Modern Wisdom &#8211; Chris Williamson

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

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Why Do Founders Love René Girard? - Johnathan Bi - #479 May 28, 2022

Show notes

Johnathan Bi is a startup founder, philosopher and mathematician.

René Girard is one of the most popular philosophers in Silicon Valley. Why is it that an obscure French polymath from the 1900's would become one of the most influential and cited thinkers amongst founders, CEOs and leaders in high-growth companies?

Expect to learn how Girard believes that mimetic desire drives almost all of our behaviour, why breaking out from the group to do your own thing doesn't mean you're an individual, how having sex can end up not being for the enjoyment of sex, why Peter Thiel and so many others love Girard's work, how understanding Girard can improve your daily life and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (01:32) Who is René Girard? (08:26) Divergence From the Group (18:18) What Drew Jonathan to Girard (28:06) Is Mimesis Falsifiable? (31:01) Accepting Human Fallibility (38:02) Applying Girardian Theory in Life (44:00) What Do You Want To Want? (52:39) Girard on Pride & Arrogance (1:07:18) Main Takeaways from Girard (1:08:45) Where to Find Jonathan

Extra Stuff:

Watch Jonathan's Girard lecture series here - https://youtu.be/5Qu6vBebwwg

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 Wild Hijacking Of A $100 Million Supertanker - Kit Chellel - #478 May 26, 2022

Show notes

Kit Chellel is a senior reporter at Bloomberg news, an investigative journalist and an author.

The Brilliante Virtuoso was a Suezmax Supertanker. The largest class of ship that can go through the Suez Canal. It had a million barrels of oil on it and was supposed to be escorted by a security team. It was hijacked and burned by Somali pirates, nothing was stolen and the owners claimed $100 million for insurance.

The British investigator is killed overseas, a Greek millionaire threatens people in court and no one can work out what's happened or how to discover who has committed the crimes. And that's just where the story starts...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:30) Is Piracy Still Relevant? (04:53) How Modern-Day Pirates Operate (10:44) Hijacking the Supertanker (16:03) The Wild West of Salvage Laws (25:18) What Yemen Was Like (29:18) Reigniting the Investigation (34:39) Suspicious Characters (39:51) Seeking Justice in a Dangerous Business (54:14) Current State of the Investigation (57:38) Where to Find Kit

Extra Stuff:

Buy Dead In The Water - https://amzn.to/3PsfI57

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 To Improve Your Inner Voice - Ethan Kross - #477 May 23, 2022

Show notes

Ethan Kross is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind, a Professor at the University of Michigan’s Psychology Department and Director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory.

There will be one voice with us throughout our lives, the one that exists inside of our head. So we'd better make friends with it. Improving self-talk and creating a nicer inner-monologue is something that everyone could benefit from and thankfully that's been Ethan's life's work.

Expect to learn why we have an inner voice at all, how our age and gender influences mental chatter, whether it's possible to quieten the mind, the most effective strategies for dealing with negative self-talk, how to be more objective and less lost in thought, the relationship between language and quality of life and much more...

Sponsors:

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:15) Why Do We Have an Inner Voice? (06:56) Controlling Our Thoughts (16:30) How the Mind is a ‘Beautiful Mess’ (26:15) Inner Voices in Different Ages & Genders (30:00) Is it Possible to Quieten the Mind? (36:08) Impact of Trauma on Inner Voices (40:46) Speaking in Third Person (47:28) Why Are We Harsher to Ourselves? (52:02) Tips to Control the Inner Voice (1:01:45) Positive Affirmations (1:04:00) Ethan’s Highest Impact Strategies (1:10:46) How to Know if You’re Lost in ‘Chatter’ (1:15:21) Where to Find Ethan

Extra Stuff:

Buy Chatter - https://amzn.to/3yNDbaJ

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 Do Psychopaths Exist? - Mark Freestone - #476 May 21, 2022

Show notes

Mark Freestone is Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, an author and an expert in psychopathology.

There's a modern fascination with psychopaths. True Crime is the most popular single podcast genre and Netflix documentaries about real life serial killers capture everyone's attention. But why are we so obsessed with dangerous individuals? And what is it that makes a psychopath who they are?

Expect to learn what the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath are, why having psychopaths in society was an advantage for a long time, why there are so few female psychopaths, what happens when a university lecturer discovers his own psychopathy in his 40's, the scariest criminals Mark has ever met and much more...

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:53) Working with Psychopaths (07:29) Different Types of Psychopaths (12:39) Genetics Vs Environment (19:24) Impact of Negative Childhood (27:00) Society’s Evolving View of Psychopaths (37:50) Sexuality in Psychopaths (52:05) Can You Cure Psychopathy? (56:28) Where to Find Mark

Extra Stuff:

Buy Making A Psychopath - https://amzn.to/381UpGt

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 Crippling World Of Modern Anxiety - Tim Clare - #475 May 19, 2022

Show notes

Tim Clare is an author, poet and creative writing coach.

Anxiety rates have skyrocketed over the last decade. After spending hours every weekend wracked by crippling panic attacks, Tim decided to contact every anxiety expert he could to hear their suggestions for potential strategies to reduce it, and then he did all of them.

Expect to learn why people are turning up to A&E believing they're having a heart attack, how the gut-brain connection plays a role in mediating our mood, why exercise is as effective as an anti-anxiety drug, how early childhood can influence our anxiety levels, the most effective tactics Tim has implemented to improve his mental health and much more...

