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scalziwhatever_feed Nov. 27th, 2025 02:31 am)Normally when I do a cover I sing on it, but it turns out it’s hard for me to sing Adele songs! At least without some considerable reconfiguration. So, I’ll keep working on that, but in the meantime the instrumental track I made for “Someone Like You” is nice and calm and soothing, and I thought y’all might like it. Enjoy.
— JS
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holly_poly Nov. 25th, 2025 08:11 pm)
scalziwhatever_feed Nov. 25th, 2025 04:36 pm)
Well, this is lovely: When the Moon Hits Your Eye made it into the final round of this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards, in the category of science fiction, along with the other works you see here. This is a very nice peer group to have, I have to say.
If you feel like voting for Moon, or, indeed any other book in this finalist group, here is the link for you to do so. If you vote for Moon, hey, thanks! If you choose something else, that’s cool too.
I’m actually very happy with Moon making the final cut here. It’s an unusual sort of book, both structurally and in subject matter, and it wasn’t 100% clear to me that readers would take to it. Getting to this round is encouraging. Let’s see where it goes from here.
In any event: Go vote!
— JS
youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 25th, 2025 12:24 am)Philosopher, neuroscientist, and psychologist, Joshua Greene tells us how the brain generates morality and how his research may have solved the infamous trolley problem, and in so doing created a way to encourage people to contribute to charities that do the most good, and, in addition, play quiz games that can reduce polarization and possibly save democracy.
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Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (US), and for fighting off everyone else (THEM). But modern life has thrust the world’s tribes into a shared space, creating conflicts of interest and clashes of values, along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything from tax codes to gay marriage to global warming, and we wonder where, if at all, we can find our common ground.
A grand synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, Moral Tribes reveals the underlying causes of modern conflict and lights the way forward. Here the human brain is revealed to be like a dual-mode camera, with point-and-shoot automatic settings (“portrait,” “landscape”) as well as a manual mode. Our point-and-shoot settings are our emotions—efficient, automated programs honed by evolution, culture, and personal experience. The human brain’s manual mode is its capacity for deliberate reasoning, which makes our thinking flexible. Our point-and-shoot emotions make us social animals, turning Me into Us. But they also make us tribal animals, turning Us against Them. Our tribal emotions make us fight, sometimes with bombs, sometimes with words, and often with life-and-death stakes. Drawing inspiration from moral philosophy and cutting edge science, Moral Tribesshows us when to trust our instincts, when to reason, and how the right kind of reasoning can move us forward.
The great challenge of Moral Tribes is this: How can we get along with Them when what they want feels so wrong? Ultimately, Joshua Greene offers a surprisingly simple set of maxims for navigating the modern moral terrain, a practical road map for solving problems and living better lives.
Joshua D. Greene is Professor of Psychology and a member of the Center for Brain Science faculty at Harvard University.
Originally trained as a philosopher, Greene began his scientific career with behavioral and neuroscientific research on moral judgment, focusing on the interplay between emotion and reason in moral dilemmas (as in “trolley problems”) and social dilemmas involving cooperation.
His current social scientific research examines strategies for expanding our moral circles, with a focus on real-world impact. He is the co-founder of GivingMultiplier, a research-backed donation platform that increases the impact of charitable giving, and the co-creator of Tango, a cooperative online quiz game that reduces animosity and builds trust and respect across lines of division.
His current neuroscientific and computational research aims to understand the “language of thought”, how the brain combines concepts to form complex ideas.
Greene is the author of Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them. He teaches Harvard’s General Education course Evolving Morality: From Primordial Soup to Superintelligent Machines.
Greene studied philosophy at Harvard (A.B., 1997) and Princeton (Ph.D., 2002), where he worked with David Lewis and Gilbert Harman. From 2002 to 2006 he trained as a postdoctoral researcher with Jonathan Cohen in the Neuroscience of Cognitive Control Lab and at the Center for the Study of Brain, Mind, and Behavior, which is now the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.
