Episodes

  • 1. Introduction - The Big Plan

    1. Introduction - The Big Plan
    Mar 5 2020
    This is a simple episode where we hear about what the plans are for the show.Sam and Nico introduce each other and discuss some of their backgrounds if you want to get to know you lovely show hosts.

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    19 mins
  • 2. The Elephant in the Brain - Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson

    2. The Elephant in the Brain - Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson
    Mar 17 2020
    About the BookThe aim of "Elephant in the Brain" is to confront our hidden motives directly — to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights. Then, once our minds are more clearly visible, we can work to better understand human nature: Why do people laugh? Why are artists sexy? Why do we brag about travel? Why do we prefer to speak rather than listen?Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains are therefore designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to get ahead socially, often by devious means.But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better. And thus we don’t like to talk — or even think — about the extent of our selfishness. This is “the elephant in the brain,” an introspective blind spot that makes it hard to think clearly about ourselves and the explanations for our behavior.What We GiveA summary of the key ways human beings lie to themselves and others without even realising. There are so many hidden ways we conceal the truth to protect and advance ourselves. But sometimes to our detriment.We work out the useful take-home point and consider the knowledge that is perhaps dangerous.

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    41 mins
  • 9. The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    9. The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    Mar 27 2020

    The Black Swan focuses on the extreme impact of rare and unpredictable outlier events — and the human tendency to find simplistic explanations for these events, retrospectively. It was published in 2007, by author and former options trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Coronavirus and Pandemics This book is extremely poignant for understanding the Coronavirus pandemic and its effects.

    In the book, he explains why we would be caught unawares by such an event and why we should build robust systems for events like this. During the discussion on the show, we talk through a lot of the ideas he explains in relation to how it can help with the current situation and build robust systems for future events that we can not predict.

    Idea
    A central idea in Taleb's book is not to attempt to predict Black Swan events but to build robustness to negative events and an ability to exploit positive events. Taleb contends that banks and trading firms are vulnerable to hazardous Black Swan events and are exposed to losses beyond those predicted by their defective financial models.

    The book asserts that a "Black Swan" event depends on the observer: for example, what may be a Black Swan surprise for a turkey is not a Black Swan surprise for its butcher. Hence the objective should be to "avoid being the turkey", by identifying areas of vulnerability in order to "turn the Black Swans white".

    About
    Taleb has referred to the book as an essay or a narrative with one single idea: "our blindness with respect to randomness, particularly large deviations." The book moves from literary subjects in the beginning to scientific and mathematical subjects in the later portions.
    - Part One and the beginning of Part Two delve into psychology.
    - Taleb addresses science and business in the latter half of Part Two and Part Three.
    - Part Four contains advice on how to approach the world in the face of uncertainty and still enjoy life.

    The book has been described by The Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II. As of 2019, it has been cited approximately 10,000 times, 9,000 of which are for the English-language edition (we can expect a lot more after the Coronavirus event). The book spent 36 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list;17 as hardcover and 19 weeks as paperback. It was published in 32 languages.


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    40 mins
  • 3. Why Buddhism is True - Robert Wright

    3. Why Buddhism is True - Robert Wright
    Mar 31 2020
    'Why Buddhism is True' looks at the science and philosophy of meditation and enlightenment. The author is a devout non-meditating anger prone evolutionary psychologist and writer.He dives headlong into the world of meditation with surprising results. He explains why it works from an evolutionary standpoint. Using his wit and intellect the book makes very enjoyable and enlightening reading.This was my favourite book on meditation. I loved it so much that I wrote over 40 pages of notes during reading it. (and yes I've read the other Sam Harris' book 'Waking Up' and most of the best ones)AboutRobert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain.But if we know our minds are rigged for anxiety, depression, anger, and greed, what do we do? Wright locates the answer in Buddhism, which figured out thousands of years ago what scientists are only discovering now. Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly—and proposes that seeing the world more clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people.In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age. At once excitingly ambitious and wittily accessible, this is the first book to combine evolutionary psychology with cutting-edge neuroscience to defend the radical claims at the heart of Buddhist philosophy. With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true—which is to say, a way out of our delusion—but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32895535-why-buddhism-is-true

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    38 mins
  • 4. The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - Niel Strauss

