Leonard Mlodinow, of the California Institute of Technology is the author of The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. His lecture on the subject of randomness was presented by the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario on May 6th, 2009.
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Leonard Mlodinow on randomness and his book The Drunkard’s Walk
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Malcolm Gladwell - The Ecology of Success
Now, Malcolm Gladwell is taking on success itself, in a new book called “Outliers.” He’s looking at how society and culture determine who we are, and in particular, what accounts for super-success — for the outsized success of superstars.
It’s not what you may think, he says. Not genes or bootstrap grit. There’s a whole ecology to it, he says. Time Magazine calls his new book “a frontal assault on the great American myth of the self-made man.”
This hour, On Point: Malcolm Gladwell, on the ecology of success.
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2008/11/malcolm-gladwells-outliers/
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Dacher Keltner - Born to Be Good
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/dacher_keltner_born_to_be_good/
Dacher Keltner is professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, director of the Greater Good Science Center, and coeditor of Greater Good magazine. His research focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He has conducted empirical studies in three areas of inquiry: the determinants and effects of power, hierarchy and social class; the morality of everyday life, and how we negotiate moral truths in teasing, gossip, and other reputational matters; and the biological and evolutionary basis of the benevolent affects, including compassion, awe, love, gratitude, and laughter and modesty. His new book is Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life.
In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Dacher Keltner explores the evolutionary origins of human goodness, challenging the view that humans are hardwired to pursue self-interest and to compete. Based on his studies of human emotion, he argues instead that survival is not a matter of who is the fittest, but perhaps who is the kindest — that people may have compassion built into their brains, nervous systems, and genes. He talks about the influence of Charles Darwin on his work studying human emotions. He elaborates on Darwin’s position that sympathy is our strongest evolved instinct, and what everyday behaviors such as smiling, shrugging, and hand-shakes tell us about the conditions of our deep evolution as primates. He talks about how he is taking the Darwinian approach of looking at moment by moment expressions of emotion and asking how these emotions shape a meaningful life. He explains why he looks to science, as well as to secular Eastern philosophy such as Confucianism, for answers about a meaningful life, rather than to Western religions. He describes his concept of the Jen ratio, and how it relates to the neuroscience of happiness. And he explains what the scientific study of positive emotions and activities such as smiling, laughter, teasing, touching, love, gratitude and awe may suggest about happy marriages, well-adapted children, and healthy communities.
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Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness
Standard economic analyses rely on an unrealistic model of human behavior in which economic agents are hyperrational robots. Modern behavioral economics takes a more realistic approach and assumes that economics agents are humans, who sometimes forget where they put their keys, panic in the face of economic volatility, and are growing more obese by the day. The theme of Nudge is that it is possible to help such humans make better choices without taking away their freedoms, just by giving them a gentle nudge. The financial crisis of 2008 makes the message of Nudge more relevant than ever, both in determining how we got into this mess, how we can get out, and how we can prevent another crisis.
Tagged with behaviouraleconomics nudge richardthaler lse
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Alain de Botton: The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
Alain de Botton; renowned essayist, philosopher and founder of
The School of Lifeexamines the nature and function of workMost of our waking hours are spent at work, and yet we rarely challenge the basic assumptions that lie behind this time-consuming, life-altering activity.
(Apr 9, 2009 at the RSA)
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The Real Social Networks
James’s new book, “Connected”… Unintentionally influencing your friend’s friend’s friend… How happiness is like the flu… Obesity spreads like an idea …… … but don’t try to lose weight by dumping your fat friends… An old shampoo commercial, voting, and Facebook pseudo-friends…
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The Consolations of Economics
This event was recorded on 6 October 2009 in Old Theatre, Old Building For six years, Tim Harford has been answering readers’ personal problems in the pages of The Financial Times, using the latest economic research to provide advice on dating, etiquette, parenting and even personal hygiene. In a light-hearted but thoughtful lecture, Tim explains what he has learned about whether economics really can bring us personal happiness. Tim Harford is a columnist for the Financial Times, presenter of Radio 4’s More or Less, and author of The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life. His new book is Dear Undercover Economist.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/podcasts/publicLecturesAndEvents.htm
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Happiness around the World: the paradox of happy peasants and miserable millionaires
The determinants of happiness are remarkably similar around the world, in countries as different as Afghanistan, the U.S, and Chile. Income matters to happiness but only so much; friends, freedom, and employment are good for happiness, while crime, poor health, and divorce are bad. Paradoxically, however, people in places like Afghanistan can be as happy as those in much wealthier and safer ones like Chile. One explanation is the remarkable human capacity to adapt to adversity and hardship. While adaptation may be a good thing for individual wellbeing, it can also result in collective tolerance for bad equilibrium which are difficult for societies to escape from.
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Jennifer Michael Hecht - The Happiness Myth
May 25 2007 - Jennifer talks with D.J. Grothe about the history of the idea of happiness.
Tagged with happiness psychology history philosophy drugs shopping culture