Cognitive Engineering

Nowadays it is almost a cliché to say that content is king. Content seems to have become a ubiquitous catchall term for anything and everything that populates internet web pages. But does the modern usage of content devalue creativity or does it simply draw attention to the vast amount of information stored on the internet?

In this week’s episode, we discuss content. We unpack the Web 2.0 movement, legacy vs new media, genetics and large language models. Finally, we share our favourite content containers and pieces of content.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• “Content is King” — Essay by Bill Gates 1996
• Understanding the Cost of Packaging
• The Drum: 'Content' is a terrible term. Please stop using it.
• Web 2.0

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 just us, or does it increasingly feel like Britain is going to hell in a handbasket? We have industrial strikes, a cost of living and energy crisis, high inflation, political instability, perennial problems with the European Union and widespread cultural malaise. But is it true that the UK finds itself in an interminable decline or is it merely a figment of our collective imagination?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss declinism. We delve into economic data, compare the state of the nation today compared to the 1980s and discuss the British Empire, Netflix, relative decline and evolution. Finally, we share the things we are optimistic about for the future.

In this week’s podcast, we discuss declinism. We delve into economic data, compare the state of the nation today compared to the 1980s and discuss the British Empire, Netflix, relative decline and evolution. Finally, we share the things we are optimistic about for the future.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The illusion of moral decline
• Stagnation nation: how can Britain pull itself out of its economic decline?
• Britain is much worse off than it understands
• Headlines claim Britain is declining. They aren’t new — but are wrong.
• The optimism gap
• Human development index

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

As summer arrives there is change in the air. We are ready to take on the day, plunge into new hobbies or revive old ones and explore the world around us. But do you need to live through winter to properly experience summer? Is it the case that sunny weather is objectively better? What is the perfect weather or is there no such thing?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss optimal weather. We share our experiences in the extremities of temperature, discuss data on the ideal temperature for humans, evolution and natural selection, British weather and construal level theory. Finally, we share some things we like about bad weather.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Climate and Happiness
• Hate The Cold? These Destinations Have Never Even Seen Snow
• Bad Weather is Good for You

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

Some might say that society is built on rules. Laws set by governments, rules set by individuals and collective codes of behaviour that we are all expected to follow. But are there two types of people: those that follow the rules and those that make exceptions? How do we define a rule and what makes an exception?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss rules and exceptions. We discuss motorways, religion, the slippery slope, covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the psychology of rule setting, herd mentality, “the bubble” in poker and the Rule of Law Index. Finally we share our favourite arbitrary rules that have been imposed upon us.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Slippery Slope
• Doctrine of Precedent in English Legal System
• Herd Mentality

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

One of the many criticisms levelled against a show like Jerry Springer is that the controversy was inauthentic and manufactured in order to drive up ratings. But why do we worry about whether fiction is true or not? Should we just stop caring and enjoy it for what it is?

In this week’s episode, we discuss truth and fiction. We speak about New Journalism, postmodernism, open-world computer games, historiography, the coconut effect, Nick Bostrom’s simulation hypothesis, histrionic personality disorder and the nature of reality. Finally we share our favourite fictional media that are based on a true story.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Jerry Springer: Era-defining TV host dies aged 79
• Tops in Tele-Trash : ‘Springer’ worst stinker on TV guide list
• "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer
• The Coconut Effect
• Aluminum Christmas Trees
• Histrionic Personality Disorder

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

Why does it seem like civilisations - sometimes great distances apart - made similar discoveries at almost exactly the same time? Whether it’s the invention of the wheel, agriculture or early forms of writing, there seem to be parallels everywhere you look. Does it provide evidence for a kind of cultural clock that moves civilisations towards a converged form of progress?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss ancient civilisations and progress. We take a closer look at convergent evolution, the Andaman Islands, Fermi paradox, AI, aliens and the Arecibo message and ponder if globalisation ended this phenomenon. Finally, we share our favourite moments of contact between different civilisations.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The Aztecs - A Clash of Worlds
• Sid Meier’s Civilization Advances Chart
• Cradle of Civilization
• Neuroscience, Evolution and the Sapient Paradox: The Factuality of Value and of the Sacred
• Aztec Technology

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

Why does it always seem like it’s the people who move to the village that complain about the church bells? Or it is those that move next to a pub that are irritated by noise? It seems to indicate that there is an optimal way to live harmoniously. But how does the idea of neighbourliness work and what does it tell us about the nature of society?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss noisy neighbours. Is annoying your neighbour a tale as old as time or is it a relatively recent phenomenon? We discuss trap and drill music, Horst-Wessel-Lied, whistling, Isaiah Berlin, Coase theorem, intentional communities, Nozick’s framework for utopia and cohousing. Finally, we share when we’ve been annoying neighbours and when we’ve been most annoyed.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Classical musician forced out of London flat after noise complaints
• The Independent Society of Musicians
• Forager, Farmer Morals
• Adult ADHD: How to Succeed as a Hunter in a Farmer's World
• Robert Nozick’s Political Philosophy

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 the type of person that writes carefully considered and elaborate emails? Or are you the type of emailer that responds with one brief unstructured sentence? Whichever it is, emailing has made a significant impact on modern forms of interaction. But has it led us into a world that is void of thoughtful communication?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss email. We discuss the origins of email, Google Wave, Whatsapp functionality and the postal service. Finally, we share the communications technologies of the past we wish were still with us.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• Henry VIII’s love letters to Anne Boleyn
• Google Wave
• History of Email

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

We can all think of situations where a small minority is seen to be ruining it for the rest of us. Whether it’s someone littering or people talking loudly in a cinema, there seem to be endless examples of a small number of people creating a disproportionately large imposition on others. But what can we put this effect down to and what should we do about it?

In this week’s episode, we discuss the annoying few. We unpack the Pareto principle, personality types and analyse rates of crime in New York. We explore why phenomena we tend to think of as evenly distributed turn out to be highly concentrated and finally, we share moments when we were part of the annoying minority ourselves

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• The Pareto Principle
• A Tiny Number of Shoplifters
• The Cart Narcs
• Are we the baddies?

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

In a world awash with influencers and social media personalities, sharing achievements with large numbers of people over the internet is now commonplace. But is there a line between celebrating success and blatant bragging? Are there times when bragging is necessary and what are some strategies for effective bragging?

In this week’s podcast, we discuss bragging. We construct a working definition of bragging, Peter presents his taxonomy for types of bragging and we discuss the idea of humble bragging and the relationship between bragging and status. Finally, we share some of our most recent brags and the worst braggers we ever knew.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

• TikTok star issues tearful apology after revealing she owns her own home aged 21
• Bragging, Humblebragging & Gratitude: Do You Know the Difference?
• Humblebrag subreddit
• You Call It “Self-Exuberance”; I Call It “Bragging”: Miscalibrated Predictions of Emotional Responses to Self-Promotion
• The Braggart's Dilemma: On the Social Rewards and Penalties of Advertising Prosocial Behavior

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