Posts tagged Skepticism
Freedom (part 2)
Freedom (part 2)

Behavioral and psychological "freedom" are couched more empirically inside of the concept of freedom from restriction and coercion, and the natural boundaries and contingencies of everyday circumstance and evolutionary trajectory. That is, freedom might mean freedom from restrictive policy and there is some stuff that we just can't biologically do. Also, freedom for one at the cost of freedom for others is not real freedom.

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Philosophy, SkepticismWWDWWDAbraham, Shanebraham, Online Personality Tests, Psychology, Skepticism, Freedom, FreeComment
Freedom (part 1)
Freedom (part 1)

We all use the term colloquially. But what does "freedom" mean? There is freedom in the biological sense, political sense, psychological sense, and many more. We start exploring the various definitions of freedom and what it is not.

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Philosophy, SkepticismWWDWWDAbraham, Shanebraham, Online Personality Tests, Psychology, Skepticism, Freedom, FreeComment
What Happens When We Die? (part 2)
What Happens When We Die? (part 2)

Today’s episode concludes our discussion about what people believe when they don't believe. We ask and answer the question what we believe happens when we die, as well as polling our patreon supporters. Atheists categorically reject the existence of gods and the practice of obeying any sort of higher power. Abraham defends the idea that atheism and agnosticism are the same. Shane makes some beautifully elegant points about what it all means at the end of the day.

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Myth-Busting, SkepticismWWDWWDAbraham, Shanebraham, Online Personality Tests, Psychology, Skepticism, Atheism, AfterlifeComment
What Happens When We Die? (part 1)
What Happens When We Die? (part 1)

Today’s episode discusses religion, but rather the lack thereof. Atheists categorically reject the existence of gods and the practice of obeying any sort of higher power. How does this develop? Where do they generate their morals from without a bible, torah, Quran, etc? While religion has united people around the world in admittedly prosocial and enriched ways, it has influenced others to commit unspeakable acts of violence too. Perhaps the same variables influence people differently, and maybe there is more to the story.

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Myth-Busting, SkepticismWWDWWDAbraham, Shanebraham, Online Personality Tests, Psychology, Skepticism, Atheism, AfterlifeComment
Astrology: It's All Fun Until Someone Gets Hurt
Astrology: It's All Fun Until Someone Gets Hurt

Horoscopes are mostly harmless bits of fun. But how do they work? Why do we believe them? And why does the episode title imply harm? Learn more and another vocab term.

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Myth-Busting, PseudoscienceWWDWWDAbraham, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Horoscopes, Astrology, Zodiac, Skepticism, Science, Astronomy, Constellations, Fortune Cookies, divination, prediction, personality, prognosticate, Pseudoscience, stars, Tea Leaves, Witchcraft, SexismComment
Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories
Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories

The majority of people who buy into conspiracy theories are victims of fraud. Unfortunately, they can become zealous, proselytizing mouthpieces for those conspiracies, which makes them unsympathetic to many. Conspiracies primarily work by exploiting human biases and insecurities. Listen in to find out more about why your weird friend is dedicated to their crystals and mythological beliefs.

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Human Bias, Myth-Busting, Philosophy, PseudoscienceWWDWWDAbraham, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Conspiracy Theories, COVID Vaccine, Truth, Critical Thinking, Skepticism, CredulityComment
240 | (COVID) Vaccine Hesitancy pt 2
240 | (COVID) Vaccine Hesitancy pt 2

This first discussion briefly explains the COVID Virus, the fallout of the pandemic, and the promise of Operation Warp Speed. We suggested three categories of hesitancy: general (legitimate) reasons, pretend (conspiracy reasons), and Motivated reasons. We only review general reasons for now and will finish the list in the next episode. One takeaway: hesitant people aren’t stupid (most of the time). There are a lot of legitimate reasons to be wary. We disagree with them, of course, but it is helpful to understand where they come from.

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Human Bias, PseudoscienceWWDWWDAbraham, Shane, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Vaccine, COVID, Coronovirus, Operation Warp Speed, Pandemic, Motivated Reasoning, Skepticism, ConservatismComment
239 | (COVID) Vaccine Hesitancy pt 1
239 | (COVID) Vaccine Hesitancy pt 1

This first discussion briefly explains the COVID Virus, the fallout of the pandemic, and the promise of Operation Warp Speed. We suggested three categories of hesitancy: general (legitimate) reasons, pretend (conspiracy reasons), and Motivated reasons. We only review general reasons for now and will finish the list in the next episode. One takeaway: hesitant people aren’t stupid (most of the time). There are a lot of legitimate reasons to be wary. We disagree with them, of course, but it is helpful to understand where they come from.

