This week we’re joined by Anna Riedl, a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum and organizer at Effective Altruism Austria, currently studying Cognitive Science at Universität Wien. We discuss behavioral economics, bounded rationality, computational rationality, and other formal ways of thinking about how to do the most good, given great uncertainty about most things. We ask whether “cognitive biases” are really fairly understood as biases when they’re the result of a rational learning process, we explore links to the quantified self, and we advocate for epistemic humility — and the need, no matter our incomplete understanding, to nonetheless still Do Something…

If you agree this show should thrive, become a Patreon supporter and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! You can also buy the books I talk about from indie stores at bookshop.org/shop/futurefossils.

Other Links:

Anna on FB: “Rationality ≠ Rationalism ”Anna’s Cognitive Science Map Effective Altruism Austria Effective Altruism Redbubble Design Shop 80,000 Hours: Key IdeasGapminder.org Future of Humanity Institute

I transcribe this show with help from Podscribe.ai — which I highly recommend to other podcasters. To help regulate stress, get better sleep, recover from exercise, and/or stay alert and focused without stimulants, let me recommend the Apollo Neuro. And for my fellow guitarists in the audience, check out the Jamstik Studio. Those are the three products I feel comfortable shilling with affiliate links at the moment.

Official show music by original co-host Evan “Skytree” Snyder. For more vibes, here are my music and listening recommendations on Spotify.

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