Cognitive Engineering

Why is work important? The pandemic has spawned new movements dedicated to fighting against the oppression of wage labour. So this week, we take a look at the burgeoning Anti-work movement. One that started off as a minor subreddit and has now grown into a popular idea. We discuss what makes the Anti-work movement influential and ask if it is a positive sign that people are questioning modern work patterns. We also cover the concept of Bullshit Jobs, inefficiencies in the job market and techno-utopianism. Finally, we speculate about what we would be doing if work was no longer a necessity. Enjoy this podcast at your leisure. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Job Leavers in the US https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS13023705 - US Real Median Wages https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q - Cognitive Engineering Podcast: Good Things Coming from Bad Things https://alephinsights.com/podcast/2020/04/good-things-coming-from-bad/ For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website

Is Tracey Emin entitled to ask the current Government to take down artwork that she gave to the Government when David Cameron was in office or is that unreasonable? We look at whether it is ever permissible to ask for a gift back. In this week’s podcast, we discuss gifts and ask what rights you have when you give a gift to someone and whether these rights change depending on who the gift is for. We explore the complex moral and legal implications of giving a gift, the curious case of engagement rings and discuss why ISIS fighters have a penchant for the Toyota Hilux. Finally, we share some of our best and worst gift experiences. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Tracey Emin requests No 10 take down her neon artwork https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60066844 - Joan Edwards – a curious case of a generous bequest https://www.gedye.co.uk/article/joan-edwards-a-curious-case-of-a-generous-bequest/ For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to g

The human body is full of seemingly uncoordinated processes and sensations. Needing to pass and then drink water in quick succession, developing an insatiable hunger just before bedtime, getting an itchy nose when your hands are both full. It often feels like there are some inherent design flaws in the human species. In this week’s podcast, we discuss redesigning humans. Why are some biological processes seemingly so inefficient? How could we optimise the human species using physiology from different parts of the animal kingdom? We also discuss the brain stimulation concept known as "wireheading", provide a novel solution to the Prisoner’s dilemma and unpack the inner workings of human anatomy and DNA, to muse on questions of existence. - Urination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urination - Do Neurons Process Information Efficiently? https://jim-stone.staff.shef.ac.uk/BookNeuralInfo/lectureneuralinfoJVS.pdf - How would lives play out if humans only died from unnatural causes (like car accidents)? https://p

What is a life without risk? From going outside to eating our lunch, we take dozens of risks every day without stopping to consider them, let alone attempt to quantify them. In this week’s podcast, we are joined by Jerry Smith, Head of Advisory at the risk analysis company, CHC Global. Jerry helps us to unpack how the insurance market operates, the idea of malicious versus benign risk, and why high impact and low probability events are difficult to insure. We also discuss how data might be used to present and examine risk in new ways. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - CHC Global https://www.chcglobal.co.uk/ - Pool Re https://www.poolre.co.uk/ For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

As the UK Government teeters on the edge of a precipice, we look back to a key moment in the genesis of the current crisis: the lobbying scandal that brought an end to Conservative MP Owen Paterson’s political career. We use these events to analyse the issue of politicians’ pay. In this week's podcast, we consider the issue of optimal remuneration for our political classes. We debate whether we would get better politicians, with fewer vested interests, if they were paid more money. We also chart the history of salaries in British politics and examine how the UK stacks up against other countries. Finally, we debate how to incentivise talented people to take up a career in politics and interrogate whether or not there is a correlation between the rates of pay among politicians and levels of corruption.

It’s one of Britain’s most loved yet least considered products: the humble crisp. In this week’s podcast, we discuss the association between colour and crisp flavours. We ask all the burning questions: What does your favourite crisp flavour say about you? Have crisp packets always been the same colour? Is there really a definitive colour palette for each flavour? Along the way, we take you through the contentious history of crisps, differences in preference across countries and generations, and search for an objective basis for the colour of crisp packets. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - So long, salt and vinegar: how crisp flavours went from simple to sensational https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jan/14/so-long-salt-and-vinegar-how-crisp-flavours-went-from-simple-to-sensational - Generation ready salted https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2014/08/30/generation-ready-salted - Crisp packet colours should have an international flavour standard https://www.goodfood.com.au/

Taking a walk through the woods with the family pet can sometimes unearth some unexpected surprises. Sticks, stones or even, buried treasure. In this week’s podcast, we discuss what counts as treasure and how you might distinguish it from trash. We survey the historical legal definitions of treasure, assess the likelihood of a detectorist striking gold and present examples of how finding treasure can ignite our imagination and become a bridge to the past. Finally, we share the treasures we would most like to discover ourselves. - Detectorists jailed for stealing £12m Viking hoard of gold and silver https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/22/detectorists-jailed-for-stealing-12m-viking-hoard-of-gold-and-silver - Buried treasure: record UK haul fuelled by rise in metal detectorists https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/feb/03/buried-treasure-record-uk-haul-fuelled-by-rise-in-metal-detectorists - A Survey of Metal-Detector Users in the UK https://tuhat.helsinki.fi/ws/files/120984316/Searching_for_An

