Cognitive Engineering

You don’t see any job listings for archers, spinners or falconers on LinkedIn these days, yet these trades were once thriving professions performed by ordinary people. Many of these jobs only survive through historical reenactment at fairs and festivals, which invites the question: in hundreds of years from now, which jobs of today will be regarded as cultural heritage for future reenactors?

This week, we discuss heritage jobs of the future. In typical fashion, we delve into the data and lay down hypotheses for why some jobs may be more appealing to reenact than others. We present a framework for how likely a job is to be reenacted in the future, debate which jobs of today are ripe for reenactment and ask what constitutes a classic heritage job in the first place. Finally, we reveal the jobs we would most like to reenact ourselves.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Heritage Open Days in England
• Kentwell Hall

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Feed the cat, take the bins out, listen to this podcast. From the timeless paper and pen to the more recent digital calendar or kanban board, to-do lists - whatever their form - are an attempt to remove chaos and inertia from our lives. But do they work?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss the efficacy of to-do lists. We try to ascertain whether there is an optimal number of things that should go on a to-do list, delve into the great irony that to-do lists are rarely ever completed and attempt to discover if there is something fundamental about writing lists in the first place. We discuss the birth of early forms of writing, the psychological phenomenon known as the Zeigarnik effect and why studies show that producing a to-do list may bring you closer to achieving your goals. Finally, we disclose some of the things we just can’t seem to cross off our own to-do lists.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The Zeigarnik Effect
• The Cognitive Effect of Making Plans
• Going on Holiday? Leave the ‘To Do’ List at Home
• The Psychology of the To-Do List – Why Your Brain Loves Ordered Tasks

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

We take for granted the speed, reliability and ubiquity of today's internet, but it wasn't ever thus. Do you remember AltaVista, the ZX Spectrum or the iconic tones of a dialup modem? What about the absurdly long wait times to download an image or to log in to an internet chat room? We indulge our nostalgia to gain insights into the evolution of one of humankind's most important inventions.

In this week’s podcast, we look back on the early years of the internet. What will future historians write about the internet? What inspired its creation and who were the key figures and innovators in its design? We assess the capacities and limitations of the primitive internet, reveal where you are likely to find the next internet innovation and suggest industries and sectors that have been forever changed by its arrival. Finally, we reminisce about moments when we realised the age of the internet had finally dawned.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• I Bought a Million Dollar Piece of Internet History
• History of Technology
• Wired UK
• CERN
• From Arpanet to the Internet

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Why do some small things give us so much pleasure? Tidying up the desk, putting on new socks or changing the washing-up sponge, all seemingly insignificant and yet capable of providing us with an immense sense of joy and satisfaction.

In this week’s podcast, we discuss pleasure. We ask why we routinely undervalue the things from which we derive pleasure, if we spend too much money on big things and not enough on small things, and whether the removal of pain is the same thing as the manifestation of pleasure. Nick also outlines his taxonomy of pleasure generation. Finally, we discuss the most prominent predictors of happiness and share our own memories of sheer bliss.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The Sun surveys Britons to find the top fifty ‘simple pleasures’
• What correlates with happiness and life satisfaction?
• The World Happiness Report
• What government interventions improve wellbeing?
• Velten et al. (2018): Lifestyle Choices and Mental Health

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Greatness is a tricky subject: it is difficult to pin down yet we know it when we see it. In this week’s podcast, we mark the passing of technology pioneer and Aleph Insights hero Sir Clive Sinclair by discussing what makes greatness.

We discuss objectivity versus subjectivity: can we simply call someone great or is it a title for which unspoken, yet consistent criteria exist? We also look at whether greatness is historically contingent, reliant on being in the right place at the right time, but also whether greatness can be revoked because of changing social mores and revisionary analysis. We address the inherent problem of trying to measure greatness through counterfactuals and examine formal systems that seek to institutionalise the conferment of greatness. Finally, Nick shares his brush with the late Sir Clive and we debate our personal heroes and why we regard them as great figures.

