Cognitive Engineering

Does experience make us wiser or simply more boring? Three middle aged men will tackle the question with a total lack of bias. Image: Republican Party via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - ‘Young people tend to be more liberal than older people.’ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3501174 - The politics of ageing https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201806/the-politics-ageing - The origin of ‘that’ quote https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/02/24/heart-head/ - Working-class Tories https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/11/13/tories-popular-among-working-class-rich-new-general-election/ For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Small doses, or all or nothing - what is the best way to live life? Image: Moine buvant du vin dans une cave. Artist: Unknown via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - ‘Moderation is the Key to Life’ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201707/moderation-is-the-key-life - Bill Hicks, ‘Smoking’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOdXA5GrGhs - Personality traits of binge drinkers https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00134/full - Personality types and happiness https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/does_your_personality_predict_your_happiness - Millennials avoiding getting drunk https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/11/young-people-drunk-acohol-millenials For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Was it useful to label Extinction Rebellion as a terrorist organisation? How is terrorism different from extremism? Image: Extinction Rebellion via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - Extinction Rebellion are included in a list of extremist groups https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/priti-patel-defends-inclusion-of-extinction-rebellion-on-terror-list - Global Terrorism Database https://www.start.umd.edu/research-projects/global-terrorism-database-gtd - Proscribed terrorist groups list https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proscribed-terror-groups-or-organisations--2 - Terrorism Act 2006 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/11/contents - UK Counter-Extremism Strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-extremism-strategy For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

We ask whether mental toughness is all in the mind. Image: Mark Jones via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - Harry and Meghan’s statement https://sussexroyal.com/about/ - Susie Ballentyne’s research page at the University of Sussex http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/476810 For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Edged tools have been used by hominids for millions of years, but the elastoplast was only invented just over 100 years ago. Did we get our priorities right? Image: DMC-FZ18 via Pixhere Things mentioned in this podcast: - Sudesh Amman attack https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51389884 - Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the discontinuation of the dataset https://www.rospa.com/Resources/Statistics - CPSC’s injury statistics https://www.cpsc.gov/Research--Statistics/Injury-Statistics For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Emotion, recency and virtue signalling - does it matter what drives charitable behaviour? Image: Cimon and Pero: "Roman Charity" by Jean-Baptiste Greuze via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast: - Amelia Roberts’ charity appeal https://news.sky.com/story/charity-donations-pour-in-after-woman-finds-order-of-service-in-desk-11911407 - Givewell’s top charities https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities - Forbes’ list of charities with the highest overheads https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2011/11/30/least-charitable-bang-for-the-donors-buck/#541d7d2c7456 - Givewell’s critique of ‘mega-charities’ https://blog.givewell.org/2011/12/28/mega-charities/ - Small and Loewenstein, Helping a Victim or Helping the Victim: Altruism and Identifiability https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022299422219#page-1 - The Guardian on emotive charity adverts https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/sep/29/poverty-porn-charity-adverts-emotional-fundraising For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

