Alpha Signal

The Alpha Signal podcast hosts accessible, big-picture conversations about the nature of intelligence with some of the most interesting people in the world including neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, economics, mathematics, cognitive science and more.

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Episodes

Daniel Kahneman - The riddle of experience vs. memory.

Using examples from vacations to colonoscopies, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman reveals how our "experiencing selves" and our "remembering selves" perceive happiness differently. This new insight has profound implications for economics, public policy -- and our own self-awareness.

Feb 09, 2020•21 min

Steve Jobs - 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.

Feb 09, 2020•15 min

How Navy SEALs overcome mental barriers.

About 99 percent of the people who start marathons in the United States finish them. That's an astoundingly high number considering the pain and turmoil that every marathon runner faces. What each runner has in common, says author Jesse Itzler, is that they hit a wall where their mental resources are exhausted. At this point, sheer physical will maintains their strength — and this is the will that everyone has, but we seldom know how to tap into it. Itzler's way to break through his own mental b...

Feb 09, 2020•4 min

Sam Harris - The self is an illusion.

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. Mr. Harris' writing has been published in over ten languages. He and his work have been discussed in Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Times (London), The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Nature, The Annals of ...

Feb 09, 2020•7 min

Dan Ariely - Are we in control of our decisions?

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses classic visual illusions and his own counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we're not as rational as we think when we make decisions.

Feb 09, 2020•17 min

Arnold Schwarzenegger - 5 Principles to Follow for a Successful life.

The Alpha Signal Podcast hosts accessible, big-picture conversations about the nature of intelligence with some of the most interesting people from a variety of perspectives including machine learning, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, economics, mathematics, cognitive science and more.

Oct 10, 2019•1 hr 19 min

Dan Ariely - Does who you find attractive based on how hot you are?

Dan Ariely is the James B Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. He is the founder of The Center for Advanced Hindsight and co-founder of BEworks, which helps business leaders apply scientific thinking to their marketing and operational challenges. His books include Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, both of which became New York Times best-sellers. as well as The Honest Truth about Dishonesty and his latest, Irrationally Yours. Ariely publ...

Jun 19, 2019•7 min

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