The Armen Show

Welcome to episode 264, with a return to our roots of the host discussing a topic or two, along with a stream of consciousness. This one involves breaking things down into parts, or phases, and what it takes to make your world bigger. Your world is the stuff right around you, whether it be your table, or your vehicle, or the energy around you. Adjusting these items can come from a focus on them, and this concept is discussed in the episode.

There are few things more valuable than regular walking and activity in this pandemical time of 2020, and neuroscientist Professor Shane O’Mara brings us the value and basis of walking in episode 263. We discuss his latest book In Praise Of Walking: The New Science of how We Walk, and why Its Good for Us. Professor O’Mara is Professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He explores brain systems, memory, cognition, behavior, and organizations. He got his DPhil from the University of Oxford, and currently does work for the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity. He has also written past books Why Torture Doesn’t Work, and A Brain for Business. Show notes: how Professor O’Mara got into the field of brain researchbrain regions, and specifically the subiculum, and how each one can be relevant to the brain as a wholethe value of walking, and what it brings to the table for personal healththe way that we are walking minds, with the body connected below the brain heading the whole frameworkimpact on creativity that comes from walking times, whether during or aftersome cities that have good walkability, and what walking value means for cities and their further developmentour mental map of where we are and where we are going, through the activity of walking, or even for planning out our lifethe value of journaling, and how it can put our time together into a maphow walking doesn’t lead to the same kinds of damage that regular running doessome researchers Professor O’Mara has liked, included Dr. Robert Sapolsky Glad to have Shane on the show – you can check out his material on his website, his article in The Guardian, or his latest book on Amazon.

Welcome Professor Matthew Cobb of the University of Manchester, author of The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience, to episode 262 of the show. His latest book is about the history of neuroscience, and its recent roots, and how that develops the idea of the brain, while our current understanding of the brain is still very limited. Inspirations come from other researchers, as well as Danish scientist Nicolas Steno of the 17th century. Professor Cobb is is Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester, and got his Ph.D. in Psychology and Genetics from the University of Sheffield in England. He had a postdoctoral position at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. Others books of his include The Egg & Sperm Race and Life’s Greatest Secret: The Race to Crack the Genetic Code. He has studied animal behavior, human psychology, science history, and more. Show notes: how Professor Cobb got into the study of the mind, neuroscience, and fly larvae growth and processesthe way that Nicolas Steno informed the way Professor Cobb looks at the mindthe reductionist view, and how it does not allow for picking up on information regarding detailed nuancehis upcoming book on smell, and how that relates to the virus of our current pandemic, with its attachment to smell receptorshow one structure of the brain is not alone in processing information, separate from other regions of the brainEve Marder, and her study on the small number of neurons in the lobster’s stomach, with associated models of these neuronsresearch in the field done in Manchester and the UK regionfly maggots and their neurons, as well as the priorities that their narrow neural system requireshow maggots have biological clocks in the same light as humans and other animalsreplacement of neurons and memories in small animalsbeing skeptical of science that has come before, versus going with the research that has been read (question inspired by Professor Cobb’s recent interview with past interviewee Michael Shermer)a message for all It was good to have Professor Cobb on the show. You can check out The Idea of the Brain on Amazon, his upcoming book Smell with Oxford University Press, follow on Twitter @MatthewCobb, or look at his academic biography.

Welcome Emma Rose Bienvenu, attorney, L.L.M., and Master of Finance and Economics, to episode 261 of the show. I came upon Emma through her article on Medium’s Marker business subsection, entitled “7 Predictions for a Post-Coronavirus World“. The article details the path that our world can take in upcoming months and years, based on the pandemic, and provides insight into elements we can all benefit from examining. In her own work, Emma is focused on international trade, commerce, finance, and technology. She has worked in global asset management, public and private mergers and acquisitions, and international arbitration. She has an L.L.M. from U Penn Law and Wharton, a J.D. from McGill, and a Master of Economics and Finance from Sciences Po in Paris. Her experiences have taken her through many regions, including Hong Kong, London, France, and her current region of Quebec. She brings her depth and expertise to the table in our discussion. Show notes: Emma’s background, and some of her career accomplishmentshow Emma has ended up more in the legal field, from a family of lawyers, and where she contributes in the category of lawwhat Emma wrote about international arbitration, which was included in a multi-page international law textbook excerpt, along with an exampleplaces lived in by Emma, including France, Hong Kong, London, and moreher article “7 Predictions for a Post-Coronavirus World”how e-commerce, delivery, and related services will take off following the pandemic (“bits and boxes”, as put succinctly by Emma)where Esports will go based on the momentary push into the virtual worldthe way that some work will be unable to go remote, whereas those tasks that could be done remotely will be impelled to that directionchanges to manufacturing that have room to develophow time is being saved through the non-commute and lack of unsubstantiated work timewhere seminars and online learning can go, or what the default may becomeimpact on supply chains globally, and how there is a balance between efficiency and resiliencyhow countries benefit by relying on each otherthe ways that surveillance will increase, with its publicity based on protecting people and their healthdepth of cooperation between nations that can be established in coming years, as required to have a functional responseillumination of societal dynamics, and Quebec’s quick ability to unite for a common goalrelevance of placing value on experts, as opposed to those not as apt in a fieldrisk-taking, as associated with business in relation to governmentvalue of being bilingual, and its connection to personality or growthqualities that Emma finds to be valuable in colleagues, and a message to all people about their own ability It was wonderful to have Emma on the show, and you can follow her on social such as Medium, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Feel free to check out her article at 7 Predictions for a Post-Coronavirus World. To more great content~.

