What's Wrong With This Place?

We have all seen or maybe even done great deeds before.

But what are they exactly and what are they good for?

In this episode I will make the case that we need to do more great deeds, and what kind of mechanism or role they play in creating a good life.

We will cross topics like computers, sports, Trump and politics, breaking bad group dynamics, taking or giving credit, game theory, praising people, cooperating, Santa Claus and Tit for Tat.

You are in for a treat… or a deed.

The first best advice on how to reduce climate change the most, is also an advice that taps right into living a good life.

Instead of stopping doing things that we actually like to do - in order to reduce climate change - we should instead focus on reducing or removing all the things that we don’t need or wouldn’t miss if they weren’t here. But these things are almost impossible to barricade in a climate demonstration.

In this episode I will take you to the cross roads where actions that lead to climate change are the same as actions towards a happier life, and a better personal economy.

What does climate change, handbrakes, dopamine and Bitcoin have got to do with happiness, serotonin, Candy Crush saga and healthy businesses? You will see (or hear)

You are not going to get the answer for: “What is the meaning of life?”

And when you hear this episode, you will know why.

‘Meaning’ is a powerful concept that fills our lives in almost every thinkable way. Perhaps even in ways you didn’t imagine.

‘Meaning’ is a solid part of the foundation for a good life, but it also has a dark side.

In this episode I will take you on an adventurous and ‘meaningful’ tour of the word ‘meaning’ and discover the quirks of how the concept of ‘meaning’ fills our lives - and what happens when it goes bad?

You will hear about: Albert Camus, playing cards, PI, songs, survival, art, sports, horoscopes, Darth Vader, relationships, why?, happiness, purpose, commercials, dreams, depression, spelling errors and of course meaninglessness, among many other things. All with the intention of understanding our relationship to the idea of ‘meaning’, and its dark side.

Words can either be used to better understand the world and the people around us, and to make it easier to conceptualize abstract concepts or feelings.

But words can also be used to disgrace, belittle or break the people we don’t share the same world view with.

In this episode I will take you through the quirky and powerful world of words, and give examples on how words differ from country to country and how they can “make or break”. Create understanding or smear.

I will take you through everything from Danish pastry and delicious herrings to racism, antisemitism, woke, LBTQ, schadenfreude, Goodwin’s law, hot babes, censorship, ancient Greece, Shakespeare and memes - to mention a few.

What is creativity? And what keeps us from being more creative?

Creativity plays a natural part in a good and beautiful life.

In this episode I will take you through the 4 axioms/rules of creativity.

When you understand these 4 axioms, you will understand the nature of creativity, and be able to appreciate and better handle the mechanisms behind it.

This tour into the fuzzy foundation of creativity will take us through riddles, thought experiments, biases, creativity tests, economic incentives, creative work, fear, the Mozart effect, thinking outside the box, human nature, idea combinations, mental building blocks, war, creative organizations, the Blur effect, spotting creative people and synesthesia just to mention a few.

A well nourished ecosystem around science beginning with the early school system, the high shool, up to university and the proper funding and attention to science at the high academic levels is one of the backbones of creating wealth and prosperity in a society.

Science can make smaller countries and societies punch above their weight class - but what happens when societies don't invest in science, and why don't they?

In this episode I will take you through Nobel prizes as the indicator for quality science in a country, the Arabian golden age, DARPA, NASA, Richard Dawkins, Nokia and Novo Nordisk, religion, NBA basketball, tyrannical leaders, the H1B visa and many other things.

Hygge is a safe and comfortable atmosphere of being together with other people, connecting and enjoying the simple pleasures in life. The Danish concept of hygge is so intertwined and deeply woven into the fabric of Danish culture and language - but hygge can be applied in so many other places, situations and aspects of life.

In this episode I will take you through the fascinating quirks of hygge and make the case that the world needs more of it, and that hygge can be an element in the good life for anyone.

This episode will cover hygge in politics and business, hygge words, loneliness, famous political settlements and hygge, bragging, super stimulus, competition, musicians, innovation, conflicts, problem solving and many other things in a hygge context.

What is luck?

Luck is NOT magical. Your luck is just everything that you are not in control of, that has a beneficial effect on you.

In this episode I make the case that despite our hard work, luck still plays a part in everyone's success story - and acknowledging this makes us stronger and more humble, and it creates the understanding that luck is something we can’t buy or create ourselves. It is something that has to be given from someone else. We hold a piece of each other's lives in our hands. And luck is an important piece of the "good life puzzle".

This episode will talk about good luck and bad luck, Warren Buffet, Wayne Gretzky, lucky societies, stocks, political science, passing it forward, David Goggins, humility, sports, the great structural things behind luck, and many other things.

School can either be the sick old man of society or the mother of future solutions.

There are so many valuable things that we could teach kids in school.

In this episode I give you what I think are the 5 most important active skills that we should teach kids, in order to create the more robust, good, adaptive and future-ready kids.

Forward to 6:30 if you want to skip directly to the prioritized 5-skills-list.

I will give you my take on the 5 most important skills, how to implement them in school, their purpose and value.

We will cover challenges and complexity, the future, science, generative AI, high IQ/intelligent kids, consuming vs creation, curriculum vs purpose, philosophy, pupils vs students, the good life, and many other things.

Let me take you behind the curtain of science - into the more hidden and unknown ethical and moral workings of science.

Some people think that science is detached and even deprived from ethics and morals. But nothing could be further from the truth.

In this episode I will take you through ethics, morals, religion, the Enlightenment, the connections between democracy and science, the softening of punishments during the ages, the January 6th insurrection, virtues like doing unto others what you want them to do to you - and much more.