Listen in, and remember that you can reach us directly at info@wwdwwdpodcast.com, through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.

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Human Bias, PseudoscienceWWDWWDAbraham, Shane, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Vaccine, COVID, Coronovirus, Operation Warp Speed, Pandemic, Motivated Reasoning, Skepticism, ConservatismComment
195 | Yoga na Love This
195 | Yoga na Love This

Get your stretchy pants and a dense rubber mat and prepare to be lead in a psychological stretch! This discussion covers what yoga is, the benefits to psychology, its relation to behavior analysis, and skepticism about some of the wild claims. Whether or not you’re a yogi, there is something here for you!

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Liesure, Therapy, AutismGuest UserAbraham, Shane, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Yoga, Exercise, Corpse Pose, Stephen King, The Outsider, Bong Joon Ho, The Host, Skepticism, Behaviorism, AutismComment
193 | Character v Circumstance
193 | Character v Circumstance

What do Rush Limbaugh David Lee Ross, and Fidel Castro have in common? They are all part of a discussion about fundamental attribution error! This human bias is ironically self-referential. People tend to attribute causes of their own behavior to external characteristics while assuming that others’ behavior is due to characteristics endemic to that person. Or at least in western cultures they do. We discuss what it is, skepticism about it, and how to avoid it.

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Human Bias, Psychological HistoryGuest UserAbraham, Shane, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Psychology, Behavior Analysis, Behaviorism, Fundamental Attribution Error, Correspondence Bias, Attribution Effect, Skeptics Guide to the Universe, SGU, Skepticism, Tendency, Western Culture, Rush Limbaugh, David Lee Ross, Fidel Castro, David Lee Roth, Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson, Creativity, Circumstance, Character, The Office (US), What You Do, PanamaComment
180 | Possessed: Exorcisms
180 | Possessed: Exorcisms

This Halloween season is well underway and we have this, and one episode left after this one. In this episode, we review the process of exorcisms. But much more importantly, exorcisms are dangerous and ethically questionable at best. We dive into why people believe them and the effect that they have had on the culture at large.

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Spooky, ChildrenScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Skepticism, Catholocism, Exorcisms, Exorcism, Possession, Demons, Priests, Emily RoseComment
179 | Witch Trials
179 | Witch Trials

The second installment of our spooky psychology month! Witches and witchcraft have a long and complex lore. But one of the creepiest things about witches is how the fear of witches was used to bring harm against so many people for so long. This episode explores the terrifying history of the persecution of people accused of practicing witchcraft. Also, turns out “witch hunts” aren’t as outdated as they might seem….

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Spooky, Human Bias, Psychological HistoryScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shane Spiker, Shanebraham, Witches, Skepticism, Chauvinism, Misogyny, Catholocism, Witch Hunt, Conspiracy Theories, The Skeptic's Guide to the UniverseComment
169 | Artificial Intelligence
169 | Artificial Intelligence

So many references to Isaac Asimov’s books on robots. A ton of pop culture references. A ton of jokes. Throwing public figures under the bus. How behavior analysis can save us from AI. And an update to the laws of robotics. Your general awesome WWDWWD podcast episode

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PhilosophyScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shanebraham, Robotics, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Isaac Asimov, Sci Fi, Science Fiction, Foundation, The Foundation Trilogy, Skepticism, Technology, i Robot, Behavior Analysis, ABA, Applied Behavior AnalysisComment
164 | Would a Head Transplant Work?
164 | Would a Head Transplant Work?

If we had to ask, then the answer is obvious. At this point, it seems unlikely. But even if we figure it out later, it may be unnecessary. A few experiments have mostly failed to demonstrate this with animals and one claimed to have succeeded with a human cadaver. By why would you want a head transplant anyway? One of our more humorous and thorough discussions IMHO.

