Thought Process

#11 - Andrew Hunt - A Future Decided by the Past

Andrew Hunt is a Professor of History at the University of Waterloo, specializing in Modern US Cultural and Social History, and an author. Pop culture is an excellent window into the hearts and minds of a population – from understanding sentiments around a war, to gauging the strength of the culture as a whole. Fortunately, Andrew is a lifelong historian who has read, written, and taught about all things US Culture, publishing several books that span the Korean and Cold Wars. Expect to learn how the US can solve the growing political rift between the Right and Left, how we can forge a path forward into the future by looking to the past, why the Vietnam War was such a watershed moment for US culture, what Mr. Beast videos can tell us about the future of Hollywood's influence on culture, how Andrew found himself getting arrested in Utah, and much more... More from Andrew: Andrew's Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/history/people-profiles/andrew-huntAndrew's Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrew-E.-Hunt/author/B001JP7YUO?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

#10 - Cosmin Munteanu - The Future of How we Interact w/ Technology

Cosmin Munteanu is an Associate Professor and Shlegel Research Chair in Technology for Healthy Aging. In today's world, our devices are inseparable from us. With time, technology only gets smaller, more affordable, and more integrated into our lives. But what will happen in the future, when the barriers between our physical and digital world all but disappear entirely? Expect to learn what happened when an eating disorder helpline replaced their human staff with ChatGPT, why creating a good voice assistant is really difficult, where Cosmin believes technology is headed, if Cosmin believes the Apple Vision Pro will move the needle regarding virtual reality adoption, why technologies are not adapting to a rapidly aging global population, and much more... More from Cosmin: Cosmin's Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/systems-design-engineering/profile/c2muntea -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

#9 - Lisa Ramsden - The Reality of Plastic Recycling

Lisa Ramsden is a Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace USA, an NGO focused on tackling today's biggest climate change issues. We use plastic in quite literally every facet of our lives, and that is incredibly disconcerting. There are so many downstream effects of plastic exposure and consumption, and people need to be more aware of it. Fortunately, Lisa has been working for over 15 years to fight Oil & Gas and Big-Plastic, and is here to spread the word. Expect to learn just how bad the plastic epidemic has gotten, and how much bigger it is projected to become, how much plastic we consume in any given week, why your athleisure wardrobe may not be so good for you, how we may find our way out of this mess, and much more.. More from Lisa: Lisa's Greenpeace Page: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/bios/lisa-ramsden/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ramsdelisa -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879

#8 - Paul Fieguth - Why is the World so Unintuitive?

Paul Fieguth is the Associate Dean of Resources & Planning for the Faculty of Engineering, a Professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, and an author, and and, a former Professor of mine. The world is, well, complex. And this complexity oftentimes tricks us into believing we know more about our environment than we do. These nonlinearities are everywhere in the world, which can make navigating it quite tricky. Luckily, Paul is here to help us understand the world just a little better. Expect to learn why most of the resources tend to be held by a tiny group of people, why we can expect more record highs and record lows as the climate continues to change, how Paul thinks about striking a balance between efficiency and resilience, how something as complex as consciousness can seemingly emerge out of nowhere, and much more. More from Paul: Paul's UWaterloo Page: https://uwaterloo.ca/systems-design-engineering/profile/pfieguth [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbEN0ajVLXzdybks3anVLWVJDZDBTUEFtOEJuZ3xBQ3Jtc0trZk5SWTR0VkoxWHhMQkhtZDdBMWstNTF1SnowWVBCeVMyWllvWlBpY1pWT3JBR0lTNU8yR0ZNZjlLLTg0bkdMQzE5V2VNYzVLUE5ZZjZDYWJQYmVlcUhPN1FFUmFldW1fMkZMYVdxOEwzdDQ0cE83WQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fuwaterloo.ca%2Fpsychology%2Fpeople-profiles%2Fbritt-anderson&v=hUg-WVi3zfo] -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHBBYlNxanZGYVZkb1EzTkMwZldDNlFwRTZ0UXxBQ3Jtc0tuSWdKTDZEaXVkcmpOdWZyamtCRnpwTkNSdlJSd0t4VXVCSXNfTlZ0eVMxR1NzelBDaDEtSVNzUkxjTGpycWtqSjdXbmRIa0xlSlo1d0ktclZxTW9NWnEtQlQ2MEZnclZJVGE0Y2V1clVkdUpCd05xZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fjackmackn&v=hUg-WVi3zfo] Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbi03OTRPNlVuRzc5bC1kajRIeTRUd3l6d0diQXxBQ3Jtc0tsVVV6UkdlZEV3ajJvcUFhX0JpVkxUeThlQW51WVFOMy1vQXk3S1JKdWpqVUpwdWNBNnUxWWRDQWZlOUswWHQtX0NCcDd5dHU3OVBkSzZwNkdSRGpzOTZnQTdLckpOSVlGcmM3Y0lxTWRCcEphWDM0VQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjackkmackinnon&v=hUg-WVi3zfo] Youtube:    / @jackmackinnon3879   [https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879]

#7 - Britt Anderson - How We Make Sense of the World

Britt Anderson is an associate professor and director at the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience at the University of Waterloo. We all have our own way of seeing the world. It's shaped by our experiences and predicts how our environment will change and respond to our actions. The way we build these mental models is subtle, yet complex, and Britt is here to walk us through some of the nuances. Expect to learn how to optimize your chances to win at Plinko from the Price is Right, why participation trophies may be both a great and a terrible idea, the details of how we create mental models, how viral videos and stories on the internet may incorrectly influence how we see the world, and much more... More from Britt: Britt's UWaterloo Page: https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/people-profiles/britt-anderson -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879