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The Trolley Problem in Real Life
A Buddhist Monk Faces The Trolley Problem
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youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 25th, 2025 12:09 am)We sit down with Dr. Madeleine Beekman, a professor emerita of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology at the University of Sydney, Australia, whose new book, The Origin of Language, presents a completely new and fascinating theory for how language emerged in homo sapiens, in human beings, in you and me and the rest of us.
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In a radical new story about the birth of our species, The Origin of Language argues that it was not hunting, fighting, or tool-making that forced early humans to speak, but the inescapable need to care for our children.
Journeying to the dawn of Homo sapiens, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman reveals the “happy accidents” hidden in our molecular biology—DNA, chromosomes, and proteins—that led to one of the most fateful events in the history of life on Earth: our giving birth to babies earlier in their development than our hominid cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans. Faced with highly dependent infants requiring years of nurturing and protection, early human communities needed to cooperate and coordinate, and it was this unprecedented need for communication that triggered the creation of human language—and changed everything.
Infused with cutting-edge science, sharp humor, and insights into the history of biology and its luminaries, Beekman weaves a narrative that’s both enlightening and entertaining. She invites us into the intricate world of molecular biology and its ancient secrets. The Origin of Language is a tour de force by a brilliant biologist on how a culture of cooperation and care have shaped our existence.
Madeleine Beekman is professor emerita of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology at the University of Sydney, Australia. In the academic year of 2020–21, Beekman was a resident fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin), which is where the idea for The Origin of Language was born. She currently lives with her husband in Australia’s northern tropical rainforest, where she can observe the endangered cassowary from her office. She has two adult daughters and a tiny granddaughter.
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youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 24th, 2025 11:53 pm)In this episode, we discuss the landmark 1959 study that popularized the term “cognitive dissonance,” and we dive into the current state of dissonance research with Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano, a political scientist who studies how cognitive dissonance affects all sorts of political behavior. Lubrano is the co-host of a podcast about activism called What Do We Want? She also wrote a book that’s coming out in May of 2025 titled Don’t Talk About Politics which is about how to discuss politics without necessarily talking about politics.
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In episode one of this series, we spent time with the scientists who infiltrated a doomsday cult that predicted the exact date and circumstances of the end of the world, and when that date passed and the circumstances did not occur, instead of saying, “Oh, I guess we were wrong about that,” they found a way to keep believing and grow more fervent in their devotion.
We established that when you notice you’ve done something that you believe is wrong, you will either stop doing that thing or stop believing it is wrong. And if you come across information that disconfirms one of your beliefs, you’ll either change that belief, challenge the validity of the challenging information, or go looking for some information that suggests no, in fact, you are totally right.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the nature of dissonance theory and explore just why it is that humans are compelled to return to a state of consistency when we notice two beliefs, two behaviors, or a belief and a behavior are inconsistent. We explore why this form of error detection usually keeps us stable and correct and properly oriented, but when the conditions are just right, our efforts to see ourselves as right and proper and decent can lead us to become more wrong, not less – factually, morally, and otherwise.
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Sarah Stein Lubrano’s Substack
Cognitive Consequences of Forced Compliance (the original study)
Cognitive Dissonance MetaStudy
Cognitive Dissonance Theory After 70 Years
youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 24th, 2025 11:44 pm)In this episode, the story of a doomsday cult that predicted the exact date and circumstances of the end of the world, and what happened when that date passed and the world did not end.
Also, we explore our drive to remain consistent via our desire to reduce cognitive dissonance.
When you notice you’ve done something that you believe is wrong, you will either stop doing that thing or stop believing it is wrong.
And if you come across some information that disconfirms one of your beliefs, you’ll either change your belief, challenge the validity of the challenging information, or go looking for some information that suggests no, in fact, you are totally right.
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When a doomsday cult predicts the exact date and circumstances of the end of the world then that date passes and the circumstances do not occur, cults like those usually don’t say, “Oh, I guess we were wrong about that,” and then disband. Instead, they tend to find a way to keep believing that they were right somehow and then regroup in some way, often growing even stronger and more fervent.
