Cognitive Engineering

Does inequality actually matter? If it does, why? What problems does it cause? Is it self fulfilling? Is our objection to it a moral one, or is there there rational economic issues with it?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Is there really more inequality?
• Political freedom and inequality
• Is inequality actually a problem?
• Predictive factors for happiness
• Mises’ defence of inequality
• How economic inequality harms societies | Richard Wilkinson
• UK Inequality

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

Are you a cat or a dog person? Which is best?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Moral Foundations Theory
• PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report
• Who’s Smarter: Cats or Dogs? Psychology Today
• Cats are just as loyal as dogs
• Dogs share food

Will your dog or cat eat you when you die? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/06/pets-dogs-cats-eat-dead-owners-forensics-science/

• Cat social behaviour
• Evidence of dog altruism

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]

What does it mean to be out of touch? Why do we expect our leaders to be in tune with everyday people and their concerns?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Influence of class on attitudes
• Effect of poverty on decision-making
• Principle Skinner AmI Out Of Touch meme.
• FONK
• Nomophobia

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

Is it wrong to do amoral things in computer games? Is it ok to bully people as a goose in Untitled Goose Game?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Untitled Goose Game
• Ethics in the Virtual World by Garry Young

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 animal sounds vary between languages?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Onomatopoeia in different languages
• Idiophones
• Disentangling canid howls across multiple species and subspecies: Structure in a complex communication channel
• Ylvis - What Does The Fox Say?

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

Assuming we can’t blame a virus for its own evolutionary success, just whose fault is it when we catch something?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Data on childhood vaccination in England
• The law on transmission of STDs
• The NYT on the ethics of infection
• Contagiousness v deadliness from Information is Beautiful

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

Can you be forever young or wise beyond your years? Is age a justifiable way of categorising people?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Ages of Man’
• Peak age in different sports
• Cognitive changes with age
• When people get married
• When people have children
• Do we become more conservative as we age?
• Average age of first-time buyers
• WaPo on how happiness changes with age

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

Peter, Nick and Fraser mansplain the adoption of new vocabulary for any wordies out there - totes adorbs.

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Plotkin paper on information theory and language evolution
• Bentz et al on entropy across different languages
• Linguistic determinism

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

Should we spend time worrying about the risk of freak accidents?

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• Theo Campbell’s accident
• National Statistics death data
• Micromorts infographic
• What people actually worry about

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