Is a hotdog a sandwich?
Well, that depends on your definition of a sandwich (and a hotdog), and according to the most recent research in cognitive science, the odds that your concept of a sandwich is the same as another person's concept are shockingly low.
In this episode we explore how understanding why that question became a world-spanning argument in the mid 2010s helps us understand some of the world-spanning arguments vexing us today.
Our guest is psychologist Celeste Kidd who studies how we acquire and conceptualize information, form beliefs around those concepts, and, in general, make sense of the torrent of information blasting our brains each and every second. Her most recent paper examines how conceptual misalignment can lead to semantic disagreements, which can lead us to talk past each other (and get into arguments about things like whether hotdogs are sandwiches).
Previous Episodes
Why can’t we settle the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” debate?
How Minds Change
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Celeste Kidd’s Website
Celeste Kidd’s Twitter
Latent Diversity in Human Concepts
188 - The Happiness Lab - Laurie Santos (rebroadcast)
187 - Bad Habits - Jud Brewer (rebroadcast)
186 - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb (rebroadcast)
185 - Masks
184 - The Blind Spots Between Us - Gleb Tsipursky
183 - Black Lives Matter
182 - The A/B Effect (rebroadcast)
181 - Pluralistic Ignorance (rebroadcast)
180 - Meltdown - Chris Clearfield
179 - The Memory Illusion - Julia Shaw
178 - Behind the Curve (rebroadcast)
177 - COVID - 19
176 - Socks and Crocs - Part Two
175 - Socks And Crocs - Part One
174 - Bad Advice - Paul Offit (rebroadcast)
173 - Rule Makers, Rule Breakers - Michele Gelfand
172 - Team Human - Douglas Rushkoff (rebroadcast)
171 - Partisan Brains
170 - Mark Sargent
169 - Art
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