This is exactly what happened on December 21, 1954 when The Seekers were not picked up by flying saucers just outside of Chicago, despite their leader telling them she had received word from The Guardians of planet Clarion to prepare to be saved by their spacecraft at midnight so they could escape a world-ending flood at dawn.
In a stunning display of the power of cognitive dissonance, the group became more passionate, more certain, and more devoted to their beliefs after the all important day of doom turned out to be nonsense. Also, thanks to the fact that they had been infiltrated by a group of psychologists, their every action before, during, and after the big was not only observed and recorded for science, taken together it all launched the next 50 years of research into cognitive dissonance itself.
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A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
The Christmas the Aliens Didn’t Come
youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 24th, 2025 11:24 pm)Are you unhappy at your job? Are you starting to consider a change of career because of how your current work makes you feel? Do you know why? According to our guest in this episode, Dr. Tessa West, a psychologist at NYU, if you are currently contemplating whether you want to do the work that you do everyday you should know that although this feeling is common, psychologists who study this sort of thing have discovered that our narratives for why we feel this way are often just rationalizations and justifications.
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In fact, it turns out that the way we psychologically evaluate the jobs we think we might not want to do anymore is nearly identical to how we evaluate romantic relationships we feel like we might no longer want to be a part of. The feelings are usually undeniable, but our explanations for why we feel the way we feel can be wildly inaccurate, and because of that, our resulting behavior can be, let’s say, sub-optimal. We sometimes stay far longer than we should or make knee-jerk decisions we later regret or commit to terrible mistakes that could have been avoided.
OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK
When we’re unhappy in our jobs, we often attribute our frustration to a bad manager, boring tasks, and stressful workloads. But our dissatisfaction at work usually stems from a deeper psychological need that’s not being met at work, like not getting the recognition you deserve.
In Job Therapy, Dr. Tessa West helps you figure out the real reason you’re unhappy and shows you how to find a new position in which you’ll thrive, whether in a different role, company, or new industry altogether.
Through her research interviewing thousands of people who have recently switched jobs or undergone career changes, she found there are five common sources of career frustration:
Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and a leading expert in the science of interpersonal communication. Her work focuses on questions such as, why is it so hard to give honest, critical feedback? and how do class, race, and cultural differences make communication in the workplace so difficult, and what can we do to improve it?
Tessa received her PhD from the University of Connecticut and has published her work in psychology’s most prestigious journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. She has received multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Tessa has also received several career awards, including the early career award from the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Theoretical Innovation Prize from the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology.
Tessa’s work has been covered by Scientific American, the New York Times, ABC World News, TIME, Harper’s Bazaar, the Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, Strategy and Business, and the US Supreme Court. She has appeared on the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, CNN, and Good Morning America, and is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal. She is the author of the book “Jerks at Work: Toxic coworkers and what to do about them,” and “Job Therapy: Finding work that works for you.”
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youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 24th, 2025 10:28 pm)Can intellectual humility be measured? What influences it and affects it, limits it and enhances it? What even is it, scientifically speaking? We explore all of this and then play an episode of How to Be A Better Human featuring psychologist Tenelle Porter telling comedian Chris Duffy how she is researching how to conduct better research into intellectual humility.
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How To Be A Better Human isn’t your average self improvement podcast. Each week join Chris Duffy in conversation with guests and past speakers as they uncover sharp insights and give clear takeaways on how YOU can be a better human.
From your work to your home and your head to your heart, How To Be a Better Human looks in unexpected places for new ways to improve and show up for one another.
Inspired by the popular series of the same name on TED’s Ideas blog, How to Be a Better Human will help you become a better person from the comfort of your own headphones.
Tenelle Porter is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rowan University.Tanelle Porter interested in the psychological processes that make growth possible for imperfect humans navigating imperfect systems. Her work combines behavioral studies of children, adolescents, and adults and large field experiments. She also has expertise in evaluation science. She completed a PhD at Stanford University, an IES postdoctoral fellowship at UC Davis, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania funded by her grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
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The Gateway Drugs to Intellectual Humility
The Illusion of Explanatory Depth
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youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 24th, 2025 10:05 pm)This episode is about suicide prevention and awareness. Author Kelly Williams Brown tells us about her book, Easy Crafts for the Insane, in which she recounts how, after she gained fame and success as a NYT bestselling author, her world came apart. Then an anti-anxiety-drug-induced manic state nearly ended her life.
