We Used to Be the Smart Kids

Eric and Karalyn

We have useless degrees, and we aren't afraid to use them in pursuit of dissecting whatever we're obsessing over today. We're doing deep dives on shallow topics. Everything from obscure Japanese violent softcore to teen Youtube personalities.

  1. 06/07/2023

    The Trolley Problem. IN SPACE!

    Kare gets mad about, "The Cold Calculations," a short story from the 50's. It was a different time. And there's still no excuse for this fascist b******t. Read the story here: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-cold-equations/ Two response stories, we discussed the first one by Don Sakers: https://sfshortstories.com/?p=795 https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ogden_12_21/ An incredibly in depth response the common criticisms of The Cold Equations: https://web.archive.org/web/20131208103213/http://www.richardhartersworld.com/cri_d/cri/1999/coldeq.html Cory Doctorow's insightful commentary on The Cold Equations: https://locusmag.com/2014/03/cory-doctorow-cold-equations-and-moral-hazard/  These last two links didn't make it into the podcast, but they're fascinating in their own way. In the first one, someone argues that the actual math in The Cold Equations is wrong. The second is a link to a corporate team building seminar you can book where various short stories are discussed. The Cold Equations is a great option if you need to root out the psychopaths on your team. https://sciencemeetsfiction.com/nonfiction-essays/the-real-problem-with-the-cold-equations/ https://www.booksatwork.org/reading-mindfully-tom-godwins-the-cold-equations/ Miscellaneous Sources: https://file770.com/essay-a-fresh-look-at-cold-equations/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cold_Equations Intro music "Chipper" by Tim Beek (timbeek.com). Outro music by onemansymphony. Support We Used to Be the Smart Kids by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/we-used-to-be-the-smart-kids

    30 min

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We have useless degrees, and we aren't afraid to use them in pursuit of dissecting whatever we're obsessing over today. We're doing deep dives on shallow topics. Everything from obscure Japanese violent softcore to teen Youtube personalities.