Handling the stages of grief after a loss is challenging, but grief therapist and author Claire Bidwell Smith brings her knowledge and experience to the table in this category with her latest book Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief. In it, Claire details how one can handle the anxiety that is associated with a loss. She lost her mother and father to cancer by the time she had turned 25, bringing about a level of understanding normally reserved for those at a much later time in their lives. Claire has written multiple books, including The Rules of Inheritance and After This: When Life Is Over, Where Do We Go? As an author, speaker, and grief expert, she has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, and many more publications. She has a Master’s Degree from Antioch University. Show notes: how to deal with the loss of loved ones, whether from family or friendswhy anxiety is one of the key stages of grief to be addressedsome of Claire’s story regarding how she got to be a grief therapistwhat kinds of issues she normally helps clients withwhat people are currently facing in New York and other regions due to the epidemic, and how they can better handle end-of-life managementthe way to prepare for a loss prior to it being a huge issue You can check out Claire on her website, Instagram @clairebidwellsmith, or on Amazon for her book. Glad to have her on~.

Welcome guest Katherine Mangu-Ward, editor-in-chief of Reason Magazine, to episode 259 of the show. I found Katherine from her article contribution about coronavirus impacts, where she discussed the changes barriers to moving our lives online. Reason is a libertarian magazine running for nearly half a century, with over 50000 monthly readers, with the theme of “free minds and free markets”. Katherine is editor-in-chief of the magazine, has a degree in philosophy and political science from Yale, and currently resides in Washington, DC. We discussed her career, topics presented in her article about coronavirus impacts, and more. Show notes: how Katherine got to her current position at Reason Magazinewhat it means to be a libertarian, and how the magazine suits herthe way that the coronavirus is impacting readership of Reason Magazine and other online publicationsthe effort required to do successful investigative journalisma bit about a round-table that Katherine does with other co-hostsinformation about the subscribers of Reason, and how they are spread out around the countryhow the barriers to schooling and other industries moving online will fall or change due to this momentwhat parents see as important with regards to schoolhow liberty is currently being impacted, and how it will look after this pandemicthe element of polarization, as it relates to Reason and its feedbackwhere people find the ideas that are important to themhow science fiction brings up the concept of “what if” for life scenariosa message for all the people You can check out Katherine on Twitter at @kmanguward, look at her author bio on Reason, or check out her latest articles.

From founding Just Ads to Pencil News, technology startup founder Shan Rizvi has made his way through the entrepreneurial landscape. Like myself, he is inclined toward a variety of topics and fields, like philosophy, neuroscience, art, music, and technology. He joins on episode 258 of the show to discuss the current moment, and joins me on points related to mindset, society as a whole, his travels along his path, and more. I originally met Shan and his wife Maryam, along with other great individuals, at a hosted gathering by Dr. Azra Raza in the great state of New York. That is where they reside, and discussion of the regional impacts due to the virus were include in this episode. There continues to be much value connected to group functions with curious and warm individuals from different backgrounds, habits, lifestyles, and perspectives. Show notes: Shan as a technology startup founder, and what he has worked on, including Pencil News and Just Adshow using and performing remote work for years can lead to a smoother transition to the current momenthow we met, and how he met his wife Maryam, who is a doctor currently responding to the epidemic directly, working with patientsa way to think about how parts of the brain are experts of their own domain, mentioning the key items from their partif meditation is connected to showcasing those elementsthe value that deep breathing can bring to youwhy group meetings can be very valuable for creative and curious individuals, and what Shan connects with in such meetingscountries that Shan has been to, what pulled him to them, and his progression through those various countriesthe value to studying abroad, and the total transformation that took place in his self-perspective due to ithow Shan could see himself from his original region of Pakistan in the perspective of people in the new places he went to (Finland, Sweden, etc.)noticing different customs that challenge your prior onesShan’s thoughts on the concept of “mental health”, and how it takes into account philosophy, self-awareness, and more, as compared with commonly related to some type of illnessthe way we will get to a clearer view of what our minds dogetting to a point of seeing 10X clearer scans of our mindsa message about the current moment in time, and how we as people can think about the impacts to countries that are in a developing stagebroader-scale thinking of people Thanks goes to Shan for coming through on the show. You can check him out on his website at ShanRizvi.com or on Twitter at @ShanRizvi.

