You Are Not So Smart

You Are Not So Smart

You Are Not So Smart is a show about psychology that celebrates science and self delusion. In each episode, we explore what we've learned so far about reasoning, biases, judgments, and decision-making. read less

Our Editor's Take

You Are Not So Smart is a podcast that explores why people make bad decisions. The host of the show is David McRaney. He is the author of several books on biases and reasoning. McRaney also serves on the executive board of the School of Thought, which promotes critical thinking and reason.

The podcast explores how terrible humans are at making decisions. What's worse, they think they're great at it. The world is full of examples of the consequences of poor choices. People vote for the candidate who doesn't serve their interests. They fall victim to scams and end up sick or penniless. They believe in conspiracies despite vast evidence to the contrary. They stay in unhealthy relationships.

In making the You Are Not So Smart podcast, McRaney wants to understand why this happens. What factors lead to poor decisions? To analyze each factor, he interviews experts who explain. For people to get affected by scams, there have to be scammers. Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling is the author of If It Sounds Like a Quack... In the book, he explores the motivations of snake oil salespeople. Sedona Chinn studies how people manage competing information about health and science. She discovered an inverse relationship between "doing one's research" and doing research.

McRaney also likes to use the podcast to give listeners hope. He talks to Michael Taft about what can make a person change their mind. He also coaches listeners on having difficult conversations with people they disagree with.

You Are Not So Smart is a great listen for people who believe in reason and healthy skepticism. The podcast might also be a good resource for those trying to get loved ones out of a conspiracy loop.

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286 - Notes on Complexity - Neil Theise

286 - Notes on Complexity - Neil Theise

In this episode we sit down with professor of Neil Theise, the author of Notes on Complexity, to get an introduction to complexity theory, the science of how complex systems behave – from cells to human beings, ecosystems, the known universe, and beyond – and we explore if Ian Malcolm was right when he told us in Jurassic Park that "Life, um, finds a way."Previous EpisodesNeil Theise's WebsiteNotes on ComplexityConway's Game of LifeThe Santa Fe InstituteTechnosphereHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterNewsletter

Episodes

286 - Notes on Complexity - Neil Theise

286 - Notes on Complexity - Neil Theise

In this episode we sit down with professor of Neil Theise, the author of Notes on Complexity, to get an introduction to complexity theory, the science of how complex systems behave – from cells to human beings, ecosystems, the known universe, and beyond – and we explore if Ian Malcolm was right when he told us in Jurassic Park that "Life, um, finds a way."Previous EpisodesNeil Theise's WebsiteNotes on ComplexityConway's Game of LifeThe Santa Fe InstituteTechnosphereHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterNewsletter

285 - What Do You Mean? - Celeste Kidd (rebroadcast)

285 - What Do You Mean? - Celeste Kidd (rebroadcast)

Is a hotdog a sandwich?Well, that depends on your definition of a sandwich (and a hotdog), and according to the most recent research in cognitive science, the odds that your concept of a sandwich is the same as another person's concept are shockingly low.In this episode we explore how understanding why that question became a world-spanning argument in the mid 2010s helps us understand some of the world-spanning arguments vexing us today. Our guest is psychologist Celeste Kidd who studies how we acquire and conceptualize information, form beliefs around those concepts, and, in general, make sense of the torrent of information blasting our brains each and every second. Her most recent paper examines how conceptual misalignment can lead to semantic disagreements, which can lead us to talk past each other (and get into arguments about things like whether hotdogs are sandwiches).Previous Episodes Why can’t we settle the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” debate?How Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterNewsletterCeleste Kidd’s WebsiteCeleste Kidd’s TwitterLatent Diversity in Human Concepts

284 - Awe - Dacher Keltner (rebroadcast)

284 - Awe - Dacher Keltner (rebroadcast)

In this episode we sit down with psychologist Dacher Keltner, one of the world’s leading experts on the science of emotion, the man Pixar hired to help them write Inside Out. In his new book – Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life – he outlines his years of work in this field, the health benefits of awe, the evolutionary origins and likely functions, and how to better pursue more awe and wonder in your own life.Dacher Kelter: https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltnerGreater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSCHow Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comDavid McRaney’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmcraneyYANSS Twitter: https://twitter.com/notsmartblog

