Now I Get It, with Dr. Andy

Andrew Winkler
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Mathematics

I’m Andrew Winkler, a former Stanford and Columbia math professor. We’ll explore the most interesting insights I’ve come across, ranging across the mental landscape: math, science, personality, how we think and feel, and how we love or feel unloved. We’ll give answers to all the most confusing questions everyone has, have new books and authors, and reach new understandings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1d ago

    Pride and Prejudice, Personality Feedback Loops, and AI-Powered Reading Tools

    Today I'm talking about something that's been on my mind as I've been writing Love Quotient: the two feedback loops that quietly corrode almost every relationship we have. I explain how our dominant cognitive function becomes our personal "channel" for expressing and receiving love, and why a mismatch with the people we care about can spiral into the exact same withdrawal on both sides, until the relationship falls apart. From there I dive into Pride and Prejudice, using what I know about personality and temperament to offer a fresh, more sympathetic read on Mr. Bennett and the entailment that hangs over the Bennet family. I also share a personal story about my border collies that mirrors his situation surprisingly well. Then I take a hard turn into artificial intelligence, walking through how I used "vibe coding" to build a free tool that helps you read the world's great literature, in the original Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic, with computer-assisted definitions built right in. In this episode you will learn: (00:00) Why our relationships are being steadily corroded by two feedback loops we rarely notice (02:27) How our dominant cognitive function becomes our personal channel for expressing and receiving love (05:15) What entailment meant for the Bennet family and why it set the entire plot of Pride and Prejudice in motion (08:22) Why Mrs. Bennett was so openly focused on marrying off her daughters to rich men (11:57) How "goodness of fit" and temperament theory give us a more sympathetic read on Mr. Bennett's parenting (15:32) What my border collies taught me about Mr. Bennett's distance from his younger daughters (18:45) Why artificial intelligence is simultaneously overhyped and underhyped right now (18:45) How human and machine intelligence complement each other when it comes to parsing language (22:01) How I used "vibe coding" to build a reading tool from scratch in a single day (24:45) What's inside the Andrew Winkler Reading Room, from the Septuagint to Shakespeare to Ulysses Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Read, with computer assistance, the best literature the world has ever produced andrew-winkler-reading-room.overskill.app Love Quotient: Stop Dying of Thirst in an Ocean of Love Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amwphd/love-quotient Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min

  2. Jun 18

    Why Tax Software Is Broken (And What Vectors Really Are)

    Today I'm tackling something a little different: taxes. After spending years writing my book Love Quotient and other projects in physics and math, I funded that work through earnings in the tech sector, specifically long-term capital gains. That led me into a maze of federal versus California tax treatment, amended returns, and a frustrating "screw you letter" from the IRS demanding paperwork they could have processed themselves if they'd just shared their own software with taxpayers. I talk about why that doesn't happen, who benefits from keeping it that way, and the surprising silver lining: California's tax agency was actually reasonable to deal with, which genuinely surprised me. Then I shift gears completely into something I've been working on for the past year: a new way of understanding scalar and vector quantities in physics. I unpack why "scalars" like mass, temperature, and length aren't really scalars at all, but one-dimensional vectors tied to units, and how units themselves function as bases for these vector spaces. From there, I show how ordinary vector quantities like force and velocity are tensor products of geometric vectors with these one-dimensional magnitude spaces, and how this framework recovers the classic magnitude-and-direction picture of physics in a cleaner, more unified way. In this episode you will learn: (00:00) Why I ended up filing amended tax returns after years of writing my book and research projects (03:43) Why government tax agencies don't give taxpayers access to their own processing software (04:18) How political incentives keep tax prep companies like H&R Block and Liberty Tax in business (06:00) Why "scalar" quantities like mass and temperature aren't actually scalars (09:27) How units function as bases for one-dimensional vector spaces (10:00) Why changing units works exactly like a change of basis for vectors (10:47) How to recover both magnitude and direction from this unified framework Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    13 min

  3. Jun 4

    Why Your Relationships Are Slowly Falling Apart — And How Your Love Quotient Can Save Them

