Cognitive Engineering

What is more virtuous, delivering a pizza or administering a Covid test? As we begin to end lockdown, we discuss who was most helpful during this difficult period.

In this podcast, we examine how data can be used to assess the societal value of different jobs. We look at the Covid risk exposure of different roles, consider whether salary is a good indicator of value, and explore where duty ends and altruism begins. Finally, we ask whether heroism can ever truly be measured.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Death rates by occupation (National Statistics)
• Wages by occupation (National Statistics)

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

What3words provides its users with an easy way of referring to any geographic location, but nobody knows how the three word reference is generated. Is this the right approach or should all standards be open?

This podcast looks at how open and closed standards work, investigates the pros and cons of both and considers their economic consequences. We explore existing examples of open and closed standards and delve into the relative levels of control and investment value that both models offer. We also look at the rights of users, such as the right to repair.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• What 3 Words
• Why bother with What Three Words?
• Vendor lock-in
• Prisoner’s Dilemma https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/prisoners-dilemma.asp#:~:text=The%20prisoner's%20dilemma%20is%20a,expense%20of%20the%20other%20participant.
• Right to repair
• A list of format wars

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

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
• Principle-Agent Problem
• Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Good and Bad Government
• PSIRU report summarising some of the evidence
• The effects of bad government
• What’s so bad about government anyway
• What is rent-seeking?

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

Some government ministers seem to constantly court controversy, while others manage to fly smoothly under the incompetence radar. Is this down to luck or judgement, and what is it realistic to expect from our politicians?

In this podcast, we examine ministerial accountability using Gavin Williamson as a case study. We consider whether it is realistic to expect a government minister to be infallible, and if so what level of fallibility is acceptable. We also delve into concepts of ministerial responsibility and honour, and try to understand when something is a minister’s fault.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The Crichel Down Affair
• List of political scandals in the United Kingdom
• Institute for Government chart of ministerial resignations
• Gordon Brown - Taking Responsibility

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

Quite aside from a pandemic, a brewing environmental catastrophe and a highly disruptive technological revolution, is the trend for protein shakes the real sign that we have moved into a dystopian nightmare?

We look at what constitutes a dystopia, how you can categorise different types of dystopia and why we conceive of them in the first place. We also attempt to measure how close we are to dystopia at the moment and explore whether we would be able to spot its arrival. Finally, we consider if there is such a thing as a good dystopia.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Are we living in a dystopia?
• Darren Allen’s ‘four kinds of dystopia’
• TV Tropes - dystopia
• British Social Attitudes
• The Economist - Global democracy has another bad year

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

Nasty, brutish and short or the Garden of Eden? We explore the Return to Monke meme and ask whether we are right to yearn for a more primitive lifestyle.

In this podcast, we examine our origins as hunter-gatherers and explore whether things were better or worse before we became civilised. We look at food scarcity, environmental damage, child mortality rates and a whole host of other fun stuff. We also address the morality of primitivism and consider what would actually happen if we all tried to Return to Monke.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Know Your Meme: Return to Monke
• The Unabomber manifesto: Industrial society and its future
• Life expectancy in hunter-gatherers
• Are hunter-gatherers the happiest humans to inhabit earth?
• Uncontacted tribes: What do we know about the world's 100 hidden communities?
• Holocene calendar

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

Some art forms seem to have passed their creative peak, no longer acting as an outlet for human ingenuity and innovation. But how do we know that they are truly moribund and not just having a bit of a rest?

In this podcast we look at art forms that appear to have stopped generating genuinely novel work, and see if there are any broader lessons we can draw regarding their life cycles. We also consider whether some art forms are better suited to longevity than others. Finally, we discuss the concept of a golden era and wonder which heydays would have been the most fun to have lived through.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The 32 Most Iconic Poems in the English Language

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

As Donald Trump’s impeachment trial continues, we take a dispassionate and analytical look at his personality, motivations and leadership model with guest psychologist, Susie Ballentyne.

In this podcast we try to deconstruct the leadership style and behaviour of Donald Trump, asking what made him so different from many of his predecessors. We look at Trump’s background and trajectory as a leader and try to understand how it shaped his Presidency, as well as analysing his world view and his approach to consensus and conflict. Finally, we look at the links between narcissism and popularity.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The mind of Donald Trump
• Politifact - Donald Trump’s Scorecard
• The real reason Donald Trump lies
• Entrepreneurial personalities in political leadership

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

What is a show-off and are we right to be irritated by those who display certain types of skills? Be warned, various swear words are analysed in this podcast for their role in categorising annoying people.

This podcast considers what constitutes a useful talent, and whether overtly displaying our abilities is necessarily pretentious or ostentatious, and therefore worthy of ire. We analyse both the reason we feel that a show off is annoying and the reason that somebody might show off in the first place. Finally, we delve into the use of rude words to describe irritating people and determine whether they represent a useful taxonomy of human behaviours.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James
• Attempts to define the douchebag
• Prestige v Dominance, according to Robin Hanson

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

In the wake of a relatively successful British vaccination programme, we ask what it is to be proud and whether we have any right to bask in the glory of others’ achievements.

In this podcast we try to define pride, characterise its emotional hue and determine whether it is good or bad. We look at the things we feel proud of (whether individual or group achievements) and try to understand what underlying factors drive pride. Finally, we consider how pride affects decision-making. Quite a good podcast, even if we do say ourselves.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• British diplomat saves student
• Britain is a ‘much better country’ than France, Belgium and the US
• Survey data on nationalism
• Sports fans have higher self-esteem

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