On Wisdom

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011.

Episode 5: Wisdom Frontiers (with Dilip Jeste, Barry Schwartz, and Justin Brienza)

Can wisdom live beyond the individual, in the organizations we build, and the technologies we create? In the final episode of our special series, Dilip Jeste, Barry Schwartz, and Justin Brienza join Igor and Charles to explore the frontiers of wisdom research, from neuroscience to the design of wiser institutions. Dilip takes us inside the brain systems involved in empathy, emotion regulation, and perspective-taking, while explaining why measuring wisdom remains such a challenge. Barry turns to the organizations we spend our lives in, revealing how even well-intentioned people can make poor judgments when the culture around them gets in the way, and why better decisions depend on creating environments where people can learn from their mistakes. Justin asks how we might build wisdom into institutions themselves, from red-teaming and premortems to incentives that encourage dissent, stewardship, and collective responsibility. The series arrives at one final question: if we can build machines that are increasingly intelligent, what would it mean to make them wise?

Special Guests: Barry Schwartz, Dilip Jeste, and Justin Brienza.

Links:

• Barry Schwartz: Our loss of wisdom | TED Talk

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011.

Episode 4: Interventions and Training (with Judith Glück, Ethan Kross, and Kristján Kristjánsson)

Can we actually learn to be wiser? Judith Glück, Ethan Kross, and Kristján Kristjánsson join Igor and Charles to explore what it takes to develop better judgment, and why getting older or going through difficult experiences doesn't necessarily make us wiser. Judith explains why even people with the right knowledge and reasoning skills can struggle to use them when emotions take over, Ethan reveals how stepping back from our own problems can help us see them in a new light, and Kristján explores the ancient idea of practical wisdom, why it matters for moral development, and how it might be cultivated. Igor and Charles reflect on why experience alone isn't enough, and what it takes to turn difficult situations into opportunities for wiser judgment. But can we take what we know about individual wisdom and use it to build wiser organizations and societies?

Special Guests: Ethan Kross, Judith Glück, and Kristján Kristjánsson.

Links:

• Navigating the Unknown: The Sociocultural and Metacognitive Architecture of Wisdom (accepted) | Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 78 - Igor Grossmann and Nic M. Weststrate

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011.

Episode 3: Measuring Wisdom (with Judith Glück, Monika Ardelt, and Eranda Jayawickreme)

Can we actually measure wisdom, or are we just measuring how wise people think they are? Judith Glück, Monika Ardelt, and Eranda Jayawickreme join Igor and Charles to explore what happens when we try to turn wisdom into something we can quantify. Judith reveals the surprising differences between questionnaires, performance tests, and assessments of people in real situations, Monika makes the case that wisdom involves a stable quality of character built around reflection, cognition and compassion, and Eranda asks whether we might be better off thinking of traits as patterns of behaviour that change from one situation to another. Along the way, Igor and Charles confront a fundamental question about what a wisdom score is actually telling us, and discover that the answer may be less about choosing between traits and states than understanding how they fit together. But if wisdom is a pattern of states, can we change that pattern?

Special Guests: Eranda Jayawickreme, Judith Glück, and Monika Ardelt.

Links:

• Navigating the Unknown: The Sociocultural and Metacognitive Architecture of Wisdom (accepted) | Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 78 - Igor Grossmann and Nic M. Weststrate

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011.

Episode 2: Metacognition and Judgment (with Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello)

Is thinking harder always the key to making better decisions, or can it sometimes make things worse? Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello join Igor and Charles to explore what happens when we start thinking about our own thinking. Gord reveals why intelligence and rationality aren't the same thing, and why simply thinking more isn't necessarily the answer, Steve takes us inside the machinery that helps us monitor and regulate our decisions, and Thomas explores what intellectual humility is, how we might recognize it, and why being confident about our own competence can be so misleading. Along the way, Igor and Charles uncover a three-part cycle at the heart of wise judgment: seeking input, resolving conflicts, and monitoring what happens next. So what does it take to become better at knowing what we know, and what we don't?

Special Guests: Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello.

Links:

• Navigating the Unknown: The Sociocultural and Metacognitive Architecture of Wisdom (accepted) | Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 78 - Igor Grossmann and Nic M. Weststrate

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011.

Episode 1: Exemplars and Narratives (with Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul)

When we face life challenges, where do our ideas about wise judgment, or even wisdom writ large come from, and how do they shape the way we work through such challenges and live thereafter? Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul join Igor and Charles to explore the stories, proverbs, and exemplars we inherit, and what happens when they don't quite fit the situation in front of us. Cristine reveals why the ideas that stick with us aren't necessarily the ones that are true, Dan explores how the stories we tell about ourselves can help us navigate uncertainty (or trap us in the wrong story), and Laurie asks who (or what) is doing the choosing, if we can’t know in advance how a life-changing decision will transform us?

Special Guests: Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul.

Links:

• Navigating the Unknown: The Sociocultural and Metacognitive Architecture of Wisdom (accepted) | Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 78 - Igor Grossmann and Nic M. Weststrate

From 28th September

What can insights from the psychology of technology teach us about wisdom in the age of AI? In this special follow-up episode, Igor and Charles are joined by Steve Rathje to explore how classic ideas like the Turing Test hold up now that AI can talk compellingly about human wisdom. Steve unpacks what today’s generative models are actually capable of, Igor is intrigued by how quickly the line between human and machine reasoning seems to be blurring, and Charles realises that telling human insight from machine insight isn’t nearly as straightforward as he'd hoped. The trio also reveal the results of our listener poll — who sounded the wisest, and was the audience able to spot the AI? Welcome to Episode 67.

Special Guest: Steve Rathje.

Links:

• Steve Rathje's Site:

What happens when we ask our own fantastic listeners — and AI — what it means to live wisely? In this episode, Igor and Charles hand the mic to members of the On Wisdom audience to hear their answers to the big questions usually reserved for scientists and philosophers. But there’s a twist: one set of responses was provided by AI. We invite you to vote on who gave the wisest answers — and to guess which one wasn’t human. Igor is surprised by just how insightful the answers from the regular folk (compared to experts) turn out to be, while Charles wonders if the wisest one may not be human at all? Can you pass the Wisdom Turing Test? Welcome to Episode 66.

Link to Listener Poll here

Links:

• Listener Poll | On Wisdom Podcast: The Wisdom Turing Test (Episode 66)

Is religious belief a form of make-believe — and if so, what deeper truths might we be acting out? Neil Van Leeuwen joins Igor and Charles to explore the psychological roots of religion, the nature of belief, and how sacred values shape group identity. Igor reflects on the blurring line between religious and political convictions, Neil argues that religious credence operates more like imaginative play than factual belief, and Charles considers whether conspiracy theories might be filling the same social and psychological roles. Welcome to Episode 65.

Special Guest: Neil Van Leeuwen.

Links:

• Neil Van Leeuwen' site | Florida State University

Are your choices really your own — or are they quietly shaped by the people around you? Nicholas Christakis joins Igor and Charles to reveal the hidden power of social networks, from the surprising spread of kindness and cooperation to the ripple effects that shape our health, decisions, and even our wisdom. Igor uncovers the invisible social forces influencing our daily lives, Nicholas shares how our deep-rooted instincts for love, friendship, and teaching have shaped human civilization, and Charles considers how tapping into these instincts could help us build stronger, wiser communities. Welcome to Episode 64.

Special Guest: Nicholas Christakis.

Links:

• Human Nature Lab | Yale University