    In today's episode, I'm sharing the core insights from my new book, Love Quotient: Stop Dying of Thirst in an Ocean of Love — and my goal is to give you everything you need to transform your most important relationships. Welcome to Now I Get It with Dr. Andy. I'm talking about one of the most painful and preventable dynamics in relationships: the slow drift that happens when two people are pouring love into a connection, but neither one can feel it. The culprit isn't a lack of caring — it's a mismatch in cognitive functions. I walk through the four core ways we process the world — sensing, thinking, feeling, and intuition — and why we each only mature some of these functions while others stay dormant. That gap is precisely where love gets lost. Tune in as I explore how to identify your loved one's dominant cognitive type through something as simple as their gestures or walk, and how to bridge the gap between the love you're giving and the love they actually feel. Whether you're navigating a marriage, a friendship, or a professional dynamic, this episode gives you a practical framework for turning a drifting relationship into one that deepens every day. In this episode, you will learn: (00:27) We only fully mature half of our cognitive functions in a lifetime (05:09) Most relationships break down because love is sent in a form the other can't perceive (07:45) Each cognitive function has its own unique language of love  (08:30) Four hand gestures reveal a person's dominant cognitive type (13:00) The way someone walks maps to their relationship dynamic  (19:54) Combining gesture and walk pinpoints exactly what your loved one needs  (22:10) Attuning to your loved one triggers them to give you the love you need in return Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 min

  4. May 21

    How AI Really Works: Large Language Models, Human Intelligence, and the Math Behind the Magic

    What if artificial intelligence doesn't replace human intelligence — it amplifies it? And what if the quality of what you bring to AI is exactly what determines what you get back? Welcome to Now I Get It with Dr. Andy. I'm Andrew Winkler, and in this episode I'm taking a deep dive into one of the most consequential technologies of our time: large language models. I break down how these systems are built on surprisingly elegant mathematics, why language itself has a hidden statistical structure that makes AI possible, and what it really means for how we interact with these powerful tools. Tune in as I explore the neural network foundations that underpin modern AI, unpack the "garbage in, garbage out" principle in its most precise form, and reveal why the most important thing you can bring to an AI conversation is your own intelligence and curiosity. In this episode, you will learn: (00:27) Neural networks are built on elegant mathematics (01:15) One nonlinearity unlocks AI's power to model anything (02:47) Models extract signal, not just memorize data (04:30) Language has a hidden statistical structure AI can learn (08:30) AI defaults to average intelligence without strong context (09:03) Smarter input produces smarter AI output (09:45) AI amplifies human intelligence — it doesn't replace it Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    12 min

  5. May 7

    Why Mud, Logs, and Bugs Beat Plastic Toys: The Science of Proprioception and Nature-Based Play

    Welcome back to Now I Get It with Dr. Andy. I'm sitting down once again with Angela McEwen, our resident expert in early childhood development, to dig into one of the most overlooked secrets of raising healthy, capable kids — proprioception. Angela has spent decades in childcare, including helping coordinate San Francisco's childcare response during the pandemic, and what she's discovered about the role of natural play environments is something every parent and educator needs to hear. In this conversation, Angela shares the remarkable results from a nature-based outdoor redesign pilot program at her San Francisco preschool — and what happened blew even her away. For the first time in her career, children developed proprioceptive skills entirely on their own, without any formal instruction, simply by playing with logs, mud, and the natural world around them. We also get into why full-body sensory experiences — from jumping into pools to rolling in the dirt — matter more than flashcards or structured fine motor activities, and how giving kids a little controlled risk teaches them to trust themselves for a lifetime. In this episode, you will learn: (01:01) How animal movement games build proprioception in young children (02:54) Why rushing kids into formal schooling before age seven backfires (05:30) The nature-based playground redesign — and its surprising results (09:49) The Olympian study: why trampolines and full-body impact matter (14:57) Why peeling bark and picking berries beat fine motor activities (19:59) Why a little controlled stress builds lifelong resilience Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 min

