You Are Not So Smart

In this episode we welcome psychologist Mary C. Murphy, author of Cultures of Growth, who tells us how to create institutions, businesses, and other groups of humans that can better support collaboration, innovation, performance, and wellbeing. We also learn how, even if you know all about the growth mindset, the latest research suggests you not may not be creating a culture of growth despite what feels like your best efforts to do so.  Mary Murphy’s Website [https://marycmurphy.com/] Cultures of Growth [https://marycmurphy.com/cultures-of-growth/] Carol Dweck at Google [https://open.spotify.com/episode/53huOnca4alzjYKHbNR4RL] Paper: A Culture of Genius [https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=3e7eb3e8886f54f2d112dbd760f4bea4ded19750] How Minds Change [https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome] David McRaney’s Twitter [https://twitter.com/davidmcraney] YANSS Twitter [https://twitter.com/notsmartblog] Show Notes [www.youarenotsosmart.com] Newsletter [https://davidmcraney.substack.com/] Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/youarenotsosmart]

Alex Edmans, a professor of finance at London Business School, tells us how to avoid the Ladder of Misinference by examining how narratives, statistics, and articles can mislead, especially when they align with our preconceived notions and confirm what we believe is true, assume is true, and wish were true. Alex Edmans  [https://alexedmans.com] May Contain Lies [https://alexedmans.com/books/] What to Test in a Post Trust World [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpJx5VLQMxk] How Minds Change [https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome] David McRaney’s Twitter [https://twitter.com/davidmcraney] David McRaney’s BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/davidmcraney.bsky.social] YANSS Twitter [https://twitter.com/notsmartblog] YANSS Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/youarenotsosmart/] Newsletter [https://davidmcraney.substack.com/] Kitted [https://kitted.shop/] Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/youarenotsosmart]

In this episode we sit down with Brian Klaas, author of Fluke, and get into the existential lessons and grander meaning for a life well-lived (once one finally accepts the power and influence of randomness, chaos, and chance). In addition, we learn not to fall prey to proportionality bias - the tendency for human brains to assume big, historical, or massively impactful events must have had big causes and/or complex machinations underlying their grand outcomes. It’s one of the cognitive biases that most contributes to conspiratorial thinking and grand conspiracy theories, one that leads to an assumption that there must be something more going on when big, often unlikely, events make the evening news. Yet, as Brian explains, events big and small are often the result of random inputs in complex systems interacting in ways that are difficult to predict. Previous Episodes [https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/] Brian Klaas [https://brianpklaas.com/] Fluke [https://brianpklaas.com/fluke] How Minds Change [https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome] David McRaney’s Twitter [https://twitter.com/davidmcraney] David McRaney’s BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/davidmcraney.bsky.social] YANSS Twitter [https://twitter.com/notsmartblog] YANSS Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/youarenotsosmart/] Newsletter [https://davidmcraney.substack.com/] Kitted [https://kitted.shop/] Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/youarenotsosmart]

If you want to overthrow a dictator, resist an authoritarian regime, or create a movement that can change the national status quo, you don't need half the country, you only need 3.5 percent of the population to join – but there are some caveats, and Erica Chenoweth whose research led to the discovery of the 3.5 Percent Rule, explains them to us in this episode. Previous Episodes [https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/] Erica Chenoweth's Website [https://www.ericachenoweth.com] Why Civil Resistance Works (the paper) [https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Why-Civil-Resistance-Works-Article.pdf] Why Civil Resistance Works (the book) [https://cup.columbia.edu/book/why-civil-resistance-works/9780231156820/] The TED Talk [https://tedxboulder.com/speakers/erica-chenoweth] The Q&A [https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/qa-erica-chenoweth] How Minds Change [https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome] David McRaney’s Twitter [https://twitter.com/davidmcraney] David McRaney's BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/davidmcraney.bsky.social] YANSS Twitter [https://twitter.com/notsmartblog] YANSS Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/youarenotsosmart/] Newsletter [https://davidmcraney.substack.com/] Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/youarenotsosmart]

Professor Neil Theise, the author of Notes on Complexity,  provides an introduction to the science of how complex systems behave – from cells to human beings, to ecosystems, the known universe, and beyond – and we explore if Ian Malcolm was right when he told us in Jurassic Park that "Life, um, finds a way." Previous Episodes [https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/] Neil Theise's Website [https://www.neiltheiseofficial.com/] Notes on Complexity [https://www.neiltheiseofficial.com/books] Conway's Game of Life [https://playgameoflife.com/] The Santa Fe Institute [https://www.santafe.edu/] Technosphere [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/anything-god-can-do-i-can-do-better-1594096.html] How Minds Change [https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome] David McRaney’s Twitter [https://twitter.com/davidmcraney] YANSS Twitter [https://twitter.com/notsmartblog] Newsletter [https://davidmcraney.substack.com/] Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/youarenotsosmart]