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Myth-Busting, Animals, The BrainScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shanebraham, Black Lives Matter, head transplant, brain transplant, SkepticismComment
157 | Motivated Reasoning
157 | Motivated Reasoning

Have you ever heard someone self-describe as “socially liberal and fiscally conservative?” If that grinds your gears, you might be avoiding conflicting thoughts altogether and falling victim to motivated reasoning. Life isn’t black and white, but if you’re comfortable in your own beliefs then you probably haven’t heard another opinion in a while. Behavior analysts especially should echo our essential attitude of Philosophical Doubt and always consider the unseen variables at play. The world is an ever-changing platform of complication and contention, but we can continuously work together for the greater good by monitoring our systems

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Philosophy, Human BiasScott Abraham MillerAbraham, RyanO, Alan, Motivated Reasoning, Skepticism, Rationalization, logical reasoning, SGU, Skeptics Guide to the UniverseComment
152 | Why and How We Grieve
152 | Why and How We Grieve

There have been proposed “stages” of grief and various ways of managing grief. Circumstances of trauma can also impact grief such as whether the event was expected or if it was a surprise. Furthermore, there is a clear behavioral process of how grieving works and implicated steps for managing grief in a healthy way.

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Listen in, and remember that you can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at info@wwdwwdpodcast.com, through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.

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Philosophy, ACTScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shanebraham, Grief, Sadness, Harris, Russ Harris, ACT, Stages of Grief, Kessler, Kubler-Ross, Cues, Reminders, Skepticism, Loss, Autism, Disorder, Diagnosis, Death, Dying, COVID-19, Coronovirus, Pandemic, Why We Grieve, How We GrieveComment
148 | False Memories: The Mandela Effect
148 | False Memories: The Mandela Effect

The Mandela Effect is widespread false memories that often carry cultural significance. In this discussion, we describe several examples of the Mandela Effect, what it is, and why it happens. We probably name several things that you thought were true but aren’t, or thought happened but didn’t. Reality isn’t real!

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Human BiasScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shanebraham, Skepticism, False Memories, Memory, Mandela Effect, Nelson Mandela, Jiff Peanut Butter, Darth Vader, Star Wars, Kazaam, Shaq, Cognitive Bias, Cognitive Error, CultureComment
147 | Criminal Profiling
147 | Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling may seem like a sham. In many cases, it is. However, we were surprised to learn that there are some researchers putting real science into criminal profiling to better catch criminals such as murderers. It’s nothing like you see on TV shows where the brilliant detective predicts every move and accurately identifies everything about the criminal. Instead, it is much more interesting when science is used to understand real patterns that might occur and put probabilities to the test to solve a case. Fans of true crime are especially likely to find something to enjoy in this one!

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Pseudoscience, How To, Psychological HistoryScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shanebraham, Skepticism, Science, Crime, Profiling, Criminal Profiling, Psychological Profiling, True Crime, Statistics, Law, Law Enforcement, Detectives, Mystery, Sleuth, David Canter, PoliceComment
146 | Right and Left Brain Personality
146 | Right and Left Brain Personality

Begun in the work on patients with epilepsy, split-brain research suggested maybe people generally rely on one hemisphere of their brain over the other. Except, that doesn’t actually make any sense when you understand how the brain works. Although most people already know this, we expanded on this by elaborating on the history of this idea, and the one or two researchers who have continued to push this line of research despite its lack of fruitful outcomes… or general utility. Still, a lot to learn about this seemingly obvious urban myth.

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Philosophy, Myth-Busting, Pseudoscience, The BrainScott Abraham MillerAbraham, Shane, Shanebraham, Personality, Analytic, Creative, Myth, Urban Legend, Roger Sperry, Steven Novella, Science Based Medicine, Skepticism, Magical Thinking, Science Literacy, Science, Bruce Morton, Tests, Left brain, Right brain, Hemisity, Hemisphere DominanceComment
144 | Default Mode Network of the Brain
144 | Default Mode Network of the Brain

We do our best to define altruism through the ways others have defined it. We break down the philosophical traditions that have tried to define, explain, and promote altruism. We read from some religious texts on altruism. We failed to point out in this discussion that if someone were to intend harm and do good, that would technically meet the definition of altruism but also not be something we’d want to promote. In the end, we advocate for prosocial behavior and point out that the definition is not particularly helpful right now.

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Autism, The Brain, PhilosophyScott Abraham MillerAbraham, RyanO, Ryan, Default Mode Network, DMN, Brain, Neurology, Neuroimaging, Brain Science, Science, Autism, Alzheimers, SkepticismComment