Modern WisdomJan 20, 2022

#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational

Summary, books mentioned, transcript quotes, and timestamps for #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational on Modern Wisdom.

Guest: Steven Pinker

Notable books mentioned: The Bias That Divides Us by Keith Stanovich, Rationality, Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian

Shop This Episode

Buy the books listeners heard in this conversation.

Direct affiliate CTAs stay tied to the episode quote and timestamp.

Mentioned at 4:15

The Bias That Divides Us

Keith Stanovich

The host discusses the insights from Keith Stanovich's book, highlighting how biases affect even intelligent individuals. The conversation emphasiz…

Buy on Amazon Jump to mention

Mentioned at 18:49

Rationality

The host discusses the complexities of rational thinking and the role of cognitive biases in decision-making. They reference the book 'Rationality'…

Buy on Amazon Jump to mention

Mentioned at 30:43

Everybody Lies

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

The host mentions 'Everybody Lies' in the context of discussing how people's beliefs about fate can impact their decision-making processes. This bo…

Buy on Amazon Jump to mention

Listen

Episode audio

#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational

Modern Wisdom • Tap any mention timestamp to jump straight into playback.

Ready to play

Speed

0:00--:--

Open audio source More from Modern Wisdom

Episode summary, books & quotes

#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational mentions The Bias That Divides Us by Keith Stanovich, Rationality, Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, and Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian with timestamps, quotes, and episode context.

The Bias That Divides Us Rationality Everybody Lies Algorithms to Live By

Guest: Steven Pinker

Episode summary

Steven Pinker is a Cognitive Psychologist at Harvard University, a psycholinguist and a Best Selling Author. It would be nice to always make the right decision. To escape the prison of human emotions and biases and operate from a purely rational place. Steven's new book breaks down rationality into it's components in an attempt to understand just what we're all missing from our mental makeup. Expect to learn why betting websites are the most accurate forecasters of the future, why learning lists of cognitive biases won't always make you more effective, whether smart people are more or less rational on average, whether politics makes you dumber, how to balance rationality with a desire to be intuitive and present and much more...

Book mentions5

Media mentions0

Search intent answers

Quick FAQ

Direct answers for the summary, books, and takeaways queries sending search traffic to this episode.

What is #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational about?

Summary, books mentioned, transcript quotes, and timestamps for #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational on Modern Wisdom.

Listen to the episode

What are the main takeaways from #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational?

These are the strongest takeaways surfaced by the transcript, summary copy, and linked mentions for #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational.

The conversation centers on cognitive biases and rationality.
A second recurring theme is decision making and agency.
Referenced books include The Bias That Divides Us by Keith Stanovich and Rationality.
The strongest audience signal points to Individuals interested in psychology and improving their reasoning skills and Individuals interested in psychology and decision-making.

Listen with timestamps

Which books are mentioned in #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational?

The Bias That Divides Us by Keith Stanovich, Rationality, and Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz are the clearest linked books in this episode, each tied back to transcript timestamps and quote cards.

Jump to books mentioned

Why are listeners searching for #424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational?

#424 - Steven Pinker - The Problem With Trying To Be Rational keeps attracting summary-style searches because this page combines episode context, transcript quotes, book references, and direct jump links back into the audio.

See topic signals

Topic and sentiment signals

Aggregated from transcript-derived mention metadata for better topical navigation and citation.

Top triggers

cognitive biases and rationality(2)decision making and agency(2)trust in institutions(1)

Mention sentiment

Deep Dive(3)Passing Reference(2)

Audience signals

Individuals interested in psychology and improving their reasoning skillsIndividuals interested in psychology and decision-makingIndividuals interested in decision-making strategies and personal development.Individuals interested in psychology and societal trust dynamics

Books Mentioned

The Bias That Divides Us

Keith Stanovich

Best for Individuals interested in psychology and improving their reasoning skillsOften cited around cognitive biases and rationality

“Keith Stanovich discusses cognitive biases and introduces the concept of an irrationality quotient as a complement to the intelligence quotient.”

View mention details

Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: cognitive biases and rationality

For: Individuals interested in psychology and improving their reasoning skills

Key quote: “This is one of the conclusions from Keith Stanovich in his book, The Bias That Divides Us.”

The host discusses the insights from Keith Stanovich's book, highlighting how biases affect even intelligent individuals. The conversation emphasizes the importance of recognizing these biases to improve rational thinking and decision-making.

ASIN: 0262045753

Buy on Amazon

Rationality

Best for Individuals interested in psychology and decision-makingOften cited around cognitive biases and rationality

“The speaker mentions a chapter in their book, Rationality, discussing measuring risk and reward through expected utility theory.”

View mention details

Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: cognitive biases and rationality

For: Individuals interested in psychology and decision-making

Key quote: “So applying the average to myself, I would think so on average, I would hope so.”

The host discusses the complexities of rational thinking and the role of cognitive biases in decision-making. They reference the book 'Rationality' to emphasize the importance of understanding these biases to improve reasoning skills.

ASIN: B08X4X4SQ4

Buy on Amazon

Everybody Lies

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Best for Individuals interested in psychology and decision-makingOften cited around decision making and agency

“The speaker mentions 'Everybody Lies', a book for which he wrote a foreword, in the context of discussing decision-making and data interpretation.”

View mention details

Sentiment: Passing Reference

Trigger: decision making and agency

For: Individuals interested in psychology and decision-making

Key quote: “He did write a book that for which I wrote a foreword called Everybody Lies.”

The host mentions 'Everybody Lies' in the context of discussing how people's beliefs about fate can impact their decision-making processes. This book is referenced as a work that explores the complexities of human behavior and decision-making.

ASIN: B06XCYD5KG

Buy on Amazon

Algorithms to Live By

Brian Christian

Best for Individuals interested in decision-making strategies and personal development.Often cited around decision making and agency

“The discussion revolves around the book 'Algorithms to Live By', which presents a method for making decisions, particularly in choosing a partner based on dating strategies.”

View mention details

Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: decision making and agency

For: Individuals interested in decision-making strategies and personal development.

Key quote: “Algorithms to Live By has a really funny way of how you should pick your partner.”

The host discusses the importance of agency in decision-making and references 'Algorithms to Live By' to illustrate how mathematical principles can guide personal choices. The book provides a framework for making optimal decisions while balancing the costs of reasoning and inaction.

ASIN: B01D24NAL6

Buy on Amazon

The Psychology of Common Knowledge

Steven Pinker

Best for Individuals interested in psychology and societal trust dynamicsOften cited around trust in institutions

“Steven Pinker discusses his upcoming book, which explores the psychology of common knowledge and its implications in various phenomena.”

View mention details

Sentiment: Passing Reference

Trigger: trust in institutions

For: Individuals interested in psychology and societal trust dynamics

Key quote: “Well, I have for a number of years been working on the psychology of common knowledge in the technical sense of I know something.”

The host mentions Steven Pinker's book to highlight the complexities of trust and knowledge in societal institutions. Pinker's exploration of common knowledge provides insight into how public perception is shaped by shared understanding.

ASIN: B0DVH56LGW

Buy on Amazon

Movies & Documentaries Mentioned

No movie or documentary mentions yet

This episode does not have extracted media mentions yet.