202: Robin Hanson | Career, Viewpoints And Articles From His Blog “Overcoming Bias”

Welcome to episode number 202, with Dr. Robin Hanson, co-author of The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life.

Robin Hanson is associate professor of economics at George Mason University, and research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He has a doctorate in social science from California Institute of Technology, master’s degrees in physics and philosophy from the University of Chicago, and nine years experience as a research programmer, at Lockheed and NASA.

On my episode with Dr. Hanson, we discussed topics and tangents connecting off of his blog articles and book messages, including:

having a thing, whether it be a viewpoint or something you stand for
hidden motives and the ways they can be look at more rationally
the concept of the Great Filter, which is a viewpoint about the universe and lack of activity beyond our planet
viewquakes, and the ability to bring individuals to growth through change of their thinking that is not rigid
a message to young eccentrics, the value and efficiencies that they have, and how they can look at themselves
the way that Edward Snowden was a form of hero, and what kinds of traits Dr. Hanson might look for in relevant individuals
Black Mirror translating some of the scientific messages available to a broader audience
how stories are used by people, and if they are somewhat religious in the way that they function
more topics on the mindset that you take to a difficulty

You can check out Dr. Robin Hanson’s blog at Overcoming Bias, look at his faculty page, or check out his biography. You can also take a look at my past text interview with Dr. Hanson and his The Elephant in the Brain co-author Kevin Simler.