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
David McRaney’s Twitter
YANSS Twitter
Newsletter
Celeste Kidd’s Website
Celeste Kidd’s Twitter
Latent Diversity in Human Concepts
167 - How to Talk to People About Things (rebroadcast)
166 - Prevalence Induced Concept Change (rebroadcast)
165 - The Friendship Cure (rebroadcast)
164 - Meetings - Steven Rogelberg
163 - The Happiness Lab
162 - The Elaboration Likelihood Model (rebroadcast)
161 - Bad Habits
160 - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
159 - Uncivil Agreement (rebroadcast)
158 - The AB Effect
157 - Pluralistic Ignorance
156 - Selfie (rebroadcast)
155 - Live in New York - Post Truth
154 - The Marshmallow Replication (rebroadcast)
153 - Happy Brain (rebroadcast)
152 - Status Quo Rationalization (rebroadcast)
151 - Behind the Curve
150 - Belief Change Blindness (rebroadcast)
149 - Bad Advice
148 - Rule Makers, Rule Breakers
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