David and Tamler discuss famous 'split brain' experiments pioneered by Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga. What happens when you cut off the main line of communication between the left and right hemispheres of our brain? Why under certain conditions do the the left and right brains seem like they have different abilities and desires? What does this tell us about the 'self'? Do we have two consciousnesses, but only that can speak? Does the left brain bully the right brain? Are we all just a bundle of different consciousnesses with their own agendas? Thanks to our Patreon supporters for suggesting and voting for this fascinating topic!

Plus, physicists may be able to determine whether we're living in a computer simulation – but is it too dangerous to try to find out?

Sponsored By:

• GiveWell: This holiday season, open your heart to those in need, and consider donating through Givewell.org. Givewell.org is an organization that cares about finding the most effective charities in the world, so that you can make each charitable dollar work as hard as possible. And for our listeners who are first time donors, Givewell.org will match your donation (up to $1,000). Promo Code: Verybadwizards
• Outlier.Org: Enrich your mind and earn college credits with one of the new courses from Outlier.Org. From the co-founders of MasterClass, Outlier.Org brings you beautifully crafted and filmed courses taught by some of the top professors in the world. Spaces are limited, so sign up today for classes beginning in January 2020.

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Opinion | Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let's Not Find Out - The New York Times
• Physicists find we're not living in a computer simulation | Cosmos
• Nagel, T. (1971). Brain bisection and the unity of consciousness. /Synthese/, /22/(3), 396-413.
• CGP Grey video - You Are Two
• Split brains - Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Gazzaniga, M. S. (1995). Principles of human brain organization derived from split-brain studies. /Neuron/, /14/(2), 217-228.
• Split brain: divided perception but undivided consciousness | Brain | Oxford Academic
• Interaction in isolation: 50 years of insights from split-brain research | Brain | Oxford Academic
• Dennett, D. C. (2014). The self as the center of narrative gravity. In /Self and consciousness/ (pp. 111-123). Psychology Press.

We try (with varying success) to wrap our heads around Thomas Nagel's classic article "What is it Like to be a Bat?" Does science have the tools to give us a theory of consciousness or is that project doomed from the outset? Why do reductionist or functionalist explanations seem so unsatisfying? Is the problem that consciousness is subjective, or is it something about the nature of conscious experience itself? Is this ultimately an epistemological or metaphysical question? What are we talking about? Do we even know anymore?

Plus, the return of Mr. Robot! We talk about the big new mystery at the heart of the new season.

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Mr. Robot - Season 4 - IMDb
• Nagel, T. (1974). What is it like to be a bat? The Philosophical Review, 83, 435-450. [pdf]
• What Is it Like to Be a Bat? - Wikipedia
• Mortal Questions by Thomas Nagel

Is character destiny, or can fluky decisions or tiny shifts in weather patterns fundamentally change who we are? Does the existence or non-existence of alternate universes have any bearing on freedom and responsibility? David and Tamler conclude their discussion of Ted Chiang's "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" along with another very short piece by Chiang called "What's Expected of Us" that was first published in Nature.

Plus, do you have low likability in the workplace? It could be because you're too moral and therefore not that funny. But don't worry, we have a solution that'll help you increase your humor production and likability with no reduction in morality. All you have to do is listen!

Sponsored By:

• GiveWell: Givewell searches for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar. Consider a donation this holiday season--your dollar goes a lot further than you might think! Promo Code: verybadwizards

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Richard Brody Reviews "Joker" | New Yorker
• Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia
• Falling Down (1993) - IMDb
• People with high moral standards 'less likely' to be funny | The Independent
• Yam, K. C., Barnes, C. M., Leavitt, K., Uhlmann, E. L., & Wei, W. (2016). Why So Serious? Experimental and Field Evidence that Morality and a Sense of Humor are Psychologically Incompatible. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Aquino, K., & Reed, I. I. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 83(6), 1423.
• Exhalation by Ted Chiang [amazon.com affiliate link]
• What's Expected of Us by Ted Chiang | Nature

David and Tamler dive back into the Ted Chiang well and explore the fascinating world described in "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom." What if you could interact with alternate versions of yourself - versions that made different choices, had different jobs, or different partners? Would you get jealous of your other selves if they were more successful? Would you want them to be unhappy so you could feel better about your own choices and path? If your alternate self was in a good relationship with a woman, would you try to track down the version of that woman in this world? If you made an immoral choice but your other self made the moral one, what does that say about your character? And what does it say about free will and responsibility?

So many questions, such an interesting story - turns out we need to dedicate another segment next time to conclude the discussion. Hope you enjoy it! If you haven't bought Exhalation (Ted Chiang's new collection) We can't recommend it highly enough. This is the last story in that collection.

Plus – we select the topic finalists for our beloved Patreon listener-selected episode. Will Denial of Death make the cut again?

Sponsored By:

• GiveWell: Givewell searches for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar. Consider a donation this holiday season--your dollar goes a lot further than you might think! Promo Code: verybadwizards

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Ted Chiang's "Exhalation" [amazon.com affiliate link]
• Eddy Nahmias, Close calls and the confident agent: Free will, deliberation, and alternative possibilities - PhilPapers

David and Tamler start out with a discussion of the new Chappelle special and the negative reaction from many critics. Is Chappelle trolling his audience? Has he lost touch with the powerless people he used to champion? Or have critics missed his larger point, and failed to approach the new special as an art form? Then they address the latest development in the literature around Benjamin Libet's famous study that, according to some people, proved that free will doesn't exist. How did that study get so much attention in the first place? Tamler proposes a Marxist analysis. Plus, David teaches Tamler how to pronounce Bereitschaftspotential antisemitically.

This episode is sponsored by Simple Habit.

