Philosophy
If you don't know who Apollo Robbins is, you might want to check a fascinating profile of him published in The New Yorker in January of this year. Quite simply, he is probably the world's best, and most honest, pickpocket.
As you'll gather from the article, and from the TEDTalk presentation below, Robbins specializes in studying the human mind and manipulating your attention so that while you are focusing on one thing, he's robbing you blind somewhere else. Some of you may be thinking you're too smart to fall for that, but whenever you think you are too smart for something, you're not so smart, especially when it's not a question of intelligence but of allocating limited resources and knowing your own limits. So, for those of you who think you are too smart, and for those of you who believe you are amazing multi-taskers, here's a fun reality check:
And here is another fun taste of his abilities:
The incredible thing is that, like with Penn & Teller, even when he tells you what/how he does what he does, you still get fooled and played...
- The Nature Of Genius
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Today is Terry Gilliam's 70's birthday. I will admit that I saw Brazil in the theater no fewer than six times which, I believe, comes to roughly one seventh of my lifespan. Terry Gilliam is one of the few repositories of smart that we have in...
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When Doug Hofstadter came to visit last year, he made a point that I've continued to marvel at. When we think of artificial intelligence, we usually think in terms of machines being able to do well what we do well. The usual standard is what is called...
- We're All Monkeys
We are monkeys... that's right... you and me and the guy who narrates this entertaining and thought provoking little rant... and Nietzsche was also a monkey... a very smart monkey. Technically, though, we're apes, as this hilarious rant from The...
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I have advocated for a long time that physical constraints on mankind's cognitive abilities will limit our complete understanding of the universe. "Why aren't we smarter already? Evolutionary limits on cognition" December 7th, 2011 Psychology...
Philosophy
Apollo Robbins - The Art of Misdirection
As you'll gather from the article, and from the TEDTalk presentation below, Robbins specializes in studying the human mind and manipulating your attention so that while you are focusing on one thing, he's robbing you blind somewhere else. Some of you may be thinking you're too smart to fall for that, but whenever you think you are too smart for something, you're not so smart, especially when it's not a question of intelligence but of allocating limited resources and knowing your own limits. So, for those of you who think you are too smart, and for those of you who believe you are amazing multi-taskers, here's a fun reality check:
And here is another fun taste of his abilities:
The incredible thing is that, like with Penn & Teller, even when he tells you what/how he does what he does, you still get fooled and played...
- The Nature Of Genius
What does it mean for one to be a genius? Is genius just the upper end of the really smart continuum? Is there a difference between genius and really, really, really, smart? Is it a difference of kind or degree? Is genius a matter of...
- Happy Birthday Terry Gilliam
Today is Terry Gilliam's 70's birthday. I will admit that I saw Brazil in the theater no fewer than six times which, I believe, comes to roughly one seventh of my lifespan. Terry Gilliam is one of the few repositories of smart that we have in...
- Turing Tests And Tongue Twisters
When Doug Hofstadter came to visit last year, he made a point that I've continued to marvel at. When we think of artificial intelligence, we usually think in terms of machines being able to do well what we do well. The usual standard is what is called...
- We're All Monkeys
We are monkeys... that's right... you and me and the guy who narrates this entertaining and thought provoking little rant... and Nietzsche was also a monkey... a very smart monkey. Technically, though, we're apes, as this hilarious rant from The...
- Cognition Limits May Well Limit A Complete Understanding Of The Universe
I have advocated for a long time that physical constraints on mankind's cognitive abilities will limit our complete understanding of the universe. "Why aren't we smarter already? Evolutionary limits on cognition" December 7th, 2011 Psychology...