"If I could talk with the animals, just imagine it..." In this week's podcast, we discuss what it would be like if we could indeed talk with animals. We consider the ethics of such conversations and try to work out what our non-human friends might be able to teach us. We also dive into topics such as language processing, communication and intelligence. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Are We on the Verge of Chatting with Whales? https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/are-we-on-the-verge-of-chatting-with-whales/ - Philosophical Investigations by Wittgenstein https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54889e73e4b0a2c1f9891289/t/564b61a4e4b04eca59c4d232/1447780772744/Ludwig.Wittgenstein.-.Philosophical.Investigations.pdf - Wittgenstein and the Lion https://www.philosophy-foundation.org/blog/wittgenstein-and-the-lion - Arrival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film) - Tardigrade Becomes First 'Quantum Entangled' Animal in History https://www.livescience.com/tardigrade-quantum-entangled-experime

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he "certainly broke no rules" as questions continue to plague the government over parties during lockdown last Christmas. In the wake of the Christmas party scandal, we think it is timely to revisit our podcast on ministerial accountability. Christmas parties row: Three gatherings to be investigated by top civil servant https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-59591610 --------- Some government ministers seem to constantly court controversy, while others manage to fly smoothly under the incompetence radar. Is this down to luck or judgement, and what is it realistic to expect from our politicians? In this podcast, we examine ministerial accountability using Gavin Williamson as a case study. We consider whether it is realistic to expect a government minister to be infallible, and if so what level of fallibility is acceptable. We also delve into concepts of ministerial responsibility and honour, and try to understand when something is a minister’s fault. A few things we

Magic, spells and wizardry aren’t things you normally associate with local government(unless you're in Environmental Services). But in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, a man employed as the ordained city wizard was let go after 23 years of toil and trouble. In this week’s podcast, we address the vital topic of unemployed wizards. We start by discussing if there might be more value in employing a wizard than a strict accounting metric would suggest, then ask if we should be placing an 'existence value' on oddities in public spending. Finally, we share the joys of placing importance on pointless luxuries and celebrate the superfluous. - Council to stop paying The Wizard $16,000 a year after 23 years on the payroll https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/126624095/council-to-stop-paying-the-wizard-16000-a-year-after-23-years-on-the-payroll?fbclid=IwAR2mxd3cUAKsNS6yC8I1dRucIZfFun0YDo2E_VmmZ7xt1irIKo2YEQ4dReM - Aleister Crowley’s concept of Magick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magick_(Thelema) For more

Irritability, sleeplessness, muscle tension and fatigue are all potentially caused by too much noise. Was Schopenhauer right when he called noise the "most impertinent of interruptions"? This week, we discuss the issue of noise pollution... ...as quietly as we can. The European Environment Agency estimates there are 10,000 premature deaths from noise exposure each year. So why are our cities noisier than ever and what can we do about it? We debate whether susceptibility to noise correlates with age, explore the idea of information overload and ask why we get drawn into the promise of stimulation even when it may be causing us harm. Finally, we share strategies for counteracting and coping with the noisy world around us. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Cities are reportedly noisier than ever https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/apr/25/cities-are-louder-than-ever-and-its-the-poor-who-suffer-most - European Environment Agency report: Noise in Europe 2014 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publication

How often do you use the interrobang, asterism or SarcMark? Do you ever find yourself scrolling to find the perfect emoji? Or perhaps you might feel frustrated by the overuse of punctuation?!? In this week’s podcast, we discuss new punctuation. In a world awash with corporate-speak and scare quotes, what should we add or remove from conventional punctuation and how could it be optimised? We consider punctuation we would like to borrow from other languages, Nick coins a new term for an emoji and we discuss the history of proposed punctuation that didn’t quite stick. Finally, we reveal our favourite pieces of punctuation... A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - User Guidelines and Netiquette by Arlene H. Rinaldi https://web.augsburg.edu/~erickson/edc220/netiquette/rinaldi.html - Uncommon punctuation marks and how to use them https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/uncommon-punctuation-marks-and-how-to-use-them - Emojipedia https://emojipedia.org/ - Punctuation that failed to make its mark https://www.bb

With the UK's terrorism threat level being raised from substantial to SEVERE, following the 14 November incident in Liverpool, we are revisiting our podcast with Jerry Smith from CHC Global. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-terrorism-threat-level-raised-to-severe ---- Ever wondered how we measure the amount of terrorism? We talk to Jerry Smith from CHC Global, who explains how the Global Terrorism Database has been keeping track of terrorist events all around the world for 50 years. This podcast covers the painstaking process of collecting structured information about terrorism and considers how you standardise the measurement of something so chaotic and destructive. It explores how the Global Terrorism Database goes about collecting information, categorising events and maintaining data quality to create one of our favourite datasets. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - The Global Terrorism Database www.start.umd.edu/data-tools/globa…ism-database-gtd - CHC Global www.chcglobal.co.uk/ - Ana

