Cognitive Engineering

A beginning is a very delicate time. The transition from one set of leaders to another can be fraught with difficulty. Talking before the US Capitol riots brought this so sharply into focus, we discuss what makes for a smooth handover of power.

In this podcast we discuss the factors that lead to turbulent power transitions and whether we can predict how they will go. We examine historical precedents from monarchical successions, enforced regime changes and democratic handovers, and question whether leaders are more or less vulnerable just after they have ascended to the throne. This podcast was recorded prior to the unruly invasion of the US Capitol Building - how accurate were our predictions regarding whether Donald Trump would attend Joe Biden's inauguration?

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• List of UK Prime Ministers
• List of Italian Prime Ministers
• No evidence of a significant 4-year cycle in US crime

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

If you like wasting your time on pointless activities, join us as we talk to Chris Lear from the Magpie Crossword Magazine and discuss why humans enjoy puzzles.

In this podcast, we explore the weird and wonderful world of the cryptic crossword community. We also try to solve the puzzle of why we willingly devote time and energy to tasks which are deliberately designed to be difficult and have no obvious benefits. Finally, you can try your hand at answering one of our guest’s fiendish clues. Answers on a postcard to Aleph Insights.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Magpie Crossword Magazine
• Categories of insight
• Need for Cognition
• Need for Cognition and the Big 5
• SPOILER ALERT: Chris Lear gives an example clue in this episode. Want to check the answer after you have listened? Scroll to the bottom of these notes.

. . . . Answer to Chris Lear's example clue:

‘Taylor’s hit a brown-to-black clearance?’. The answer to this is ‘TWENTY-TWO’, and the clue is in a particular cryptic form known as the ‘double definition’. In this case, the two definitions are ‘Taylor’s hit’ and ‘a brown-to-black clearance’. The first definition refers to Taylor Swift’s 2012 hit ‘22’, and the second is the score for a brown-to-black clearance in snooker. What makes this a great clue is the consistency of the ‘surface reading’ (what it looks like the clue means), which seems to refer to the 1980s snooker legend Dennis Taylor. In addition, the clue has several components that might mislead a cryptic crossword fan - e.g. the word ‘hit’ which could indicate an anagram, the word ‘black’ which often means the letter ‘b’, and the word ‘Taylor’ which might look like an alternative spelling for ‘tailor’, which again could indicate an anagram.

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

We discuss whether rivalries spur us on to ever greater achievements or distract us with unnecessary competition. Is a nemesis necessary in order to define our success, or do they simply lure us to the edge of the Reichenbach Falls? Join us as we plunge headlong into the debate.

In this podcast we examine the impact of national and ideological rivalries, attempting to determine whether fierce competition with an outside agency makes societies more or less productive. We look at historical case studies such as the Cold War, but also investigate the influence of personal rivalries on individual achievements, asking whether bearing a grudge really makes a difference.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Gallup’s favourability ratings
• ‘Rivalries can improve individual athletic performance’
• Measuring political rivalry and estimating its effect on economic growth
• Melman: ‘The United States has been transformed into a second-rate industrial economy’ by the arms race.

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

What’s it like to celebrate Christmas in the southern hemisphere? Are there things about Christmas that don’t make sense in summer?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Was Jesus born on 25 December?
• Average monthly temperature of cities
• Things to do in Wichita at Christmas

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

Passwords have become an integral part of our everyday lives, keeping our money, our data and our secrets safe. But what makes a good one, or a bad one for that matter? Click, friend, and enter.

In this podcast we look at how hackers exploit passwords and analyse the common themes that make them easy to hack. We also consider whether having password restrictions (e.g. mandating password length or character requirements) may actually be doing more harm than good. Finally, we explore how passwords and security might evolve in the future as authentication technologies advance.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

World’s worst passwords https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/news/worst-passwords-2020 8 6 reasons biometrics are bad authenticators https://www.csoonline.com/article/3330695/6-reasons-biometrics-are-bad-authenticators-and-1-acceptable-use.html Have I been pwned? https://haveibeenpwned.com/ Breached websites: https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites Why 2FA SMS is a bad idea

• https://blog.sucuri.net/2020/01/why-2fa-sms-is-a-bad-idea.html
• PIN number analysis
• Password Cracking
• Yildirim and Mackie (2019), Encouraging users to improve password security and memorability
• Password Managers
• XKCD

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

In response to a world threatened by automation, we seem to be flocking to artisanal products. But how much human skill is actually involved in their making, and do we really care? Sit back and listen to our sustainable, homemade podcast on the topic.

In this podcast we look at the rise in sales of artisanal products and explore the extent to which they are true to the meaning of the term. We also investigate the use of other buzzwords in marketing and attempt to understand what they indicate about consumer decision-making, generational divides and our perceptions of quality.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The artisanal tone of voice in marketing
• Has ‘artisan’ become meaningless?
• ‘Premium mediocre’
• Tesco’s fictional farms
• Crafty marketing
• The Harris Poll
• Artisan sales soar as consumers invest in quality

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

We review our predictions about the US Presidential Election with the benefit of hindsight, and discover how it is that Fraser can now afford a double bass.

This podcast comprises two elements. The first part is our pre-election forecasts made back in September. The second part is a discussion of those forecasts after the results were known, exploring our original beliefs at the time and how our perception of them changed once we knew the outcome. We discuss the psychology of predictions and Fraser explains how he put his money where his mouth wasn’t.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Brier Score
• Murphy Decomposition

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

Time is defined by its measurement, and yet our system for counting something so fundamental has been allowed to develop haphazardly over the ages. We consider whether it’s time for a change.

In this podcast we discuss how our system for time-keeping evolved through history, what additional problems are generated by measuring time, and whether our current system is fit for purpose. We also consider whether there are any alternative systems that might do a better job.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• History of our current timekeeping system
• How Europeans spend their time
• Nystrom’s ‘Tonal System’

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

Which is better, urban splendour or bucolic majesty? Our guest this week, Mikey Lear, provides a passionate defence of country living in the face of sniping from our very own metropolitan elite.

This podcast looks at the data relating to a range of outcomes for urban versus rural populations, considers why people move to the city and tries to methodically measure the relative benefits. It also examines the different characteristics of those living in both environments.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Tony Champion on commuting patterns
• Rural v urban health
• Rural v urban economy
• Are cities good or bad for the environment?
• Are cities back?
• Urban and rural population in the UK
• Urban and rural personality evidence
• British attitudes to cities

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

Ever wondered how we measure the amount of terrorism? We talk to Jerry Smith from CHC Global, who explains how the Global Terrorism Database has been keeping track of terrorist events all around the world for 50 years.

This podcast covers the painstaking process of collecting structured information about terrorism and considers how you standardise the measurement of something so chaotic and destructive. It explores how the Global Terrorism Database goes about collecting information, categorising events and maintaining data quality to create one of our favourite datasets.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The Global Terrorism Database
• CHC Global
• Analysis of terrorist event frequency

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