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PODCAST

Bit of a Tangent

Gianluca Truda and Jared Tumiel

Two aspiring rationalists bring you mind-bending ideas from science, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and medicine. Whether you enjoy wide-ranging discussions or are looking to upgrade your reasoning and critical thinking skills, this podcast will satisfy your intellectual hunger and sharpen your skeptical eye.

science

All Episodes

01:03:54

011 | Slack, attention and focus - or why more is less

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/08/19

This week on Bit of A Tangent we discuss the little known but unbelievably important concept of ‘slack’ - what it is, why having too little of it can be deadly and how to get more of it! We also discuss the difference between attention and awareness and how can help you live a more engaged life, a simple rule of thumb to know when you’re using your time on earth well, and a quick trick to train your mind to dive straight into deep focus when you need to! Lastly, we discuss how we’ve set up our

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01:11:40

010 | Flow states, optimal performance, and PhD...

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/08/12

A deep-dive into the Flow state. Gianluca and Jared discuss the physiology and psychology of being in “the zone,” and the decades of research behind this state of optimal cognitive and physical performance. They also trade hypotheses about how and why the Flow state may have evolved, using the model of cultural evolution within hunter-gatherer tribes. ---------- Shownotes: Flow psychology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) 6 components of Flow:

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01:12:48

009 | How to Win Friends and Influence Reality

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/08/05

This episode looks at how to disrupt social dynamics. Gianluca and Jared consider the properties of social modes and narratives, examine Don Hoffman’s theory of fictitious reality and its evolutionary origins, and discuss ways to overcome your social limits through psychological hacks like self-characterisation and frame shifting. ---------- Shownotes: The Seven Basic Plots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots The Hero’s Journey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey The

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01:06:32

008 | Design Your Workouts, but Evolve Your Algorithms!

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/29

In this episode, Jared and Gianluca throw caution to the wind and discuss their most controversial topic yet: what they think might be the best way to exercise! Specifically, they summarise the thesis behind the book ‘Body By Science’ by John Little and Doug McGuff and reveal their own workout routines. Along the way they also explore the field of evolutionary programming and genetic algorithms (hint: Gianluca just published his research paper on the topic!) and what these techniques could bring to

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46:37

007 | Game Theory, Alignment, and Civilisational...

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/22

In this episode, Jared and Gianluca introduce the fundamentals of Game Theory; before examining the AI alignment problem, civilisational inadequacy, and Moloch—the mythical characterisation of all things suboptimal. This episode makes heavy reference to an article called "Meditations on Moloch", from Scott Alexander’s SlateStarCodex blog. We highly recommend it. ---------- Shownotes: SlateStarCodex article on Moloch : https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ Background on the

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01:13:52

006 | Libra, crypto, and the future of humanity

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/15

Gianluca and Jared are joined by crypto expert Thomas Tumiel in a discussion about the details of Facebook’s new Libra cryptocurrency. They give a brief primer on the fundamentals of blockchains and cryptography, examine how Libra is implemented (compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum), discuss Facebook’s strategy for rollout, consider possible failure modes, and contrast the dystopian and utopian outcomes of a truly global cryptocurrency. ---------- Shownotes: Mined For Change:

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01:10:56

005 | Habit Frameworks and Sleep

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/08

Gianluca outlines his new Habit Formation Framework and future habit-related projects, Jared discusses his heuristics and hacks for a good day, and they both examine the consequences of sleep deprivation—especially on (medical) students. ---------- Shownotes: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear : www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits Loving Kindness meditation : https://www.headspace.com/meditation/compassion Oak meditation/breathing app : https://www.oakmeditation.com/ ASMR :

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52:48

004 | Don't Ask a Genie to Cure Cancer

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/05

Gianluca and Jared speak about absurdism, existentialism, and an antidote to becoming bored with the world. They then think out loud about direction versus random walks as well as their visions for the long term future of humanity and how to even think about these kinds of massive questions. They also touch on attention and what it would mean to use it well, all things considered, some of the basics of Transhumanism, and what single thing each of us would wish for to give humanity its best chance at

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01:39:06

003 | Synaesthesia and the Butterfly Effect of...

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/03

Gianluca and Jared record their first face-to-face episode! They think out loud about how to deduce germ theory as a hunter gatherer, why having interesting conversations is about making people interesting, not meeting interesting people, and finally speculate about why we might have a sense of self and whether it's outlived its usefulness! Shownotes: The (minimal) effects of creatine on cognitive performance : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21118604 and

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01:23:17

002 | Self-aware doorways & dog-space

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/07/02

Jared and Gianluca compare notes on their favourite productivity strategies and mindfulness techniques. They also explore the rhetorical bias of wisdom and the rationalist interpretation of cached thoughts; before making ill-advised attempts at explaining the nebulous concepts of "Idea Space" and "Short Inferential Distances". Shownotes: ‘Getting Things Done’ book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1633.Getting_Things_Done?from_search=true ‘Eat That Frog’ book:

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47:29

001 | You don’t want to be the people in Friends

Bit of a Tangent ·

2019/06/30

Jared and Gianluca dive into the ethics of lying and the effects of trying really hard not to, as well as some of the concepts and thoughts which changed the course of their lives. They also discuss religion, Santa and whether you only have a limited window to overcome limiting beliefs. Shownotes: The book in which Sam Harris talks about the difference between LSD and meditation : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774981-waking-up Eliezer Yudkowsky’s essay “Crisis of Faith” :

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31 results

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