  6. Apr 23

    Why Every Child Feels Loved Differently — And How to Use That Knowledge

    In this episode, I sit down with early childhood education expert Angela McEwen to explore one of the most transformative ideas I've encountered in how my work on love languages translates beyond romantic relationships — all the way into the classroom and the home. Angela has been applying the framework from my book directly with her preschool students, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. From a non-English-speaking boy who finally felt seen, to a chore wheel that stopped sparking resentment, her stories are vivid proof that when you meet a child where they are, connection follows naturally. We dig into the difference between equality and equity — why giving every child the same thing isn't the same as giving every child what they actually need — and how that insight can transform the way teachers and parents show up. Angela also introduces the early childhood concept of "goodness of fit," and I share how it maps directly onto personality types and love languages. Whether you're a teacher managing a room of 30 or a parent trying to decode why your kids respond so differently to the same parenting approach, this conversation offers a practical, eye-opening framework for fostering real connection. In this episode, you will learn: (03:11) Equity vs. equality: giving kids what they actually need (03:14) Breaking through a language barrier using love languages (05:23) The chore wheel hack that makes everyone happier (07:13) Primary vs. gesture love languages — and what a child crawling into a lap reveals (10:10) How "goodness of fit" connects to personality type and love language (12:16) The "inspector" type: why criticism is actually deep care (15:18) Creating moments for a rule-oriented child to shine (18:23) Why physical touch kids just need a hug before and after circle time (21:51) How to handle "I want something at the store" by love language (23:22) The two kinds of gift-givers — and why letting one pick their own misses the point Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 min

  7. Apr 9

    Why Giving Kids Control Is the Secret to Calming Them Down

    Every parent has been there — the meltdown, the screaming, the feeling that nothing you say or do is going to get through. This week, I sat down again with early childhood expert Angela MacEwen, whose decades of experience caring for children (including those who've experienced significant trauma) have given her a remarkably clear-eyed understanding of what kids actually need in their most challenging moments. Welcome to Now I Get It with Dr. Andy. Angela walks us through some of the most practical and surprisingly simple strategies for helping children regulate their emotions — from redirecting a screaming child by giving them a job to do, to why you should never try to reason with a toddler mid-tantrum. We also get into the big stuff: why a motel pool beats Disneyland every time, why finding a roly poly on the way to school might be your child's core memory of the year, and how nurturing children — especially those who've experienced hardship — is just as healing for the caregiver as it is for the child. In this episode, you will learn: (01:02) Why the need for control is at the root of children's tantrums (02:00) How giving kids a simple task can de-escalate even the most intense meltdowns (03:05) Why you should never attempt conflict resolution during a big emotion (03:40) The twins story: how redirecting a furious child to pour water brought his anger back to calm (06:21) Why kids remember the motel pool more than Disneyland  (08:19) How to reframe everyday moments as potential core memories (09:07) Why pajamas at school are fine — and how to address it without an argument  (11:14) How helping others is a powerful antidote to anxiety for adults and children alike Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    15 min

  8. Mar 30

    How Children's Love Languages Can Transform Your Parenting and Classroom — with Angela MacEwen

    In this episode of Now I Get It with Dr. Andy, I'm joined by Angela MacEwen, a veteran child development expert who helped design San Francisco's citywide childcare plan during COVID-19. Angela shares how she applied the concepts from my upcoming book, Love Quotient: Stop Dying of Thirst in an Ocean of Love, inside her preschool classroom — identifying each child's love language through body language and personality cues, and even rethinking classroom chore charts so only the kids who genuinely love them get to do them. We also explore one of the most surprising truths Angela has observed across 30 years: it's rarely the big, expensive experiences that become a child's core memories. It's the quiet moments — a worm remembered, a truck ride to the dump, a teacher who played dinosaurs on the floor. Angela offers practical strategies for parents who want to create a more intentional emotional environment, including a personal story about breaking a generational cycle of yelling in her own family. In this episode, you will learn: (00:04) Angela's background as San Francisco's pandemic childcare plan architect  (01:41) How love languages apply not just to partners, but to children in the classroom (02:45) Why rotating chore charts don't work — and what to do instead  (04:57) How to read preschoolers' personality types through their movements and behaviors  (06:00) Practical ways to speak each love language in an early childhood setting  (08:40) Why children's favorite vacation memories are almost never what parents expect  (10:45) How to reframe everyday routines so they become positive core memories  (12:30) Angela's personal story of breaking a generational pattern — and what her kids said about it Let’s connect! linktr.ee/drprandy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    14 min
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About

I’m Andrew Winkler, a former Stanford and Columbia math professor. We’ll explore the most interesting insights I’ve come across, ranging across the mental landscape: math, science, personality, how we think and feel, and how we love or feel unloved. We’ll give answers to all the most confusing questions everyone has, have new books and authors, and reach new understandings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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