283 - Cultures of Growth - Mary C. Murphy

283 - Cultures of Growth - Mary C. Murphy

In this episode we welcome psychologist Mary C. Murphy, author of Cultures of Growth, who tells us how to create institutions, businesses, and other groups of humans that can better support collaboration, innovation, performance, and wellbeing. We also learn how, even if you know all about the growth mindset, the latest research suggests you not may not be creating a culture of growth despite what feels like your best efforts to do so. Mary Murphy’s WebsiteCultures of GrowthCarol Dweck at GooglePaper: A Culture of GeniusHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon

282 - They Thought We Were Ridiculous - Andy Luttrell

282 - They Thought We Were Ridiculous - Andy Luttrell

In 1974, two psychologists, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, as the New Yorker once put it, "changed the way we think about the way we think." The prevailing wisdom, before their landmark research went viral (in the way things went viral in the 1970s), was that human beings were, for the most part, rational optimizers always making the kinds of judgments and decisions that best maximized the potential of the outcomes under their control. This was especially true in economics at the time. The story of how they generated a paradigm shift so powerful that it reached far outside economics and psychology to change the way all of us see ourselves is a fascinating tale, one that required the invention of something this episode is all about: The Psychology of Single Questions.They Thought We Were RidiculousOpinion ScienceBehavioral GroovesHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon

281 - More Chat, Less Bot - Jeremy Utley, Kian Gohar, Henrik Werdelin

281 - More Chat, Less Bot - Jeremy Utley, Kian Gohar, Henrik Werdelin

Jeremy Utley, Kian Gohar, and Henrik Werdelin sit down to discuss the surprising results of a new study into what happens when groups of people work together to brainstorm solutions to problems with the help of ChatGPT. Based on their research, Utley and Gohar created a new paradigm for getting the most out of AI-assisted ideation which they call FIXIT.FIXITBeyond the PromptD-SchoolJeremy Utley's WebsiteKian Gohar's WebsiteHenrik Werdelin's WebsiteHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon

280 - Supercommunicators - Charles Duhigg

280 - Supercommunicators - Charles Duhigg

Our guest in this episode is Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and writer for the New Yorker Magazine who is also the New York Times Bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better. His new book is Supercommunicators, a practical and approachable guide to what makes great conversations work. In the episode we discuss the science behind what it takes to form a connection with another human being through dialogue, how to generate or nurture a bond, and how to form, repair, and maintain a conversational pipeline through listening and communicating that guarantees reciprocation and understanding.Charles DuHigg's WebsiteCharles DuHigg's TwitterSupercommunicatorsThe Artemis MissionThe Goddard Spaceflight CenterHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon

YANSS 279 - Pluralistic Ignorance (rebroadcast)

YANSS 279 - Pluralistic Ignorance (rebroadcast)

There are several ways to define pluralistic ignorance, and that’s because it’s kind of a brain twister when you try to put it into words. On certain issues, most people people believe that most people believe what, in truth, few people believe. Or put another way, it is the erroneous belief that the majority is acting in a way that matches its internal philosophies, and that you are one of a small number of people who feel differently, when in reality the majority agrees with you on the inside but is afraid to admit it outright or imply such through its behavior. Everyone in a group, at the same time, gets stuck following a norm that no one wants to follow, because everyone is carrying a shared, false belief about everyone else’s unshared true beliefs.Deborah Prentice’s WebsiteRobb Willer’s WebsiteRobb Willer’s TwitterHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletter

278 - An Admirable Point - Florence Hazrat

278 - An Admirable Point - Florence Hazrat

On this episode we learn about the history of the exclamation point, the question mark, and the semicolon (among many other aspects of language) with Florence Hazrat, a scholar of punctuation, who, to my great surprise, informed me that while a lot of language is the result of a slow evolution, a gradual ever-changing process, punctuation in the English language is often an exception to this – for instance, a single person invented the semicolon; they woke up and the semicolon didn’t exist, and then went to bed that night, and it did!Florence Hazrat's WebsiteAn Admirable PointHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletter

277 - Visual Thinking - Temple Grandin (rebroadcast)

277 - Visual Thinking - Temple Grandin (rebroadcast)

Temple Grandin didn’t develop speech until much later than most children, and she might have led a much different life if it hadn’t been for people who worked very hard to open up a space for her to thrive. In this episode we discuss all that as well as her latest book, Visual Thinking, about three distinct ways that human brains create human minds to make sense of the world outside of their skulls.Temple GrandinVisual ThinkingTemple Grandin’s TwitterHow Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeDavid McRaney’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmcraneyYANSS Twitter: https://twitter.com/notsmartblogShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com

276 - How to Stand up to a Bully - Andrea Chalupa

276 - How to Stand up to a Bully - Andrea Chalupa

In this episode David McRaney is interviewed by Andrea Chalupa about the psychological research covered in How Minds Change that could help if you expect to spend time with a family member this holiday who can't wait to pull you into an argument about politics, a wedge issue, or something else buzzing in the zeitgeist over which they'd love to start a fight. But, also, this is good stuff to know before ANY contentious conversation you might have in the future with someone who is quick to aggression and ready to get angry over how your opinion isn't their opinion. • Gaslit Nation• Transcript• Andrea Chalupa’s Twitter• Sarah Kendzior’s Twitter• The Critical Thinking Alliance• The Conspiracy Test• Newsletter• How Minds Change• David McRaney’s Twitter• YANSS Twitter

275 - Blight - Emily Monosson

275 - Blight - Emily Monosson

How likely is the fungal infection in The Last of Us? The one that takes over human brains and brings humanity to the brink of extinction, could something like that really happen?In this episode we sit down with Emily Monosson, an expert on deadly fungal infections, and discuss the handful of fungi (we know of) that are today, right now, causing catastrophic declines in wildlife, eradicating trees, destroying crops, and increasingly impacting humans.Monsoon explains that many in the field worry that fungi are an underestimated threat and that our actions are causing an increase in invasive and deadly fungal epidemics. We explore what is at stake, why this is happening now, and what we can do to prevent future outbreaks.• Emily Monosson's Website• Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic• 2013 Trailer for The Last of Us• Newsletter• How Minds Change• David McRaney’s Twitter• YANSS Twitter• Show Notes

274 - Cascades - Greg Satell

274 - Cascades - Greg Satell

In this episode we sit down with Greg Satell, a communication expert whose book, Cascades, details how rapid, widespread change can sweep across groups of people big and small, and how understanding the psychological mechanisms at play in such moments can help anyone looking to create change in a family, institution, or even nation, prepare for the inevitable resistance they will face.• Special Offer From Greg Satell• Greg Satell's Website• Greg Satell's Blog• Greg Satell's Twitter• Newsletter• How Minds Change• David McRaney’s Twitter• YANSS Twitter• Show Notes

273 - The Conspiracy Test - Jesse Richardson

273 - The Conspiracy Test - Jesse Richardson

In this episode Jesse Richardson tells us all about ConspiracyTest.org, a new project designed to be a weird, fun, and cleverly educational way to explore just how skeptical you are (and could be) about a variety of conspiracy theories. The whole thing is designed to be very sharable and very viral, and it's launching right before Thanksgiving 2023 so that you can share it with your conspiracy-theory-entertaining friends and family over the holidays, in person or over social media (but you should definitely try it out on yourself first).• Newsletter• School of Thought• The Conspiracy Test• Metaconspiracy• How Minds Change• David McRaney’s Twitter• YANSS Twitter• Jesse Richardson's Website• Jesse Richardson's Twitter• Your Bias Is• Your Fallacy Is• Free Learning List• The Rules of Civil Conversation• Show Notes(thanks for listening, share with abandon)

272 - Quit! - Annie Duke (rebroadcast)

272 - Quit! - Annie Duke (rebroadcast)

