Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
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Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
Do facts have an expiration date? (with Samuel Arbesman)
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
1 hour 15 minutes 37 seconds
2 months ago
Do facts have an expiration date? (with Samuel Arbesman)
Read the full transcript here. • What does it mean to treat facts as drafts rather than monuments? If truth is something we approach, how do we act while it’s still provisional? When definitions shift, what really changes? How do better instruments quietly rewrite the world we think we know? Are we mostly refining truths or replacing them? When do scientific metaphors clarify and when do they mislead? What public stories make self-correction legible and trusted? What features make science self-correct rather than self-congratulatory? How should we reward replication, repair, and tool-building? Do we need more generalists - or better bridges between tribes? How does measurement expand the very questions we can ask? Is progress a goal-seeking march or a search for interesting stepping stones? Should we teach computing as a liberal art to widen its aims? Will AI turn software into a home-cooked meal for everyone? How do we design tools that increase wonder, not just efficiency? • Samuel Arbesman is Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital. He is also an xLab senior fellow at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and a research fellow at the Long Now Foundation. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic, and he was previously a contributing writer for Wired. He is the author of the new book The Magic of Code, and his previous books are Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension and The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date. He holds a PhD in computational biology from Cornell University and lives in Cleveland with his family. • Links: • Sam's Recent Titles: The Half-Life of Facts (https://www.amazon.com/Half-life-Facts-Everything-Know-Expiration/dp/B009EDCRN2/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NICYfBRltGVfu7npos0SdgZ1Au5Pq_F2eHPNY5UM5wd0IyblL0pgSbyvWL-mKeWmtsyr-Fsw6gNTY4p3-dnzYrpFM6cFNsrRCZRDFlHdyI8gdKZI6PzMiyLrc21KnMx-dxG5ReIkfFtdrNeREC9zG4c9AT5kp6Pa-rEW3Fds1GkmH7szKny58_YrP80nVpb3Wcscfe9TB19kiotmqApJZkOApwwRmZHlKX42XfQaglA.l_pX8NicBV0A-mrRMD_DL6DbxBcqUb50umQrM1mvbqc;dib_tag=se;hvadid=695267647093;hvdev=c;hvexpln=67;hvlocphy=9060354;hvnetw=g;hvocijid=15428950593330253777--;hvqmt=e;hvrand=15428950593330253777;hvtargid=kwd-315234470870;hydadcr=22537_13531293;keywords=half+life+of+facts;mcid=de4a744ec9ec38d5870e891340e6ad26;qid=1752281545;sr=8-1) and The Magic of Code (https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Code-Language-Connects-World_and/dp/1541704487) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host + Director • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Producer + Technical Lead • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Igor Scaldini (https://www.linkedin.com/in/igorscaldini/) — Marketing Consultant • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/)
Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
