THUNK

There are 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the US. Effective Altruists try to direct people towards the good ones, but many don’t agree with their picks - maybe the problem is bigger than “picking a good charity.” Video: http://youtu.be/0XjGKig1wlk Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/09/22/254.-Charity-and-Effective-Altruism.html

“Organization” is a technology, and as with many technologies, it embodies a set of values. Video: http://youtu.be/VTcqt51Io4M Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/08/08/253.-Organizing-Systems.html

Generations are used to explain everything from the state of the economy to attitudes about sexuality, but do they really explain anything? Video: http://youtu.be/ot5xdqdho4Y Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/06/20/252.-The-Theory-of-Generations.html

Scaremongers drive many to search frantically for something, anything that will make them feel safe, but safety isn’t a thing you can buy - it’s a feeling you have to build for yourself. Video: http://youtu.be/ob7XTCtZn6U Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/05/13/251.-Safety-and-Risk-Management.html

Angkor Wat & the thousand stone temples surrounding it are some of the most impressive structures humanity has produced - what happened to the society that built them? Video: http://youtu.be/mYu-BBoW9g8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/04/15/250.-Angkor-Wat-and-Collapse.html

Exploring the impact of advertising on consumer behavior, Michelangelo's creative process, content creation challenges, managing information overload, and Miyazaki's artistic philosophy in the face of shallow content consumption.

Trying to understand something in terms of its parts is natural…but when is it justified? Video: http://youtu.be/YHkS4upFy_4 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/02/13/248.-Reductionism.html

Gretchen, stop trying to make Vactrains happen! It’s not going to happen! Video: http://youtu.be/dp2r1C9LDJQ Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2024/01/21/247.-Zombie-Sci-Fi-Technologies.html

“Worldbuilding” has become a necessity for authors of genre fiction, but sci-fi author M. John Harrison thinks it’s crippling both writers & their audiences. Video: http://youtu.be/QJHR2NB7Wt4 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2023/12/30/246.-Against-Worldbuilding.html

The 2023 tech sector layoffs have claimed a quarter of a million jobs to date, but this hasn’t seemed to make a dent in the enthusiasm for getting more kids into STEM - what’s going on here? Video: http://youtu.be/BraS-fMgB5A Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2023/11/16/245.-The-STEM-Shortage.html