Social psychologist and Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University Dr. Peter T. Coleman joins on episode 257 of the show, bringing forth his expertise on conflicts and their peaceful and productive resolution. He has been the director of Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution for over 20 years, and is author of the 2004 book Making Conflict Work: Harnessing the Power of Disagreement, as well as upcoming 2021 book The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization. Similar to Dr. Raza of episode 249, Professor Coleman works at Columbia University in New York, and we spoke about the impacts of the pandemic in the region, as well as potential outcomes that manage future conflict related to it. He had written a message about the situation in this Politico article, and we explored that and more. Through his experience with many levels of conflict management and understanding, whether of the base form, or of a governmental size, Dr. Coleman is able to get to the meaning behind what people could be opposing each other for. Show notes: Dr. Coleman and his experience with conflict management and resolutionhow he got into his current position, and what he does as director of the Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolutionhow conflicts are different at different levels of society and agewhat it takes to resolve issues for people of a younger age group, such as in their 20s, and how that differs from managing the interests of older folksan example of tensions or conflict from a time period at Columbia Universityhow it is relevant to allow all parties to voice their concerns in a conflict, so as to resolve it in some form for allmany examples of where Dr. Coleman has been brought in to assisthow value differences can be the source of much conflicta relation between conflict management, and neurological frameworks of decision-making and energy conservationhow the long-term conflicts we have seen in the world are much more detailed and nuanced than Team 1 versus Team 2a small example of conflict I bring up from the basketball courtsinstrumental violence versus expressive violencehow the pandemic has led to some types of conflict in terms of how it is perceived, due to polarizationthe way that times of global struggle can bring groups together which would not have prior, due to the previous battle not making sense in the time of heightened danger/riskthe quote “never let a good crisis go to waste”, which I heavily identify withDr. Coleman’s progression through his writing and booksthe way that certain conflicts have elements which keep them in place, and what it takes to look at removing the holds on their clearancea message about how to view conflicts I was glad to have Professor Coleman on the show. He represents well for Columbia Unviersity, and has messages and experience to help people manage their differences better. You can check out his faculty page, Wikipedia, and his listing of books on Amazon.

Welcome to April of 2020 and episode 256 of the show, with the guest duo of Daniel James Smith and Krystall Schott, who make up the band “Untitled Social Experiment”, also known as “USE”. With songs like “Sugar Rush” and “Psycho“, this pairing has brought solid production quality into the content they put out, with messages to understand underneath. Daniel has been making music for some years under the moniker of T.O.L.D, and brings his experience and skills to Untitled Social Experiment. Krystall has done painting, sang in choir early on, and after modeling in recent years, she made her return to music when teaming up with Daniel to form creative art. Synths and melodies and singing tones abound in the music made by USE. Show notes: how the group and duo originated, and who they are inspired bythe production of art in a light nature, but keeping a focus on content creationhow introductions and key moments in life can seem blurrywhat it takes to get along with someone, based on similaritiessome bands the group would work with or like to emulate in some formthe pandemic and quarantine, and where it leaves each person to self-process, and looking toward how it leaves societywhat age the members started doing music at, and what types of instruments or singing they have donehow support at the right time in life can lead to quicker resultsswitching from one goal to another once it seems too readily available, versus sticking to one thing at a timethe way that the members complement one another for productiona book called “The Dao of Capital” being read at the current time, and what it represents for temporal understandingthe qualities that each band members looks for in othersthe song Adam & Eve Meet Snake, Say No to apple, Stay in Paradise Forever mentioned in the episodeother types of content being put out, whether on Tik Tok or elsewhereperiods of flow and lack of flow, and how to think about thema couple of questions back to me about me and my showmessages from each member about life Glad to have Daniel and Krystall on the show~. You can check out their content on Spotify and other audio platforms online, along with some of their content featured on T.O.L.D. You can also check them out on Instagram at @untitledsocialexperiment.

When it comes to applied mathematics, guest Michael Wilt is both a teacher and interested in its usage. He professes math to the youth, and joins us on episode 255 of the show, discussing his career, people-based elements of society, and more. Michael got his Masters in Applied Math at California State University of Los Angeles, and has taught various levels of math to high school students, high-risk students, middle school students, and community college students. He also has his own product line of merchandise called “Unicorns and Stuff”. Show notes: how Michael progressed through the development of his careerthe kind of teaching that Michael does, and what he hopes to impart on his studentsdevelopment of a curriculum, and how that is the key element of education, with a blueprint for the studentsthe feel around the pandemic before it was a situated item here in Los Angeles, and discussion about the numbers behind itwhy it is good to understand exponential growth and other graph-based conceptsthe difference between small and big picture viewhow Los Angeles and San Francisco differ in status-related mindsetenergy transfer between people to others who they interact withhow people view people in terms of pretty or smarta great singing rendition from Michael, along with an attempt on my end, as well as rapping on both of our partswhere Michael is working now, and how it is going with students who are labeled as Twice Exceptionalworking with students who have ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disordercomments on rolled-up sleeves and sense of fashiona bit of reverse interview from Michael to mea mug-plug by Michael about his mug and merchandise brand This episode was recorded earlier in the month, prior to mass spreading of COVID-19. You can check out Michael’s merchandise at Unicorns and Stuff. Glad to have him on~.