A dish best served cold, or not at all? We discuss revenge as a strategy. Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Things mentioned in this podcast: - The ProRevenge subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/ProRevenge/ - William Miller, In Defense of Revenge https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1130&context=book_chapters - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Retributive Justice https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justice-retributive/ - Richard Nisbett, Culture of Honor https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Honor-Psychology-Violence-Directions/dp/0813319935 - Robert Axelrod - Evolution of Cooperation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evolution_of_Cooperation For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Does our always on, instantly connected world mean that we’ve lost the job of serendipity? Can we engineer our environment to maximise the chance of good things happening to us? Image: The Three Princes of Serendip Things mentioned in this podcast: - Red Dwarf - ‘Future Echoes’ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41k0sb - Doing the same thing twice is more fun than you think https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/04/rereading-books-rewatching-movies-decisions/587416/ - The Secretary Problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_problem - Games of Life by Karl Sigmund https://www.amazon.co.uk/Games-Life-Explorations-Evolution-Behaviour/dp/0198547838 For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Does inequality actually matter? If it does, why? What problems does it cause? Is it self fulfilling? Is our objection to it a moral one, or is there there rational economic issues with it? Image: Wellcome Collection ref ICV No 12015 V0011749 Things mentioned in this podcast: - Is there really more inequality? https://www.economist.com/briefing/2019/11/28/economists-are-rethinking-the-numbers-on-inequality - Political freedom and inequality https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/5/2/18/pdf - Is inequality actually a problem? https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/6/4/147/pdf - Predictive factors for happiness https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01176/full - Mises’ defence of inequality https://mises.org/library/inequality-wealth-and-incomes - How economic inequality harms societies | Richard Wilkinson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7LzE3u7Bw - UK Inequality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjwhnhtCwsM For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Are you a cat or a dog person? Which is best? Image: nguyen hoangnam via Flickr Things mentioned in this podcast: - Moral Foundations Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory - PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report https://www.pdsa.org.uk/get-involved/our-campaigns/pdsa-animal-wellbeing-report - Who’s Smarter: Cats or Dogs? Psychology Today - https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/valley-girl-brain/201812/who-s-smarter-cats-or-dogs - Cats are just as loyal as dogs https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/cats-loyal-owners-dogs-behaviour-myth-a9118496.html - Dogs share food https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170127112954.htm Will your dog or cat eat you when you die? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/06/pets-dogs-cats-eat-dead-owners-forensics-science/ - Cat social behaviour https://www.msdvetmanual.com/behavior/normal-social-behavior-and-behavioral-problems-of-domestic-animals/social-behavior-of-cats - Evidence of dog altruism https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/study-shows-dogs-help-dogs_n_5672e57de4b0648fe302774d?ri18n=true&guccounter=1 For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

What’s it like to celebrate Christmas in the southern hemisphere? Are there things about Christmas that don’t make sense in summer? Image: Milz via pixels.com Things mentioned in this podcast: - Was Jesus born on 25 December? https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/when-was-jesus-born/ - Average monthly temperature of cities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_average_temperature - Things to do in Wichita at Christmas https://www.google.com/search?q=wichita+christmas+events&oq=wichita+christmas&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.2239j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ibp=htl;events&rciv=evn&sxsrf=ACYBGNQUDj2uHQUMZqneSzGli7vHGsO5jw:1574686584061#htivrt=events&htidocid=F7M37PunUtLJvVeVJpA8-A%3D%3D&fpstate=tldetail For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

What does it mean to be out of touch? Why do we expect our leaders to be in tune with everyday people and their concerns? Image: Ewan Munro via Wikimedia.org Things mentioned in this podcast: - Influence of class on attitudes https://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media/38459/bsa30_social_class_final.pdf - Effect of poverty on decision-making http://www.lse.ac.uk/business-and-consultancy/consulting/assets/documents/how-poverty-affects-peoples-decision-making-processes.pdf - Principle Skinner AmI Out Of Touch meme. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/am-i-out-of-touch - FONK https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fonk - Nomophobia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomophobia For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44

Is it wrong to do amoral things in computer games? Is it ok to bully people as a goose in Untitled Goose Game? Image: House House Things mentioned in this podcast: - Untitled Goose Game https://goose.game/ - Ethics in the Virtual World by Garry Young https://philpapers.org/rec/YOUEIT-2 For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player: feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:219479129/sounds.rss

Why do animal sounds vary between languages? Image: Alex Andrews via Pexels.com Things mentioned in this podcast: - Onomatopoeia in different languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-linguistic_onomatopoeias - Idiophones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiophone - Disentangling canid howls across multiple species and subspecies: Structure in a complex communication channel https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/wolf-species-have-howling-dialects - Ylvis - What Does The Fox Say? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player: feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:219479129/sounds.rss

Assuming we can’t blame a virus for its own evolutionary success, just whose fault is it when we catch something? Image: Robert E. Bates, USCDCP via pixnio.com Things mentioned in this podcast: - Data on childhood vaccination in England https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2017-18 - The law on transmission of STDs https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/intentional-or-reckless-sexual-transmission-infection - The NYT on the ethics of infection https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/sunday-review/the-ethics-of-infection.html - Contagiousness v deadliness from Information is Beautiful https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-microbescope-infectious-diseases-in-context/ For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player: feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:219479129/sounds.rss