Cognitive Engineering

Whenever a new conflict emerges, the two sides seem to almost naturally fall into an underdog scenario. It’s a concept that looms large in our collective imagination, but is there any evidence the underdog does any better than the top dog? In this week's podcast, we discuss the underdog. What are the benefits of being an underdog and why is the concept more prevalent in sport and warfare than other domains? We survey how the underdog effect operates in historical military campaigns, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and share our favourite underdog stories and examples. A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - ‘Small Axe’ by Bob Marley and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2fjqcThFoM - Wallets, Ballots, or Bullets: Does wealth, democracy, or military capabilities determine war outcomes? https://academic.oup.com/isq/article/57/2/303/1789068?login=true - Military victories against the odds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_victories_against_the_odds - Small Firm Effect https://ww