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OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK
From the New York Times bestselling author of Adulting comes a story about how to make something when you’re capable of nothing.
Kelly Williams Brown had 700 Bad Days. Her marriage collapsed, she broke three limbs in separate and unrelated incidents, her father was diagnosed with cancer, and she fell into a deep depression that ended in what could delicately be referred to as a “rest cure” at an inpatient facility. Before that, she had several very good years: she wrote a bestselling book, spoke at NASA, had a beautiful wedding, and inspired hundreds of thousands of readers to live as grown-ups in an often-screwed-up world, though these accomplishments mostly just made her feel fraudulent.
One of the few things that kept her moving forward was, improbably, crafting. Not Martha Stewart–perfect crafting, either—what could be called “simple,” “accessible” or, perhaps, “rustic” creations were the joy and accomplishments she found in her worst days. To craft is to set things right in the littlest of ways; no matter how disconnected you feel, you can still fold a tiny paper star, and that’s not nothing.
In Easy Crafts for the Insane, crafting tutorials serve as the backdrop of a life dissolved, then glued back together. Surprising, humane, and utterly unforgettable, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the unexpected, messy coping mechanisms we use to find ourselves again.
Kelly Williams Brown is an author and reporter living in Salem, Ore., with a large loud dog named Eleanor.
She is the author of Easy Crafts for the Insane (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021), Gracious (Rodale, 2017) and Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 535 Easy(ish) Steps (Grand Central, 2013; revised edition, 2018).
She’s also worked as a reporter and columnists for daily newspapers and magazines, an ad copywriter, non-profit communications manager and as a cocktail waitress.
Born in Louisiana, she attended Loyola University New Orleans, and has worked in New Orleans, Hattiesburg, Miss., D.C. and Oregon.
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youarenotsosmart_feed Nov. 24th, 2025 05:04 pm)What is misinformation? How does it differ from disinformation or just plain ‘ole propaganda? How do we protect ourselves from people with nefarious intentions using all of these things to affect our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors? That’s what we discuss in this episode with Matthew Facciani, social scientist and author of Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How it Spreads, and What We Can Do About It.
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From Matthew Facciani’s Book Page:
Reviews of Misguided:
“In this timely and important book, Facciani takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the world of dangerous misinformation and how to best counter it at-scale. If you want to help fight misinformation, read this book!” -Sander van der Linden, author of Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity
“Facciani approaches the misinformation problem from a fresh perspective as a social scientist, explaining how our social networks and our political identities work against us to blind us to false claims. Showing how to combat misinformation through education and media literacy, he paves a path toward building resilience to one of society’s most urgent threats.” -Barbara McQuade, author of Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America
“An essential guide to understanding the bewildering origins of misinformation—including pseudoscience about vaccines—with helpful tools for combating the viral spread of lies.” –Seema Yasmin, author of What the Fact?! Finding the Truth in All the Noise
“Why are we so prone to believing misinformation? Matthew Facciani’s Misguided explains how our identities, networks, and biases shape what we accept as truth, and gives us strategies to stay sharp in an age of misinformation.” – Jay Van Bavel, author of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony
Matthew Facciani is a researcher at The University of Notre Dame in the Computer Science and Engineering Department. He is an interdisciplinary social scientist with a background in neuroscience and psychology and holds a PhD in sociology. His research focuses on media literacy, misinformation, social networks, political polarization, identities, and artificial intelligence. Beyond academia, Matthew is a passionate science communicator, dedicated to making complex social science research accessible to the public. He has written for various media outlets, spoken at national conferences, and hosts Misguided: The Podcast, where he explores how social and psychological forces shape the way we process and consume information. His new book, Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads, and What to Do About It, was recently published by Columbia University Press. Through his research and public engagement, Matthew strives to bridge the gap between academia and everyday conversations about truth, trust, and media literacy.
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