    4. The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - Niel Strauss
    Apr 10 2020
    The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (also known as The Game: Undercover in the Secret Society of Pickup Artists) is a non-fiction book written by investigative reporter Neil Strauss as a chronicle of his journey and encounters in the seduction community.The book was featured on The New York Times Bestseller List for two months after its release in September 2005, reaching prominence again in 2007 during the broadcast of the VH1 television series The Pickup Artist, which was hosted by Mystery, Strauss's mentor in the book. In its original published hardcover format, the book was covered in black leather and bookmarked with red satin, similar to some printings of the Bible. Despite the reputation that The Game has gained as an exposé on the seduction community, it was primarily written as an autobiographical work. The follow-up book, Rules of the Game, relies more on the how-to side.An interesting book to discuss that polarises a lot of people. We enjoyed taking a step back from what it tries to teach you. We instead reflect on the broader lessons in the book about humans in general. There are many insights into our psychology, society, and how we can become a better version of ourselves without using others. The book makes an interesting contrast to the next book all about Feminism, 'Invisible Women' which is a hugely insightful dive into so many things that are wrong with society.

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    25 mins
  • 5. Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez

    5. Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez
    Apr 16 2020
    This book exposes the gender bias that is in the world around us and affects our daily lives. A brilliant look at the data that shows the facts we need to acknowledge and overcome.Caroline presents a very thourough study into the way the world has been built and how it has been unfair on women. This is a revealing book which was a brilliant read for anyone. As two white guys we really had a lot to learn and enjoyed discussing this book and what we can do to improve things.About the AuthorCaroline Criado Perez is a writer, broadcaster and award-winning feminist campaigner. Her most notable campaigns have included co-founding The Womens Room, getting a woman on Bank of England banknotes, forcing Twitter to revise its procedures for dealing with abuse and successfully campaigning for a statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett to be erected in Parliament Square. She was the 2013 recipient of the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award, and was awarded an OBE in the Queen s Birthday Honours 2015.AwardsInvisible Women has won the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, the Books Are My Bag Readers Choice Award and the Royal Society Science Book Prize. She lives in London.

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    31 mins
  • 6. Finite and Infinite Games - James P. Carse

    6. Finite and Infinite Games - James P. Carse
    Apr 19 2020
    This book is challenging. Some people hate. Many people love it.It has been described as, "Disturbingly good" for it's ability to shake the concepts of what you think about your approaches to life. It is regarded as a book you need to read, re-read and then read again.We blindly dive into it and attempt to distill it's wisdom for listeners in a usable manner, whilst not making too big a fools of ourselves.AboutJames P. Carse is a philosopher and author. He published this book in 1986 and it has never lost relevance." There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite; the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play."A simple concept with oodles of insights that go deeper and deeper. Question everything you think you know and dive into a redefinition of how you approach everything. Some nice quotes to get you started:“A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”“There is no finite game unless the players freely choose to play it. No one can play who is forced to play.”“Rules are not valid because the Senate passed them, or because heroes once played by them, or because God pronounced them through Moses or Muhammad.”“There are no rules that require us to obey rules. If there were, there would have to be a rule for those rules, and so on.”“It may appear that the prizes for winning are indispensable, that without them life is meaningless, perhaps even impossible.”“While no one is forced to remain a lawyer or a rodeo performer or a kundalini yogi after being selected for these roles, each role is nonetheless surrounded both by ruled restraints and expectations on the part of others….""We cannot do whatever we please and remain lawyers or yogis— and yet we could not be either unless we pleased.”“The constant attentiveness of finite players to the progress of the competition can lead them to believe that every move they make they must make.”

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    30 mins
  • 7. Do You Talk Funny? - David Nihil

    7. Do You Talk Funny? - David Nihil
    Apr 21 2020
    Public speaking can be terrifying. For David Nihill, the idea of standing in front of an audience was scarier than cliff jumping into a thorny pit of spiders and mothers-in-law. Without a parachute or advanced weaponry. This book is a part story and part manual. It follows David's story to become an engaging public speaker and the lessons he learnt along the way. It shows how anyone can become funny and breaks down the steps to get there.It is a highly motivating book for someone who is nervous of approaching the world of public speaking, business presentations and things like a Ted speech. David goes into the science of what makes a great speech and how to reflect and add moments that capture your audiences imagination and increase your confidence.The idea of doing stand up comedy seems like a distant and scary dream to 99% of humans. This book makes it seem quite possible and we expain the lessons learnt and how to approach becoming a funnie speaker.

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    29 mins