Global Optimum Daniel Gambacorta

I started a new podcast! Here is the blurb: Professor Daniel Gambacorta and Behavior Interventionist Atanah Shannon explore the big questions in science and philosophy. What is consciousness? Do we have free will? Are we living in a simulation??? Find out on the next episode of... The Scientific Worldview.

This episode features:
-Why does men’s testosterone go down when they fall in love?
-Does “power posing” have any psychological effects?
-What is “humblebragging” and why does it pervade social media?
-Is our preference for democracy really a preference for high status?
-What is self-esteem?
-How to increase self-esteem (the answer is disappointing)
-How to act high status (the answer is not disappointing)
 
Full transcript
 
-References-
Apply Psychology:
Cameron, J. J., & Stinson, D. A. (2017). Sociometer Theory. Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 1-6.
Feltovich, N., Harbaugh, R., & To, T. (2002). Too Cool for School? Signalling and Countersignalling. RAND Journal of Economics, 33(4), 630-649.
Gettler, L. T., McDade, T. W., Feranil, A. B., & Kuzawa, C. W. (2011). Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(39), 16194-16199.
Longman, D. P., Surbey, M. K., Stock, J. T., & Wells, J. C. (2018). Tandem androgenic and psychological shifts in male reproductive effort following a manipulated “win” or “loss” in a sporting competition. Human Nature, 29(3), 283-310.
Amy Cuddy TED Talk
Is it time to give up on self-esteem?
Move on – this isn’t true
Politics isn’t about policy
Check This Rec:
Future Strategist

This episode features:
-Why does high status reduce creativity?
-How to remain creative as you gain status
-When should you distrust your own moral reasoning?
-How do we come to learn what counts as high status in our culture?
-What are the psychological underpinnings of “inspiration”?
-How to feel less motivated to engage in conspicuous consumption
 
Full transcript
 
-References-
Apply Psychology:
Borjas, G. J., & Doran, K. B. (2015). Prizes and productivity how winning the fields medal affects scientific output. Journal of human resources, 50(3), 728-758.
Ethical Injunction
High Status and Stupidity: Why?
Check This Rec:
Murray, D. (2019). The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

This episode features:
-How do people behave differently when they are high vs low status?
-How did human social status evolve?
-Should you try to dampen your desire for status?
-Are EAs too credential-focused?
-Is publishing in academic journals overrated?
-Can you get more done by working alone than by starting an organization?
-What causes groups to splinter?
-How has effective altruism “professionalized?” What are the upsides and downsides of this trend?
 
Full transcript
 
-References-
Apply Psychology:
Anderson, C., Hildreth, J. A. D., & Howland, L. (2015). Is the desire for status a fundamental human motive? A review of the empirical literature. Psychological Bulletin, 141(3), 574.
Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., & Anderson, C. (Eds.). (2014). The psychology of social status. New York, NY: Springer.
Puts, D. A. (2010). Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans. Evolution and human behavior, 31(3), 157-175. 
Solnick, S. J., & Hemenway, D. (1998). Is more always better?: A survey on positional concerns. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 37(3), 373-383.
Celebrating failed projects
Estimating readership of different EA/LW writings (EA Forum comment)
Check This Rec:
The Dissenter YouTube channel
The Dissenter podcast

This episode features:
-How to evaluate your chance of successfully completing difficult projects
-Can you be justified in believing that you are an extraordinary person who can do extraordinary things?
-When to trust the advice of others and when not to
-How to fail faster
-How to judge a project based on how well it fails
-How to avoid repeating mistakes
-Why you should want to fail occasionally
-How to make failure more foreseeable: the “premortem”
 
Full transcript
 
-References-
Apply Psychology:
Klein, G. (2007). Performing a project premortem. Harvard business review, 85(9), 18-19.
Roese, N. J., & Vohs, K. D. (2012). Hindsight bias. Perspectives on psychological science, 7(5), 411-426.
Arbital postmortem
Celebrating failed projects
How Many of the 540,000 Podcasts have “Podfaded?”
Inadequate Equilibria: Where and How Civilizations Get Stuck
‘Never Settle’ Is A Brag
Umeshisms
Why we should err in both directions
Check This Rec:
Philosophical Disquisitions
Episode #44 – Fleischman on Evolutionary Psychology and Sex Robots

This episode features:
-What are the best and worst studying techniques?
-Do “learning styles” exist?
-How to squeeze more learning into your day
-How to start learning a new field
-How to cultivate viewpoint diversity
-How to avoid getting parasitized by bad ideas
-Should you study in the morning or at night?
-Can napping enhance learning?
 
Full transcript
 
-References-
Apply Psychology:
Brown, P. C., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick. Harvard University Press.
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58.
Feld, G. B., & Diekelmann, S. (2015). Sleep smart—optimizing sleep for declarative learning and memory. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 622.
Isarida, T., & Isarida, T. K. (2014). Environmental context-dependent memory. Advances in experimental psychology research, 115-51.
Anki
Audible
Crucial Considerations and Wise Philanthropy
Oxbridge Notes Guide To Autodidactism
Rationality: From AI to Zombies
Spaced Repetition for Efficient Learning
The Best Textbooks on Every Subject
Twelve Virtues of Rationality
Why should effective altruists embrace uncertainty?
Wyzant
You and Your Research
Check This Rec:
Foundations of Economic Prosperity taught by Daniel Drezner
Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths of Language Usage taught by John McWhorter
The Higgs Boson and Beyond taught by Sean Carroll