Do you prefer Rembrandt or Rothko? The Vatican or The Shard? A Georgian terrace or a 1960s housing estate? Ever wondered why we stopped building beautiful old buildings and how architectural modernism came to dominate our skylines? This week we discuss the theory of the Tartarian civilization. It claims that our most ornate buildings are the work of a lost civilization called the Tartarian Empire and attempts to explain the rise of architectural modernism. We set out the theories for and against modernism, deconstruct survivorship bias and new urbanism and discuss a famously anti-modernist town designed by Prince Charles. Nick presents a taxonomy of theories that may explain divergent tastes in architecture and we share our own architectural predilections. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Whither Tartaria? https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/whither-tartaria - Poundbury https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poundbury - Celebration, Florida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebration,_Florida - Rich

With Remembrance Day occurring next week, it seems only fitting to re-release a podcast we recorded in 2018. In this podcast, we discuss Remembrance Day, what it means, why we commemorate, and how its purpose has changed over the decades. Remembrance Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.com

You don’t see any job listings for archers, spinners or falconers on LinkedIn these days, yet these trades were once thriving professions performed by ordinary people. Many of these jobs only survive through historical reenactment at fairs and festivals, which invites the question: in hundreds of years from now, which jobs of today will be regarded as cultural heritage for future reenactors? This week, we discuss heritage jobs of the future. In typical fashion, we delve into the data and lay down hypotheses for why some jobs may be more appealing to reenact than others. We present a framework for how likely a job is to be reenacted in the future, debate which jobs of today are ripe for reenactment and ask what constitutes a classic heritage job in the first place. Finally, we reveal the jobs we would most like to reenact ourselves. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Heritage Open Days in England https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/ - Kentwell Hall https://www.kentwell.co.uk/ For more informa

Feed the cat, take the bins out, listen to this podcast. From the timeless paper and pen to the more recent digital calendar or kanban board, to-do lists - whatever their form - are an attempt to remove chaos and inertia from our lives. But do they work? In this week’s podcast, we discuss the efficacy of to-do lists. We try to ascertain whether there is an optimal number of things that should go on a to-do list, delve into the great irony that to-do lists are rarely ever completed and attempt to discover if there is something fundamental about writing lists in the first place. We discuss the birth of early forms of writing, the psychological phenomenon known as the Zeigarnik effect and why studies show that producing a to-do list may bring you closer to achieving your goals. Finally, we disclose some of the things we just can’t seem to cross off our own to-do lists. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - The Zeigarnik Effect https://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/zeigarnik-effect-interruptions-mem

We take for granted the speed, reliability and ubiquity of today's internet, but it wasn't ever thus. Do you remember AltaVista, the ZX Spectrum or the iconic tones of a dialup modem? What about the absurdly long wait times to download an image or to log in to an internet chat room? We indulge our nostalgia to gain insights into the evolution of one of humankind's most important inventions. In this week’s podcast, we look back on the early years of the internet. What will future historians write about the internet? What inspired its creation and who were the key figures and innovators in its design? We assess the capacities and limitations of the primitive internet, reveal where you are likely to find the next internet innovation and suggest industries and sectors that have been forever changed by its arrival. Finally, we reminisce about moments when we realised the age of the internet had finally dawned. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - I Bought a Million Dollar Piece of Internet History https

Why do some small things give us so much pleasure? Tidying up the desk, putting on new socks or changing the washing-up sponge, all seemingly insignificant and yet capable of providing us with an immense sense of joy and satisfaction. In this week’s podcast, we discuss pleasure. We ask why we routinely undervalue the things from which we derive pleasure, if we spend too much money on big things and not enough on small things, and whether the removal of pain is the same thing as the manifestation of pleasure. Nick also outlines his taxonomy of pleasure generation. Finally, we discuss the most prominent predictors of happiness and share our own memories of sheer bliss. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - The Sun surveys Britons to find the top fifty ‘simple pleasures’ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14632933/brits-reveal-simple-pleasures/ - What correlates with happiness and life satisfaction? https://ourworldindata.org/happiness-and-life-satisfaction - The World Happiness Report https://worldhappin

Greatness is a tricky subject: it is difficult to pin down yet we know it when we see it. In this week’s podcast, we mark the passing of technology pioneer and Aleph Insights hero Sir Clive Sinclair by discussing what makes greatness. We discuss objectivity versus subjectivity: can we simply call someone great or is it a title for which unspoken, yet consistent criteria exist? We also look at whether greatness is historically contingent, reliant on being in the right place at the right time, but also whether greatness can be revoked because of changing social mores and revisionary analysis. We address the inherent problem of trying to measure greatness through counterfactuals and examine formal systems that seek to institutionalise the conferment of greatness. Finally, Nick shares his brush with the late Sir Clive and we debate our personal heroes and why we regard them as great figures. - Sir Clive Sinclair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Sinclair - Nietzsche on Human Greatness https://link.springer.co