Fighting Assumptions Podcast

Lightning does strike twice (and thrice, and a million times)

Today, we are tackling a phrase you’ve probably used to comfort a friend: “Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.” We use it to reassure people. Survived a freak round of corporate layoffs? Don’t worry, lightning never strikes twice. Dealt with a bizarre plumbing disaster? Relax, lightning never strikes twice. It is a linguistic pat on the back, implying that the universe operates on a strict quota system for bad luck. Once you’ve paid your dues to statistical improbability, you are safe. It is a lovely sentiment. But as a scientific rule of thumb? It is dangerously, objectively wrong. In fact, lightning loves to strike twice. And three times. And sometimes a hundred times. It’s time to retire this assumption. Read more… [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/p/lightning-does-strike-twice-and-thrice] Get full access to Fighting Assumptions at fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The election deception: why the founders of democracy used a lottery instead

We have been conditioned to believe that the “ballot box” is the ultimate symbol of freedom. We are taught that the right to vote is the finish line of democratic progress. But if you could transport an ancient Athenian, the very people who invented demokratia, to a modern polling station, they wouldn’t congratulate us on our “freedom.” To the Greeks, the root of democracy wasn’t the vote. It was the lottery. Read more… [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/p/the-election-deception-why-the-founders] Get full access to Fighting Assumptions at fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Why Chameleons are “terrible” at camouflage

We’ve all seen the cartoon: a sleek, bug-eyed chameleon strolls across a checkerboard and poof it’s covered in black and white squares. It’s the ultimate metaphor for adaptability. We use the word “chameleon” to describe politicians who shift their views to fit the room or socialites who blend into any crowd. There is just one problem: The premise is almost entirely false. Read more… [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/p/why-chameleons-are-terrible-at-camouflage] Get full access to Fighting Assumptions at fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The fat-burning zone is a lie (and other uncomfortable truths about cardio)

You’ve seen the chart: a friendly graph showing a “Fat Burning Zone” at a low, conversational heart rate, and a “Cardio/Performance Zone” at higher intensities. The assumption we’ve been fed is simple: if you want to lose fat, stay in the slow lane. If you want to get fit, speed up. Let’s fight some assumptions… [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/p/the-fat-burning-zone-is-a-lie] Get full access to Fighting Assumptions at fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Why the egg definitely came first

It’s the undisputed champion of circular reasoning, the ultimate rhetorical question used to describe a situation where it’s impossible to tell what caused what: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Science actually has a definitive, undisputed answer to this question. The assumption that this is an unresolvable paradox is false. From a biological and evolutionary standpoint, the egg came first. Period. Read more… [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/p/why-the-egg-definitely-came-first] Get full access to Fighting Assumptions at fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe [https://fightingassumptions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]