Cognitive Engineering

Following Gavin Williamson’s sacking from Theresa May’s cabinet, we discuss the indicators of whether or not someone is telling the truth.

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Rogers et al (2017), Artful Paltering (
• Serota et al (2010), The Prevalence of Lying in America (
• Hall et al (2010), Strategic Misrepresentation in Online Dating (
• DePaulo (2004), The Many Faces of Lies (
• Jerrim et al (2019), Bullshitters: Who Are They and What Do We Know about Their Lives? (
• Wiseman et al (2012), The Eyes Don’t Have It (
• Mann et al (2012), Windows to the Soul? (
• Aamodt and Custer (2006), Who Can Best Catch a Liar? (
• American Psychological Association, The Truth about Lie Detectors (
• Ten Brinke et al, Telling Lies in Scarce Environments (

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

David Cameron famously promised ‘stability and strong Government’ if he won the 2015 general election. How can we minimise our chances of our statements being undermined by subsequent events?

Great Temple at Abu Simbel by youssef_alam via Wikipedia

Things mentioned in this podcast:

• David Cameron’s famous tweet
• Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’
• Irony

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

As London’s black cabs move inexorably towards extinction, we ponder whether the progress of civilisation is merely illusory.

Things mentioned in this podcast

• ‘Meditations on Moloch’ from Slate Star Codex
• The Tragedy of the Commons
• Ronald Coast, ‘The Problem of Social Cost’

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

David Simoes-Brown, CEO of 100%Open, tells us why we should trust our feelings when it comes to important decisions.

Things mentioned in this podcast

• David Simoes-Brown, CEO of 100%Open
• Categorising basic emotions

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

When do you grow up? Is there a cut off age to childhood or are we constantly growing up?

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Commons’s Model of Hierarchical Complexity
• The Seven Ages of Man
• David Finkelhore

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

What happens when algorithms learn to be biased? What does that even mean? We talk to special guest Dr Jess Whittlestone from the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence about whether algorithmic bias is something to worry about, and whether anything can be done about it?

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Danks and London (2017): A taxonomy of types and sources of algorithmic bias

Jess Whittlestone (https://jesswhittlestone.com/), and at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence - http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/network/jess-whittlestone/ The Equality Act 2010 - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

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

Should transgender women be allowed to compete in women’s sports? Is it unfair on cis women if they do? Is it unfair on trans women if they can’t? Is there a coherent logic to the partitioning of sporting events?

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Martina Navratilova’s criticism of transgender women in sport
• Sharron Davies’ criticism of transgender women in sport
• The Heraean Games
• Eligible impairments for paralympic participation

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

Understanding how other people are going to behave is a key element of analysis and forecasting. But professional actors do this all the time. We talk to special guest Edmund Kingsley to find out what insights the acting trade can offer for analysts.

Things mentioned in this podcast

• A summary of attribution biases.
• Acting Emotions by Elly Konjin
• Ed Kingsley on Spotlight
• @KingsleyEdmund on Twitter

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 the point of tidying up? It’s just moving stuff from one place to another. But does it offer cognitive and health benefits, and if so why?

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Tidiness guru Marie Kondo
• McMains and Kastner (2011): clutter makes concentration harder
• Sitton (1984): we are more positive about people whose desks are messy
• Report about a study showing correlation between tidiness and health outcomes
• Saxbi and Repetti (2010): correlation between perceived clutter at home and mental health
• Report of a survey showing relationship between tidiness behaviour and sleep

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

Is the slow creep of Americanisms into the British vernacular a pernicious assault on our linguistic heritage, or should we just chill?

Things mentioned in this podcast

• Goncalves etc al (2018) on the Americanisation of English
• Britishisms in US English
• Differences in US and English Harry Potter editions

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