Sponsors:

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:25) Tim’s Anxiety Journey (07:19) What Does a Panic Attack Feel Like? (12:23) Why Panic Attacks Exist (23:30) How Exercise Soothes Panic (32:13) Diet’s Impact on Anxiety (43:18) Long-Term Effects of Child Adversity (57:08) Being Defined by Panic Disorder (1:02:40) Importance of Leaning into Discomfort (1:17:04) Lessons from Tim’s Research Experiences (1:24:02) Where to Find Tim

Extra Stuff:

Buy Coward - https://amzn.to/3FHA31R

Follow Tim on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TimClarePoet

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 To Live The Perfect Life, Using Data - Seth Stephens-Davidowitz - #474 May 16, 2022

Show notes

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is a data scientist, economist and author.

Imagine if you had access to millions of data points which tell you exactly what makes people happy, or makes people attracted to you, or what actually influences your child's outcomes in life, or the most reliable way to become rich. Well Seth did, and he wrote a book with all his findings in it.

Expect to learn how you can conduct a survey to test different appearance styles to find out which is best for you, what personality traits result in the happiest relationships, which activities which make you most and least happy, the secret industries of people who become rich in America, how to hack luck using data and much more...

Sponsors:

Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/

Get 2 weeks free access to Wondrium by going to https://www.wondrium.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)

Get 15% discount on Upgraded Formulas Test Kit at https://upgradedformulas.com/ (use code: MW15)

Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:25) Seth’s New Book (04:25) How Appearance Influences Success (10:50) Insights from Dating Data (15:58) Physical Attractiveness & Happiness (24:22) Data on What Makes People Happy (38:00) Best Ways to Become Rich (44:58) Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur (52:00) How to Hack Luck (1:00:35) Data on Parenting (1:05:27) Where to Find Seth

Extra Stuff:

Buy Don't Trust Your Gut - https://amzn.to/3PkKXyU

Follow Seth on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SethS_D

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

Finding Heroic Meaning In Modern Life - Tom Van Der Linden - #473 May 14, 2022

Show notes

Tom Van Der Linden is a YouTuber, video essayist and Creator of Like Stories of Old.

Finding meaning in modern life is hard. What glory is there to achieve when all of your existence has already been made totally convenient by technology? Heroic narratives still exist in movies and books, but can we apply these lessons to the real world?

Expect to learn how to tell the difference between serving ourselves and serving others, why watching a heroic movie can skew our expectations of life, why it's difficult to ever truly know another person, what Albert Camus can teach us about enduring suffering, why David Foster-Wallace called adult life "the day to day trenches" and much more...

Sponsors:

Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (03:49) The Problem with Hero Stories (12:50) Making a Difference or Inflating Ego? (20:42) Understanding Oneself Deeply (28:57) How to Develop True Empathy (40:49) Lessons from Albert Camus (51:53) Analysing Don't Look Up (59:31) The Convenience of Present Culture (1:08:23) Tom’s Recommended YouTubers (1:14:52) Where to Find Tom

Extra Stuff:

Subscribe to Tom's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/LikeStoriesofOld

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

Overcoming Stress, Stagnation & Burnout - Alan Stein Jr - #472 May 12, 2022

Show notes

Alan Stein Jr. is a high performance coach and speaker.

Alan spent 15 years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kobe Bryant. Lessons on how to overcome stress, stagnation & burnout are some of the most important insights which has helped them reach the top.

Expect to learn what the common trait between all NBA Superstars is, why managing time and energy should take priority over everything else, how stress can be used to enhance performance, the quickest way to overcome stagnation, why burnout might not be due to how hard you're working, why Steph Currie is the greatest shot taker of all time, what Kevin Durrant's first ever strength session looked like and much more...

Sponsors:

Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/

Protect yourself from identity theft online with Aura. Try 14 days for free at http://aura.com/modern (discount automatically applied)

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

Get 20% discount on the highest quality CBD Products from Pure Sport at https://bit.ly/cbdwisdom (use code: MW20)

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (00:28) Alan’s Background (04:51) Traits of Elite Basketball Players (13:56) How to Manage Stress (20:20) Think Like an Athlete (27:48) Refining Metrics of Success (32:32) Importance of Poise (39:15) Performance-Enhancing Stress (46:38) How to Escape Stagnation (55:47) Burnout from Misalignment (1:02:48) Working with Stephen Curry (1:06:41) Where to Find Alan

Extra Stuff:

Buy Sustain Your Game - https://amzn.to/38K9WuC

Follow Alan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alansteinjr/

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

Physics Is Far Stranger Than You Think - Jim Al-Khalili - #471 May 09, 2022

Show notes

Jim Al-Khalili is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Surrey, a broadcaster and an author.

Trying to describe reality in theoretical frameworks is no small task for physicists. But it also turns out that the implications of some theories suggests that reality might be even more bizarre than it seems. The universe is a scary, confusing place to exist, if we exist at all.

Expect to learn why you can't walk through brick walls, why a tiny imbalance in the matter and antimatter just after the big bang was very important, just how fine tuned for life our universe really is, where all the big discoveries in theoretical physics have gone, why faster-than-light neutrinos can't go faster than light, why you shouldn't value opinions over evidence and much more...

Sponsors:

Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/

Get 15% discount on Upgraded Formulas Test Kit at https://upgradedformulas.com/ (use code: MW15)

Get 15% discount on Craftd London’s jewellery at https://bit.ly/cdwisdom (use code MW15)

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

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (02:27) Understanding Dark Matter (09:18) Distrust for Scientists (21:27) Faster-than-light Neutrinos (29:14) Constructing the Theory of Everything (38:40) Theorists vs Experimentalists (46:50) Are Mars Missions a Waste of Time? (54:59) Sense-making in a World of Opinion (1:01:57) Where to Find Jim

Extra Stuff:

Buy The Joy Of Science - https://amzn.to/383CbEr

Follow Jim on Twitter - https://twitter.com/jimalkhalili

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.