Cognitive Engineering

In the age of music streaming, does the idea of an album make sense any more?In this podcast we discuss the conceptual origins of the album and talk about the implications of its evolution from vinyl, to tape and CD, and finally to the cloud. We also touch on the artistic purpose of an album, and whether this has been destroyed or merely altered by the move to digital streaming. Fundamentally, we question the purpose of an album and whether it still has meaning.A few things we mentioned in this podcast:Album sales at their lowest for 60 yearsMusic format trendsAverage length of hit songsFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

“Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise” - so definitely don’t listen to us, as we discuss what to do with others’ wisdom.In this podcast we explore the value of intergenerational advice, whether age equates to wisdom and what makes someone receptive to advice, regardless of its quality. We also address the areas in which people seek advice and how this has altered over time.A few things we mentioned in this podcast:Biggest life mistakesCitizens Advice trendsCitizens’ Advice Bureauxinformation film from 1940Do old people understand what young people worry about?For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

An American makes tea badly and suddenly the British are up in arms. What does the way you make tea tell someone about you?This podcast addresses the information we obtain from little shibboleths such as making tea, and discusses whether it is accurate, valid and useful. Does it merely foster class and cultural exclusion, or do these ceremonies and their preservation still serve a valuable social purpose?A few things we mentioned in this podcast:Michelle on TikTok explains how to make ‘British Tea’The original ‘shibboleth’Tea and classHistorical shibbolethsFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

With our current pandemic related concerns, we seem to have forgotten about other scary things, like terrorism or environmental catastrophe. Should we be concerned by our lack of worry?We discuss whether we worry about the right things, whether we are worrying less than we used to and whether worry can even be accurately measured. What is the right amount to worry and what is the purpose of worrying? Does it serve a rational function?Things mentioned in this podcast:Personal well-being, according to the ONSIpsos MORI’s ‘issues index’, tracking top concerns over timeCognitive economics is a new field that takes the goings on inside of the mind seriouslySystem 3: Decision making through imaginationHelp to stop worryingFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

How bad or good is 2020 by historical comparison? Should we stop moaning and just be glad we weren’t living through 536 AD or 541 AD?We mull over how to go about determining the overall amount of suffering in a given year and what constitutes the worst year ever. How should it be measured? Is the size of the human race at the time relevant? And are we predisposed to recency bias, where terrible events in the past are largely ignored?A few things we mentioned in this podcast:Is 2020 the worst year ever?List of natural disasters by death tollList of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death tollThe Toba Catastrophe TheoryThe ‘536 AD’ theoryFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Is it better to live one day as the comic singer of a novelty number one, than 100 years as a respected indie band with a cult following?Nick, Chris and Fraser discuss what constitutes a one-hit wonder, how it applies to other art forms and areas of human endeavour, and whether we should aim for sustained mediocrity or concentrated brilliance.A few things we mentioned in this podcast:UK one-hit wonders‘One Hit Wonderland’ by ToddintheShadowsFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Do pre-digital relics have a purpose in our technology-driven world? How have digital technologies changed our world and what pre-digital relics are worth hanging on to.And for the sake of nostalgia, here are some things that we grew up with that are unknown today because of the evolution of digital technology: writing a letter, calling someone on the phone for a chat, reading the papers, looking stuff up in reference books, reading maps, surprise visits, being uncontactable, remembering things like phone numbers and waiting for news.Things mentioned in this podcast:Two spaces after a full stop.Buttons on shirtsFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Is there wisdom in crowds and is group decision-making effective? Fraser, Nick and Peter reach a swift and conclusive judgement.https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/48937685671Things mentioned in this podcast:How group dynamics affect decisions‘Officially official’Group decision-makingThe ExpertFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Does fame and an ability to pretend to be someone else qualify you to be an expert on other matters?Things mentioned in this podcast:Hugh Grant’s views on the government’s reaction to COVID-19Cognitive skills and their transferList of actor-politiciansFifty years of celebrity endorser research24 times celebrities have been completely unrelatable during quarantineFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

According to the adage, you can’t change the past, but can you or should you change the record of the past?Things mentioned in this podcast:Dominic Cummings changed his blogHistorical NegationismOur World in Data, ‘Books’List of pages removed from Google’s search resultsFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

It gets everywhere - but what is it and where does it come from?Things mentioned in this podcast:Where does all this dust come from?Sand crisisSpace dustFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Why is that some technologies are perennially about to transform our lives, but never really take off. Do they have something in common?Things mentioned in this podcast:When corporate innovation goes badThe Death of the E-ReaderFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Should we be suspicious of successful people? Is high performance related to dishonesty?Things mentioned in this podcast:My Mother Thinks Bill Gates is Trying to Kill Us All‘Corrupt Corporate Executive’ on TV Tropes‘Snakes in Suits’One in Five CEOs are Psychopaths, New Study FindsHanson on foragers v farmersFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Is there a wisdom in crowds, or are we all heading over the cliff like lemmings?Things mentioned in this podcast:The Great Battle of Fire and Light, Wait But Why‘Sourdough’, xkcdMass panics of 2016Measuring the collective unconsciousFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Does the way different nations have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic tell us anything about the international balance of power?Things mentioned in this podcast:Correlates of War datasetThomas Cole, the Course of EmpireHarari on the cycle of empireFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Heated argument or reasoned discussion? Is there an optimal way to frame debate?Things mentioned in this podcast:Agreeableness and outcomesMarital conflict behavioursRelational models theoryIs it bad to bottle up anger?The benefits of arguingFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Explaining the situation or avoiding your responsibilities - are excuses valid and is there an art to them?Things mentioned in this podcast:‘Sorry about the speeding, I was having sex’Dr Paulina Sliwa on the philosophy of excusesFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

How would we know if the world was ending?Things mentioned in this podcast:Ministerial reassurance over food supplies?A Journey to the End of TimeFifteen Signs before DoomsdayTimelapse of the futureFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Are there any positives to emerge from the global pandemic? How can we make the most of a bad situation?Things mentioned in this podcast:The upside of Tube strikesFor more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Penicillin, the printing press, and cheese and onion crisps - What makes an invention well known rather than merely successful?Things mentioned in this podcast:‘TRIZ’BBC poll on the ‘best invention’Top inventions of the last 25 years‘The most important inventor you’ve never heard of’For more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com or to get in touch about our podcast email podcast@alephinsights.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp