WWB Season 6: Cognition and Ideas
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S6: Cognition and Ideas
36 Hot Topics/9 Quotes:
In Season 6, we dive into the fascinating intricacies of human cognition and ideas. Explore how our minds operate, the subtle ways biases and cognitive shortcuts shape our thoughts, and why we perceive and interpret reality the way we do. You’ll gain powerful insights into the quirks of human psychology and the importance of sharpening critical thinking skills to navigate an increasingly complex world.
Then, journey deeper into profound philosophical and historical insights, from the enduring mysteries posed by the Fermi Paradox and consciousness, to the transformative wisdom offered by foundational thinkers like Nietzsche and Socrates. Each one-minute lesson is crafted to enhance your understanding, inspire reflection, and reveal how past and present ideas shape our view of reality.
Hot Topics
History
Critical Thinking
Science
Philosophy
What is Ninio’s Extinction Illusion?
Jacques Ninio’s Extinction Illusion reveals how perception can erase what is plainly present.
Which tradition puts friendship above all else?
Epicureanism places friendship at the very center of a meaningful life.
Did existential authenticity originate in the East?
Long before Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, Eastern traditions asked how to live honestly within suffering, impermanence, and uncertainty: Buddhism’s suffering and non-self, Daoist alignment with nature.
Is the prisoner choosing bread over a key to freedom a critical thinking error?
Choosing bread isn't moral failure; it’s a classic example of "present bias," where immediate needs, present desires, overpower long-term thinking.
Is the Fermi Paradox still relevant?
It is a useful abductive reasoning model but challenges us to confront the limits of our technology, imagination, and perspective.
Is science tainted by bias?
Science is touched by human bias, but its strength lies in being a self-correcting process.
Do aliens enjoy playing like we do on Earth?
If life elsewhere follows patterns like those on Earth, play may emerge wherever intelligence and social complexity arise.
What is the history of existentialism?
Existentialism was born in post medieval Europe, but it's focus on the self and your own thoughts echos Daoism and Buddhism in the East and ...
Who were the first Socratic philosophers?
The direct students of Socrates is the narrow definition: Plato, Xenophon, etc.
Does the Fermi paradox lack good thinking?
Good thinking isn’t just about asking big questions like the Fermi Paradox—it’s about recognizing the biases that shape our answers and staying open to possibilities ...
Is the 8.7-million-year-old Anadoluvius a human ancestor?
Anadoluvius turkae is a reminder of just how messy evolution is. The discovery highlights the diversity of great apes during the Miocene and how different ...
Why did the prisoner choose the bread over the key?
Many philosophies teach the insights into the choices we face as a balance between immediate needs and broader aspirations.
Did Pythagoras coin the word philosophy?
No, Pythagoras was a sophist. He did not know the word philosophy. The word philosophy was coined later by Plato, Aristotle, and others.
When and where was beer invented?
The earliest evidence of spirits is from China, around 7,000 BCE. The earliest traces of beer is 5000 BCE in Iran.
Does Musk’s Mars vision highlight poor reasoning?
Ambition isn’t the problem — confusing futuristic spectacle with practical priority is.
When did play evolve in mammals?
Play evolved many times in evolution as a survival tool. Mammalian-like play emerged about 190 million years ago.
Is the question of a creator important?
The question of a creator is currently an unknown, and likely an unknowable. Belief in a creator is a personal matter, not a scientific one.
What does the Crinum coal mine teach us about dating methods?
Radiometric dating such as Carbon-14 and Potassium-Argon is scientifically sound, but it's true that scientists need to carefully rule out contaminants.
Are dogs and wolves the same species?
Yes. Dogs and wolves are the same species biologically, with dogs classified as a domesticated subspecies of the gray wolf.
What does existence before essence mean?
Existence before essence means you arrive without a script, and your identity emerges through a life in motion: shaped by change, choice, and time.
Who is famous for questioning cause and effect?
Karma and cause and effect explore causation versus correlation.
Is cause and effect certain?
With the motion of life, cause and effect feel certain. We see stable patterns. But Hume challenged this confidence, reminding us that correlation does not ...
Was Pythagoras’ thinking flawed?
Yes and no. Pythagoras combined enduring empirical insights with personal beliefs that often overpowered sound reasoning.
Will the night sky have stars nearly forever?
Our constellations feel permanent, yet aren't. The stars themselves, bound together in our galactic neighborhood, will light our night sky for nearly forever.
When will AI be smarter than humans?
AI may surpass humans in specific abilities soon, but “being smarter than humans” depends entirely on how we define intelligence.
What is a natural philosopher?
TST Philosophy < Philosophy
Was the richest person in history an African just before colonial slavery?
Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire is widely regarded as the richest individual in history, illustrating Africa’s deep economic and political sophistication.
Is Occam’s Razor always right?
In the realm of idea evaluation, Occam’s Razor is a tool that stands out, but it was never meant as a law of truth. It's ...
Why hasn’t Voyager been damaged by space dust?
Space feels dangerous, but its extreme emptiness makes collisions incredibly rare.
Will AI systems attain consciousness?
AI systems already have a functional form of consciousness, and that level will evolve to mimic animal-like consciousness and likely something akin to human-like.
Who is the father of numerology?
In the ancient world, numbers were not just tools but truths. For thinkers like Pythagoras, mathematics, nature, and meaning formed a single worldview.
Why we only remember the good parts of vacations and forget the bad?
Rosy Retrospection, a cognitive bias that filters memory through emotion, preserving highlights. Minds quietly edit experience, shaping memory.
Trivia: Did Einstein or Galileo discover the Relativity Principle?
In shaping modern cosmology, Galileo articulated the relativity principle in 1632, Newton made gravity universal in 1687, and Einstein revealed gravity as the curvature of ...
What is a realistic timeframe for humanity to terraform Mars?
Terraforming Mars is a multi-century process that will require new ways to use AI, robots, and genetically-altered life.
Was Roger Williams a Separatist?
Roger Williams was a colonial separatist. He advocated for separating from the Church of England.
What is the “Parable of the Ship?”
The Williams parable is about government. A response to the colonies in New England inacted the same restrictions they escaped.
Quotes
“The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.”
Ethics < Philosophy
“I was not; I was; I am not; I do not mind.”
Ethics < Philosophy
“…allegories…lay hold of the hidden sense which is concealed beneath the words”
Journalism < Philosophy
Is the serenity prayer stoic? “Grant me the serenity…”
Ethics < Philosophy
“For the soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.”
Stoicism < Philosophy
“Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.”
Ethics < Philosophy
“I know that I am wise, because I know that I know nothing.”
Epistemology < Philosophy
“I have a worldview. So do you.”
We all see the world through a personal lens shaped by experience. Once you recognize your worldview, you can finally examine it, refine it, and ...