• Sir Clive Sinclair
• Nietzsche on Human Greatness
• The 'lone genius' myth: Why even great minds collaborate

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Humans have been on the move since time immemorial. But with the fabled age of discovery well and truly over are there still geographical mysteries left to uncover? Is there an innate human capacity for exploration and what drives our desire to venture into uncharted territory?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss discovery. Is human exploration a metaphysical quest in search of the unknown or is it a process that simply assists technological advancement? We discuss the long history of human migration, some of the quirkier recent human discoveries and ponder the unconquerable vastness of space. We suggest where you are likely to find the next frontier of discovery and consider the daring peregrinations of our ancient ancestors.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Berkner Island
• Sandy Island, New Caledonia
• 65% of Earth Is Unexplored https://sentientmedia.org/earth-is-unexplored/#:~:text=Still%2C%20we've%20only%20mapped,percent%20of%20the%20Earth%20unexplored
• Hypothetical star
• Maybe the age of discovery isn't over just yet. Shortly after this podcast was recorded scientists discovered a new island in Greenland.

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Does being the first to market give you a competitive edge? Is first-mover advantage still the harbinger of success that economic theory suggests? When does being the first mean you might end up finishing last?

In this week’s podcast we discuss first-mover advantage. Now that Amazon have suspended their drone delivery service, will it be easier for others to succeed? We present some of the most significant inventions in recent history and assess how pivotal first-mover advantage was to their success. We evaluate the economic principles of first-mover advantage and Peter unleashes another of his eponymous typologies with the “Coghill Taxonomy of Failure”. Finally, we ask which market is ripe for disruption and Nick announces a novel plan for his own market raid.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Amazon's Drone Deliveries in Doubt
• The Slow Collapse of Amazon’s Drone Delivery Dream
• The Half-Truth of First-Mover Advantage

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Why is it that public spaces, like petrol stations, shopping malls and airports, are depressing and boring? These spaces are extremely useful and functional, but why do they seem to lack any real architectural flair or soul?

This podcast discusses the trade-off between the utility of a building and aesthetics. We examine what factors should influence the design of a building (e.g cost of maintenance, experience of the occupants, etc.) and whether it is possible to strike a balance between architectural style, functionality and cost. Peter also explains the eponymous 'Coghill Hierarchy of Architecture' and we provide examples of buildings that we believe are well-designed and others that should have been left on the technical drawing board.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• A History of the Elephant & Castle
• The Real Concrete Island?
• Reddit: Liminal Space

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

Some fashions come and go quickly, but others move in slower cycles (e.g. the bowler hat). What drives the rate at which given fashions shift, and most importantly, what does this mean for the future of facial hair?

In this podcast, we delve into enduring fashions and try to understand how their cultural context, evolving meaning and basic function might contribute to their longevity. We examine the history of bowler hats, vests and beards to see whether they tell us anything important about elongated fashion life-cycles. Finally, we make our own predictions about the fashion trends of the future. Anna Wintour take note.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Every England World Cup Squad Ever: A complete run down
• The Rise and Fall—and Rise—of Facial Hair
• Facial Hair Throughout the Ages
• Scott Alexander’s ‘barber pole’ model of fashion
• Who Killed Men's Hats?

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]

As the UK continues its withdrawal from Afghanistan and the covid-19 pandemic lingers on, this week we revisit a podcast from March about the effectiveness of governments.

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The Covid pandemic has seen a sharp rise in government spending, and large scale testing and vaccination programmes. Some of these have been successful, while others less so. We look at whether, on balance, governments are an effective mechanism for achieving desirable outcomes.

In this podcast, we explore the rationale for having governments in the first place and consider what activities it is appropriate for them to carry out. We look at what happens when the government gets it wrong and also examine what various data sources say about the relative effectiveness of the private and public sectors.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Chicago School of Economics
• Milton Friedman – Four ways to spend money investorjunkie.com/economics/milto…ys-spend-money/
• Principle-Agent Problem www.investopedia.com/terms/p/princi…%20and%20agent
• Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Good and Bad Government www.visittuscany.com/en/attractions…ad-government/
• PSIRU report summarising some of the evidence www.epsu.org/sites/default/file…ncy%20EN%20fin.pdf
• The effects of bad government www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/…d-government/
• What’s so bad about government anyway fee.org/articles/whats-so-bad…ig-government-anyway/
• What is rent-seeking? corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/…concept,It

For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email [email protected]