THUNK

Deliberate ignorance of subjects that seem useless is a common and self-fulfilling attitude, but for postmodern philosophers Deleuze and Guattari, its not just misguided, its missing the point of thinking. Video: http://youtu.be/A73sx8p3PKU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/02/09/204.-Ignorance-and-'A-Thousand-Plateaus'.html

We expect a certain amount of bullsht in our politics, but little fibs have given way to bewildering, unbelievable fictions. Thankfully, some recent philosophers have insights as to why all bullsht isnt created equal. Video: http://youtu.be/9VrkFmMkzwc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2021/01/13/203.-Bullshit-and-Truthlikeness.html

“I can’t measure it, so it must not be important.” And then: disaster. Video: http://youtu.be/FM7ZxlyH20s Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/12/29/202.-The-McNamara-Fallacy.html

We experience our emotions as instantaneous reactions to the world around us, but what if fear, happiness, & anxiety arent the result of dedicated, hardwired circuits in our brains? The Theory of Constructed Emotion suggests an alternate explanation. Video: http://youtu.be/AZrqJiHg38M Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/12/14/201.-Theory-of-Constructed-Emotion.html

A seven-year retrospective on viewer-selected THUNK episodes, MST3K style! Video: http://youtu.be/Oy7HvWOLxWM Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/11/23/200.-Retrospective.html

If you’re currently worrying about everything that could possibly go wrong: welcome to the club! Thankfully, engineers have been fretting about catastrophe for a long time, & have a useful tool to do it productively: FMEA. Video: http://youtu.be/_z2s9Ornp6U Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/11/06/199.-FMEA-Dodging-Disaster.html

Many struggle with the seemingly inconsistent & slippery nature of morality - do moral facts exist? What are they? How can we verify them? Pragmatists sidestep many of these issues by bailing on the whole “truth” thing and asking instead: what works? Video: http://youtu.be/geKt2shs5y8 Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/10/26/198.-Pragmatic-Ethics.html

“Humans evolved big brains to be better problem-solvers.” is a popular notion, but it has some conspicuous holes. Evolutionary biologist Joseph Henrich has an alternate hypothesis: what if we’re evolved to be culture machines? Video: http://youtu.be/DMvneRu3imc Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/10/04/197.-Cultural-Evolution-Theory.html

Medical residents & interns work absurd hours in high-stress environments with little time off for comparatively low wages. When they have nothing left to give, it’s called “burnout.” We should call it what it is: abuse. Video: http://youtu.be/sCK14W1Py8k Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/09/20/196.-'Burnout'-is-Abuse.html

Strong Opinions, Weakly Held is a well-known mantra in tech, intended to quickly guide teams to reasonable predictions. But many have beef with SOWH - might there be a better method? Video: http://youtu.be/kcAQ94RpDyU Show Notes: https://thunkshow.com/2020/08/23/195.-Strong-Opinions,-Weakly-Held.html