Flat Earthism
Flat Earthism, what is that all about? Why do people with strange beliefs bother us so much? Do they really mean it or are they joking? Image: Orlando Ferguson via Wikipedia
Aug 24, 2018•32 min
Cognitive Engineering
Welcome to the Cognitive Engineering podcast. Occasionally coherent musings of Aleph Insights. We hope you like listening to them as much as we like recording them.
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Episodes
Cults
What makes a cult? What makes a cult different from a religion? Are they damaging or dangerous? Image: Scientology Media via Wikipedia
Aug 17, 2018•24 min
Nostalgia
Are the British stuck in the past? Why do we keep going on about old victories and defeats? Do we look back more than other nations? Image: National Media Museum via WIkipedia
Aug 10, 2018•25 min
Political Capital
What is political capital? Can you touch it, measure it? How does it work? Image: Number 10 via Wikipedia
Aug 03, 2018•26 min
Dated Films
Why do some films age better than others? Image: https://www.starwars.com/news/the-5-most-grueling-star-wars-visual-effects
Aug 01, 2018•25 min
Schedule vs Schedule
Which type of english is best? Why do we prefer the sound of some language over others?
Jul 20, 2018•24 min
Ticket Touting
Is ticket touting wrong? Why? Is there a better way of deciding ticket pricing? Image: Mattia luigi Nappi via Wikipedia
Jul 13, 2018•23 min
Football Cheats
Why is there a culture of cheating in some games and not others? Do some teams cheat more than other? Image: Mahmood Hosseini via Wikipedia
Jul 08, 2018•26 min
Red Bad
Colour and meaning: Why do some colours seem to have some inherent meaning? How is it that we have cultural standards for colour to indicate meaning? Image: BagoGames via Flickr
Jun 29, 2018•28 min
Virtually (Limitless) Reality
Virtual Reality promises great things. Headline often read along the lines of "VR will make any world possible". Is this true? Image: Maurizio Pesce via Flickr
Jun 22, 2018•26 min
Friendly Computers
Why are computer interfaces always so friendly? Image: Loki, provided by Rhonda Oglesby via Flickr
Jun 15, 2018•23 min
Language of immigration
How does use of language affect our attitude to immigration? Image: cytis via pixabay
Jun 08, 2018•25 min
Democracies versus dictatorships
In light of the recent summit between North and South Korea, and the on-off bromance between President Trump and Kim Jong-Un, we ask the question whether democracies or dictatorships offer more certainty. Image: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen via Wikipedia
Jun 01, 2018•22 min
Phew!
Future dread and hindsight relief. Why do we experience dread and relief for some events?
May 25, 2018•23 min
What's in a name?
Men who change their surname when they get married are still unusual. Why is it important to some?
May 19, 2018•26 min
Off-pitch referees
What's wrong with off-pitch referees? Do they make the game less beautiful? Do off-pitch refs make better or worse decisions? What effects does devolving decision-making have? Image: KeithJJ via Pixabay
May 11, 2018•25 min
Seagulls
Why do we get so worked up about our territory? Where does the sense of what is ours come from? What is ownership anyway? Image: irenne56 via Pixnio
May 04, 2018•23 min
Driving Licences
Are older drivers less safe than younger drivers? Does just having a licence indicate you are more able to drive? What is the point of certification? Image: ArtsyBee via Pixabay
Apr 28, 2018•24 min
Optimized Fruit
What does tastiness tell us about fruit choice? Could we engineer the perfect fruit? Or are we just comparing apples and oranges? Image: Malte Sörensen via Flickr
Apr 20, 2018•23 min
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
In a world were everything is available on demand, will we miss out on the pleasure of nostalgia? What Is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit, Research Shows http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/science/what-is-nostalgia-good-for-quite-a-bit-research-shows.html?pagewanted=all Why the Past Always Seems Happier Than the Present https://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-markman-phd/past-less-intense-than-present_b_987726.html Image: Pixabay via Pexels
Apr 13, 2018•26 min
National Identity
What are the giveaways that tell you you're in another country? What is national identity? Image: Jorge Royan via Wikipedia
Apr 06, 2018•23 min
Gun control and ideological tribalism
What does the gun control debate tell us about ideology? Do peoples believes cluster into similar groups? If I tell you I'm pro-life, what can you predict about me? Evolution Explains Why Politics Is So Tribal - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evolution-explains-why-politics-tribal/ Image: Randall Goya via Flickr
Mar 30, 2018•30 min
Condiments
The culture of condiments: Why don't we find wasabi in fish and chip shops? What do they tell you about national culture? Why salt and pepper and not cumin and nutmeg? Why is ketchup the king of the sauces? What determines the optimal condiment arrangement? We’ve got a load of sauces and chutneys for christmas, so link it to this? Image: Wonderlane via Flickr
Mar 23, 2018•21 min
Animals music
Why do some animals like music, even though they don't make it? Why do we like music? Does it have a purpose? https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/watch-seal-pups-being-soothed-954976 Image: Howcheng via Wikipedia
Mar 16, 2018•18 min
Alpha Zero
What does it mean? Is it a big step or a small one? How could we know?Is Artificial Intelligence becoming a massive anticlimax? Is it inevitable that AI will be better than us? Image: geraldford via Flickr
Mar 09, 2018•21 min
Universality
What is the most universal science? What will be true where ever you go? Philosophical reductionism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-reduction Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser via Wikipedia
Mar 02, 2018•21 min
Animal Sentience
Are animals sentient? How do we measure sentience? What is sentience anyway? Image: http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Cow-Livestock-Nature-Head-Animal-Cow-Head-1715829
Feb 23, 2018•19 min
Better off
Are we better off than we were 10 years ago? What is all the free stuff worth to us? https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/sep/29/six-million-low-income-families-worse-off-than-10-years-ago https://ourworldindata.org/happiness-and-life-satisfaction/ Image Clapspremiere via Wikipedia
Feb 16, 2018•17 min
Micro transactions
In game purchases. Why do we hate them? Is the a moral repulsion to buying an advantage justified? Gamer backlash against EA: https://gizmodo.com/congratulations-to-ea-games-for-posting-the-most-hated-1820391000 Relational models theory: http://www.rmt.ucla.edu/ ‘Premium mediocre’ - firms trying to hide their business model: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/08/17/the-premium-mediocre-life-of-maya-millennial/ Image by Hachimaki
Feb 09, 2018•21 min
Multitasking
Are we as unproductive as we feel with modern technology? Image: Jeremy Keith via Wikipedia
Feb 04, 2018•24 min
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