Disinformation, Conformism, and Science of Interstellar| Feeding Frenzy #31

Feeding Frenzy is a weekly post that is a collection of knowledge to absorb in whatever medium you choose. Every week you can expect something worth listening, reading, watching, and pondering. Think of this as a boost of the signal above the noise!

In this edition of Feeding Frenzy, we have a podcast with Renee DiResta investigating the spread of disinformation across social networks. Another article from Paul Graham on Conformism. To watch, we have a new HBO Documentary The Weight of Gold that explores mental health challenges Olympic athletes often face away from the competition and more!

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Worth Listening

The Spin Doctors Are In | Your Undivided Attention

This podcast is with Renee DiResta. Renée DiResta is the technical research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory, a cross-disciplinary program of research, teaching, and policy engagement for the study of abuse in current information technologies. Renee investigates the spread of malign narratives across social networks and assists policymakers in devising responses to the problem. Renee has studied influence operations and computational propaganda in the context of pseudoscience conspiracies, terrorist activity, and state-sponsored information warfare. She has advised Congress, the State Department, and other academic, civil society, and business organizations. At the behest of SSCI, she led one of the two research teams that produced comprehensive assessments of the Internet Research Agency's and GRU's influence operations targeting the U.S. from 2014-2018.

Worth Reading

The Four Quadrants of Conformism | Paul Graham

"The conventional-minded say, as they always do, that they don't want to shut down the discussion of all ideas, just the bad ones. You'd think it would be obvious just from that sentence what a dangerous game they're playing. But I'll spell it out. There are two reasons why we need to be able to discuss even "bad" ideas. The first is that any process for deciding which ideas to ban is bound to make mistakes. ... The second reason it's dangerous to ban the discussion of ideas is that ideas are more closely related than they look."

It should come as no surprise that conformism is a dangerous game. I also believe we as a species need to be ever vigilant on how conformism exerts control. Feeding Curiosity is built on the same idea of exploring freely and widely. No matter who you are or what you do, its part of nature to be curious. If the orthodoxy says, we shouldn't be discussing a specific topic that should immediately raise red flags to ask questions about why and explore further. Leave no stone unturned. Orthodoxy be damned. 

 

Parsing the Science of Interstellar with Physicist Kip Thorne | Scientific American

"To a great extent, my motivation here was to try to use the movie as a lure to get people who might otherwise not have much interest in science curious about it, by exposing them to strange, exotic phenomena like wormholes. The film is the bait, and the book is the hook I want to use to draw them in even further, to get them to dig in and learn something new. If they are young, maybe they will consider careers in science rather than in finance or law. If they are older, I still think it's tremendously important that larger fractions of our citizenry possess enough understanding of science to appreciate its powers and its limitations."

Worth Watching

The Weight of Gold | HBO

The Weight of Gold is an HBO Sports documentary exploring the mental health challenges that Olympic athletes often face. The film comes during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has postponed the 2020 Tokyo Games — the first such postponement in Olympic history — and greatly exacerbated mental health issues.

The film seeks to inspire discussion about mental health issues, encourage people to seek help, and highlight the need for available support. 

Worth Pondering

" Don't use seven word when three will do." - Azra Raza

 

This week is a wrap and plenty to chew over for this week! Feel free to let us know any thoughts and suggestions that may contribute to these posts. It may pop-up on Feeding Frenzy or develop into a full-fledged article of its own.

Stay curious, and have a great week!

You can find previous editions here.

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Joe Jackowski on Apotheosis and The Parodies
Joe Jackowski on Apotheosis and The Parodies

Today on the podcast, we are joined by Joe Jackowski. Joe is a Marine Corps veteran and current graduate student at Vanderbilt University in the Cognitive Psychology in Context program. His primary interest is meaning in life, which broadly extends to problems in ethics, A.I., and culture.