Sponsored By:

• Simple Habit: Try out Simple Habit--the meditation app that can make your life better in as little as 5-minutes per day.

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Does Free Will Exist? Neuroscience Can't Disprove It Yet. - The Atlantic
• Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action by Benjamin Libet
• Neuroscience of free will - Wikipedia
• Break Music: Cold Stares by peez | SoundCloud

David and Tamler dive back into the Bible, this time to the perplexing and poetic Book of Job. What does this book have to say about the theodicy, the problem of evil? Why does Job (and his children) have to suffer so much just so God can prove a point to Satan? Are the speeches of Job's friends meant to be convincing? Does Job capitulate in the end? Does God contradict himself in the last chapter? What's the deal with Elihu? So many questions, not as many answers – maybe that's why it's such a classic.

Plus, "transhumanism" – dystopian wet dream or perfect moral system of the future based on logic, reason, and code? (Always code).

Sponsored By:

• Simple Habit: Try out Simple Habit--the meditation app that can make your life better in as little as 5-minutes per day.

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Environmentalists are Wrong: Nature Isn't Sacred and We Should Replace It - Transhumanist Wager
• Transhumanism - Wikipedia
• The Book of Job (New International Version)
• Book of Job - Wikipedia
• Who really wrote the Book of Job? - Jewish World - Haaretz - Israel News | Haaretz.com
• Satan - Wikipedia
• Morriston, W. (1996). God's answer to Job. Religious studies, 32(3), 339-356.
• Misery | The New Yorker

Is social psychology just a kid dressing up in grown-up science clothes? Are the methods in social psychology--hypothesis-driven experiments and model-building--appropriate for the state of the field? Or do these methods lead to a narrowing of vision, stifled creativity, and a lack of informed curiosity about the social world> David and Tamler discuss the strong methodological critique of psychology from two of its leading practitioners - Paul Rozin and Solomon Asch.

Plus, food porn, real estate porn, outrage porn, and David's personal favorite - power washing porn.

Sponsored By:

• Simple Habit: Try out Simple Habit--the meditation app that can make your life better in as little as 5-minutes per day.
• Prolific: Just for listeners of Very Bad Wizards-get $100 added on to your account when you start an account and top it off at $250 or more!

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Power Washing Porn
• Opinion | Why We Call Things 'Porn' - The New York Times
• Pizarro, D.A., & Baumeister, R. (2013) Superhero comics as moral pornography. In R. Rosenberg (Ed.) Our Superheroes, Ourselves. Oxford University Press.
• Rozin, P. (2001). Social psychology and science: Some lessons from Solomon Asch. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(1), 2-14.
• 2nd Annual BEworks Summit for Behavioural Science in Business — Enter "Very Bad Wizards" at checkout if you're looking to attend!

David and Tamler try to control their emotions (with varying success) as they go deep into Franz Kafka's masterful novella "The Metamorphosis." What kind of a story is this? A Marxist or religious allegory? A work of weird fiction? A family drama? A dark comedy? Why does a story about a man who turns into a giant insect get under our skins so much?

Plus a study that links insomnia to our fear of death. What a cheerful summer episode! (Actually we're fairly proud of this one... As always we suggest reading the text before you listen or soon after).

This episode brought to you by Prolific.co, and by the support of our listeners.

Sponsored By:

• Prolific: Just for listeners of Very Bad Wizards-get $100 added on to your account when you start an account and top it off at $250 or more!

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Life is short, stay awake: Death anxiety and bedtime procrastination. - PubMed - NCBI
• 2nd Annual BEworks Summit for Behavioural Science in Business
• The Metamorphosis - Wikipedia
• On Translating Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" | The New Yorker
• Franz Kafka - Wikipedia

It's Part 2 of the Lebowski vs. Pulp Fiction showdown. This time we focus on the Dude, Walter, Donny, and most importantly Jesus Quintana. (Nobody fucks with the Jesus). What's the ethos of this stoner masterpiece? Is it a nihilstic movie? A deconstruction of masculinity? A cannabis infused Daoist parable? And is it fair to compare these two classics from the 90s? Fair? Who's the fucking nihilist you bunch of crybabies!

Plus - trolling. What is it? Why do people do it? Can works of art troll their audience? And is there such a thing as a benign troll?

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Internet troll - Wikipedia
• Ken M Is The Most Epic Troll On The Internet
• Wrestling's new villain named himself 'Progressive Liberal.' Hillary's on his shirt. - The Washington Post
• The Big Lebowski - Wikipedia
• 'Big Lebowski' Sequel Renamed 'The Jesus Rolls,' Plans 2020 Release | IndieWire

There are only two kinds of people in the world, Pulp Fiction people and Big Lebowski people. Now Pulp Fiction people can like Big Lebowski and vice versa, but nobody likes them both equally. Somewhere you have to make a choice. And that choice tells you who you are.

In the first episode of this two-parter, David and Tamler make that choice – and then go deep into the themes, performances, and philosophy of Tarantino's iconic 90s classic Pulp Fiction. What's the meaning of a foot massage? What counts as a miracle? Is failing to disregard your own feces a sufficient condition for a filthy animal? We have a lots to talk about, and time is short. So pretty please, with sugar on top, listen to the fucking episode.

This episode is sponsored by Blinkist and by all of our supporters.

Sponsored By:

• Blinkist: Fit reading into your life. Key takeaways from the world's best nonfiction books in text and audio. Visit blinkist.com/verybadwizards for a special offer for our listeners. Promo Code: verybadwizards

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Pulp Fiction Deleted Scene: Elvis vs The Beatles
• Pulp Fiction - Wikipedia
• The Big Lebowski - Wikipedia
• Gabriel Vinas (@gabrielvinasart) Instagram photos, videos, stories and highlights | Insgain