Menopause (1:11:33) The Desire to Protect Family (1:19:43) Why We Should Be Kind (1:24:14) Where to Find David & Douglas

Extra Stuff:

Buy Solving Modern Problems - https://amzn.to/3SrnUEb

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

The Old World Order Is About To Collapse - Peter Zeihan - #514 Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

Peter Zeihan is a geopolitical analyst, author and a speaker.

The world is changing faster than ever, and a lot of the countries, dynamics, peace treaties and structures we're familiar with may be about to come to an end. Peter's job consists of him analysing data from geography, demographics, and global politics to understand economic trends and make predictions. And if his predictions are correct, the next 50 years are going to look incredibly different.

Expect to learn why China will lose half of it's population by 2050, why globalisation is coming to an end even though we're more connected than ever, why population demographics are one of the most important factors in determining the future, whether automation will help or hinder us, whether food shortages are actually something to panic about and much more...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:21) The End of Globalisation (08:12) Why China is Most Concerning (15:52) Causes of a Reduced Birth Rate (24:46) Relying on US Security (29:45) Effects of Declining Globalisation (44:31) Future of the Global Population (51:29) Will China Still Be a Manufacturing Giant? (58:45) Quality of Life in the Next Decade (1:01:52) Where to Find Peter

Extra Stuff:

Buy The End Of The World Is Just The Beginning - https://amzn.to/3AekTQz

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

450k Q&A - Joe Rogan, NoFap & Andrew Tate vs Jordan Peterson - #513 Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

I hit 450k Subscribers on YouTube!!

To celebrate, I asked for questions and got nearly 1000 this time, so here's another 90 minutes of me trying to answer as many as possible. As usual there's some very cool questions in here about my experience on Joe Rogan's podcast, dating advice for young people and my thoughts on masculinity.

Expect to learn whether I think Jordan Peterson should debate Andrew Tate, how to become a better speaker, whether I would rather fight Joe Rogan or Mike Tyson in an MMA match, if TikTok is a harbinger of the apocalypse, whether I'm worried about too much fame, my favourite supplements to stay sharp, how to make friends when you're growing as a person, how to succeed in dating without using apps and much more...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (01:07) NoFap Thoughts (01:48) Audience Capture (03:30) What Chris Invests In (04:33) Joe Rogan Experience (06:01) Lex Fridman (06:57) Austin Meet-Ups (07:54) Speaking & Conversation Skills (09:41) Is Chris a Geordie or a Texan? (10:45) Rogan vs Mike Tyson (11:51) Are Looks a Disadvantage? (13:23) Insights from Joe Rogan Podcast (14:59) Information Retention (17:23) Growing Modern Wisdom (19:05) Gaining More Followers (20:55) TikTok (22:42) OnlyFans (23:49) The Manosphere (25:51) Jordan Peterson vs Andrew Tate (26:38) Preparation for Rogan (29:45) Fame (32:12) Clothing Brands (33:21) Bitcoin (33:37) Being British (33:48) Chris’s Age (34:10) Chris’s Bugatti (34:21) Creepy Club Promoter (35:00) Russell Brand (36:17) Is Youth Culture Suffering? (39:42) New Subs after Rogan (40:32) Love Island 2022 (41:48) Episode with Rogan (42:11) Clothes Shopping in America (42:30) Senegalese Pirates (42:56) JRE Aspirations (43:41) Hiring People (46:43) Rogan Episode (47:07) When Lambo? (47:58) Club Promoting (49:07) Reading List 2.0 (50:17) Sam Harris (50:52) Simulation or God? (50:59) Goal Anxiety (51:55) Nutritional Supplements (53:16) Michael Malice (53:54) Austin Dislikes (54:29) Fatherhood (54:59) Feeling Understood (56:30) Surprises about Rogan Episode (57:20) Advice for Making Friends (59:10) Balancing the Inner Critic (1:01:01) Relating to Younger Generations (1:03:25) Finding Balance (1:07:11) Dating Offline (1:08:39) Becoming a Club Promoter (1:10:50) Creating Passion Projects (1:13:09) Jocko Willink (1:14:54) FOMO (1:18:43) Satisfaction from Rogan (1:21:08) Calm in Confrontation (1:23:03) Dating in Difficult Circumstances (1:25:25) Self-Love (1:25:43) Motivation

Extra Stuff:

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 Long Could Humanity Continue For? - Will MacAskill - #512 Aug 13, 2022

Show notes

Will MacAskill is a philosopher, ethicist, and one of the originators of the Effective Altruism movement.

Humans understand that long term thinking is a good idea, that we need to provide a good place for future generations to live. We try to leave the world better than when we arrived for this very reason. But what about the world in one hundred thousand years? Or 8 billion? If there's trillions of human lives still to come, how should that change the way we act right now?

Expect to learn why we're living through a particularly crucial time in the history of the future, the dangers of locking in any set of values, how to avoid the future being ruled by a malevolent dictator, whether the world has too many or too few people on it, how likely a global civilisational collapse is, why technological stagnation is a death sentence 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 (00:25) Introduction to Long-Termism (07:35) Why Our Present Choices Matter (15:13) Possible Futures of Technology & Morals (23:49) Will’s Problem with ‘Happy Birthday’ (34:35) Preventing Human Extinction (42:50) Is Earth Over-Populated? (48:25) Risks of Technological Stagnation (59:17) The Current Focus on Climate Change (1:07:19) Extinction Vs Collapse (1:22:04) Our Goal for the Future of Humanity (1:31:42) Where to Find Will

Extra Stuff:

Buy What We Owe The Future - https://amzn.to/3PDqghm

Check out Effective Altruism - https://www.effectivealtruism.org/

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

Does Anyone Care About Male Loneliness? - Max Dickins - #511 Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

Max Dickins is a comedian, writer and a mental health advocate.

Loneliness is as dangerous as smoking. And men are suffering worse than ever. This is bad for them, it's bad for their partners, it's bad for their employers, their children and society at large. Men are struggling to toe the line between manning up and opening up and many of them are doing neither.

Expect to learn what Max learned from having no best man to choose for his wedding, how men's loneliness differs from female loneliness, the evolutionary explanation for shallower male friendships, how being in a shed can help you bond, why contributing to a project and doing things is crucial for bonding amongst men, whether the manosphere is helping and much more...

Sponsors:

Get the Whoop 4.0 for free and get your first month for free at http://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)

Get 10% discount on all Optimal Carnivore’s products at www.amazon.com/optimalcarnivore (use code: WISDOMSAVE10)

Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM)

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (02:43) Difference Between Man Up & Open Up (08:48) Why is Male Loneliness Unique? (19:49) Fundamentals of Friendship (25:56) How Treatment for Men & Women Should be Different (33:24) Defining Masculinity (40:21) Is this a British Problem? (50:55) Emotional Labour & Marriage (57:52) Importance of Bonding Through Doing Things (1:06:29) Max’s Thoughts on the Manosphere (1:14:07) How to Prevent Male Loneliness (1:16:45) Where to Find Max

Extra Stuff:

Buy Billy No-Mates - https://amzn.to/3PZV38i

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.