In this episode, we sit down to discuss his first long-form article on his new sub stack, Apotheosis: A Philosophy for Influencers

Joey and Drew on Few Will Hunt
Joey and Drew on Few Will Hunt

"Everybody wants to eat, but Few Will Hunt."

Today on the podcast with Joey Bowen and Drew Beech, co-founders of the apparel brand and community Few Will Hunt.

Joey and Drew spent their daily commutes through the gritty streets of Philadelphia on the phone for a year straight.

On these calls, they talked about business and life — especially the trends of self-entitlement and shortcut-seeking they witnessed in society.

These trends made them feel alone in an ever-softening world. “Are we the only ones that still believe in the power of hard work?” Drew asked. Joey responded, “It’s like we say at my hunting cabin — everybody wants to eat, but few will hunt.”

This statement perfectly summed up their frustrations with society. It became their mantra.

Jordan Criss on Fulfillment, Imposter Syndrome, Procrastination and Eulogy Virtues
Jordan Criss on Fulfillment, Imposter Syndrome, Procrastination and Eulogy Virtues

On this podcast episode, Jordan Criss returns for a long-overdue discussion on Life and Fulfillment. We start the conversation with the idea that most people are actively disengaged with what they spend most of their time. From there, we cover imposter syndrome, healthy habits, procrastination, and focusing on what matters most to you regardless of the current outcome. Life is about playing a long game. Toward the end of the conversation, I was reminded of a book called The Road to Character. One of the core messages is to think more deeply about the eulogy virtues than resume virtues since modern life is more focused on the latter. In the end, each of us has to figure out what fits best for our life; no matter what, it will be a process. The faster you embrace the process, the less painful it will be. So with that, I pass this off to the listener. What else can we explore if you've encountered the mentioned sources, your own experiences, or any other related ideas?

Karlee Owens on Natural Movement, Spirals and Listening to Your Body
Karlee Owens on Natural Movement, Spirals and Listening to Your Body

Coach Karlee is a movement coach who teaches her athletes to move their bodies as nature designed: strong, secure, pain-free, and forward. Utilizing slow-motion video assessment, she can assess, address, and correct pattern errors that are causing pain and/or hindering performance goals. With a background in soccer, endurance running, and strength and conditioning, Karlee takes an intense passion for competition and athletics into her coaching style to help build mentally and physically capable athletes, regardless of age, gender, sport, or background. She prioritizes foundations for durability through awareness and integration of pain-free movement practices to maximize performance and longevity. Are you ready to unlock your INNER ATHLETE?

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Archetypes: The Green Lion and the Unicorn
Archetypes: The Green Lion and the Unicorn

In one of his most influential works, Psychology and Alchemy, Carl Jung argues that alchemy was far more than a failed science. Instead, it was an undifferentiated mix of object and subject. Alchemy was chemistry insofar as it was a science, and it was a psychological practice…

In Pursuit of Goggins
In Pursuit of Goggins

For many, David Goggins is seen as inhuman or, as he has said, uncommon amongst the uncommon, sure that is true. But I look at it a little differently. If he can forge himself into something extraordinary, why can't I? Why can't the person next to me? In this video, I discuss what it means to be In Pursuit of Your Greatness.

Archetypes: The Bull
Archetypes: The Bull

For an agricultural society, life is a cycle of deaths and rebirths. In the spring, the farmer places the seeds of his crops into the soil. Time moves forward. Storms roll over the fields and define the space between heaven and earth…

Finding Purpose and Meaning in an Overwhelming World
Finding Purpose and Meaning in an Overwhelming World

The recently released film Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the most fascinating and well-executed films I've seen in a long time! The film explores ideas from the multi-verse, purpose, and meaning in life. So let's tap into another version of ourselves and see what we learn from themes in the film.

Society, Science, Mental HealthErich WenzelYour Undivided Attention, Renee DiResta, Paul Graham, Conformism, Kip Thorne, Astrophysics, Science of Interstellar, Weight of Gold, Azra Raza, Quotes to Ponder, Feeding FrenzyComment