Psychology
War, Coalitions, and the Human Mind
You've heard that war made us smart. Evolutionary psychologist David Geary argues male coalitions and conflict shaped the human mind. Here's his case, the 17-to-1 genetic signal, and where hypothesis stops.
When the Forecast Misses
You follow a forecaster, then watch them miss. Jiang Xueqin admits he was wrong on Brazil, Alberta and the midterms, and explains how his predictive model is supposed to revise.
Managing Life, or Creating It?
You may feel stressed most days. Tony Robbins says it's because you're managing circumstances instead of creating your life. Here's his case for courage and everyday faith, and why "only one reason" is a motivational frame, not science.
The Polite Lies That Add Up
You've laughed at a joke that wasn't funny or agreed to a plan you didn't want. Timur Kuran calls that preference falsification: public lies that compound until groups and regimes look stronger than they are.
When Pretend Empathy Feels Like Enough: Sherry Turkle on Chatbot Friends
You might find texting easier than calling. Sherry Turkle says that habit leads straight to chatbot friends, which offer a performance of empathy that starts to feel like enough. Her argument, Sam Harris's pushback, and what checks out.
Frame Control: How a Conversation Gets Decided Before It Starts
Whoever defines a situation first quietly sets the rules everyone else plays by. A short clip lays out how framing works, what happens the moment a frame lands, and the one move that frees you from a hostile one: stop arguing inside it, and surface it instead. With plain examples, and a note on
Real Life Beats Cheap Dopamine: Jimmy Carr on Young Men, Agency and Kept Promises
You may be living better than any king in history and still feel worse. Jimmy Carr says comparison is why, and that young men trade career, sex and freedom for online proxies. His case for agency, risk and kept promises, and what the data actually show.
You Are Not What Happened to You: James Hollis on Breaking Old Patterns
If you keep repeating the same mistakes, Jungian analyst James Hollis says it's not a character flaw but an old pattern still running. How he says to spot yours, why a symptom can be a question, and what he thinks growing up really asks of you.
A Process, Not a Personality: Dan Martell's Four Steps for Any Sales Call
Dan Martell argues you don't need charm to sell, you need four steps: connect, diagnose, prescribe, commit. How his framework works, which parts you can use on your next call, and which closing tactics deserve a second look. He sells coaching on this.
Red Is a Relationship: Lisa Feldman Barrett on Why Reality Runs on Agreement
Lisa Feldman Barrett argues that the red you see is neither in the object nor only in your head, but in the relationship between light and a brain your culture wired. Money and borders work the same way, she says, though reality is not infinitely flexible.
You See What You Aim At: Jordan Peterson on Value, Stories and a Claim About Young Women, Checked
Jordan Peterson argues that what you value decides what you see, and that stories teach you what to aim at. Jonathan Pageau says fairy tales can't be bent at will. Plus Peterson's claim about young liberal women, checked against CDC and Gallup data.
Not a Verdict, an Iteration: Joe Hudson on Why Every Decision Is an Emotional Problem
Coach Joe Hudson tells Chris Williamson that deciding is an emotional problem, not an information one: feel the worst case first, decide by principle, and treat each choice as one bet in a portfolio. His claims, checked against decision research.