I recently sat down for a live event and Q&A with the great Annie Duke to discuss her new book, Quit: The power of knowing when to walk away. This episode is the audio from that event. Quit is all about how to develop a very particular skill: how to train your brain to make it easier to know which goals and plans are worth sticking to and which are not. In Quit, Duke teaches you how to get good at quitting. Drawing on stories from elite athletes like Mount Everest climbers, founders of leading companies like Stewart Butterfield, the CEO of Slack, and top entertainers like Dave Chappelle, Duke explains why quitting is integral to success, as well as strategies for determining when to hold em, and when to fold em, that will save you time, energy, and money.• Connections• Newsletter• Annie Duke's Twitter• Annie Duke’s Website• School of Thought• The Conspiracy Test• The Alliance for Decision Education• The Decision Education Podcast• Show Notes

271 - Survival of the Richest - Douglas Rushkoff (rebroadcast)

271 - Survival of the Richest - Douglas Rushkoff (rebroadcast)

In this episode we sit down with Douglas Rushkoff, a media scholar, journalist, and professor of digital economics who has a new fire in his belly when it comes to the world of billionaire preppers, which comes across in his new book Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires – inspired by his invitation to consult a group of the world’s richest people on how to spend their money now to survive an apocalypse they fear is coming within their lifetimes.How Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesDouglas Rushkoff's Website

270 - Defining Genius

270 - Defining Genius

In this show you'll hear the first episode of a documentary series I made for Himalaya, an audio service devoted to inspirational and educational content that asked me if I had any ideas for a book that I had yet to pursue, and sure enough, I did. The series is all about the difficulty of defining the word "genius," and out of that launching point it goes deep into the science of human potential and the history of the both the word and all the ideas we have attempted to understand and express when using it.How Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesExploring Genius Audio Documentary

269 - Deconstructing How Minds Change - Michael Taft

269 - Deconstructing How Minds Change - Michael Taft

In celebration of How Minds Change, my new book, turning one-year-old, in this episode Michael Taft interviews David McRaney about how minds do and do not change, the process behind writing a book about that, and what he has learned since writing and promoting it.Michael is a meditation teacher, bestselling author, and a mindfulness coach – and he specializes in secular, science-based mindfulness training. If you are interested in a science-based, secular book about meditation and and mindfulness, I highly recommend his book,The Mindful Geek, snd I recommend guided meditation with him. He offers that at The Alembic in Berkeley. You can join them virtually, over the internet. Links below.I also recommend his podcast, Deconstructing Yourself. It is all about entheogens and neurofeedback and brain hacking. If you are a Carl Sagan loving, science endorsing, evidence based sort of person – a nerd, geek, or skeptic or humanist who wants to know more about meditation and deep dive into what we do and do not know about it – that's what his podcast is about. Sam Harris will be a guest on there soon, and I think many of you will love that episode.Deconstructing YourselfThe AlembicMichael TaftHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon

268 - The Status Game - Will Storr (rebroadcast)

268 - The Status Game - Will Storr (rebroadcast)

In this episode we welcome back author Will Storr whose new book, The Status Game, feels like required reading for anyone confused, curious, or worried about how politics, cults, conspiracy theories communities, social media, religious fundamentalism, polarization, and extremism are affecting us - everywhere, on and offline, across cultures, and across the world.What is The Status Game? It’s our primate propensity to perpetually pursue points that will provide a higher level of regard among the people who can (if we provoked such a response) take those points away. And deeper still, it’s the propensity to, once we find a group of people who regularly give us those points, care about what they think more than just about anything else.In the interview, we discuss our inescapable obsession with reputation and why we are deeply motivated to avoid losing this game through the fear of shame, ostracism, embarrassment, and humiliation while also deeply motivated to win this game by earning what will provide pride, fame, adoration, respect, and status.Will Storr’s Website: https://willstorr.comHow Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comPatreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

267 - Do Your Own Research - Sedona Chinn

267 - Do Your Own Research - Sedona Chinn

Sedona Chinn, who studies how people make sense of competing scientific, environmental, and health-related claims, joins us to discuss her latest research into doing your own research. In her latest paper she found that the more a person values the concept of doing your own research, the less likely that person is to actually do their own research. In the episode we explore the origin of the concept, what that phrase really means, and the implications of her study on everything from politics to vaccines to conspiratorial thinking.Sedona Chinn's WebsiteSedona Chinn's TwitterSedona Chinn's PaperThe Other Paper MentionedHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon