On Wisdom

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011. Episode 2: Metacognition and Judgment (with Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello) Is thinking harder always the key to making better decisions, or can it sometimes make things worse? Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello join Igor and Charles to explore what happens when we start thinking about our own thinking. Gord reveals why intelligence and rationality aren't the same thing, and why simply thinking more isn't necessarily the answer, Steve takes us inside the machinery that helps us monitor and regulate our decisions, and Thomas explores what intellectual humility is, how we might recognize it, and why being confident about our own competence can be so misleading. Along the way, Igor and Charles uncover a three-part cycle at the heart of wise judgment: seeking input, resolving conflicts, and monitoring what happens next. So what does it take to become better at knowing what we know, and what we don't?Special Guests: Gord Pennycook, Steve Fleming, and Thomas Costello.

Welcome to a five-episode special series built around the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter on wisdom since 2011. Episode 1: Exemplars and Narratives (with Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul) When we face life challenges, where do our ideas about wise judgment, or even wisdom writ large come from, and how do they shape the way we work through such challenges and live thereafter? Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul join Igor and Charles to explore the stories, proverbs, and exemplars we inherit, and what happens when they don't quite fit the situation in front of us. Cristine reveals why the ideas that stick with us aren't necessarily the ones that are true, Dan explores how the stories we tell about ourselves can help us navigate uncertainty (or trap us in the wrong story), and Laurie asks who (or what) is doing the choosing, if we can’t know in advance how a life-changing decision will transform us?Special Guests: Cristine Legare, Dan McAdams, and L.A. Paul.

From 28th September Hosted by Igor Grossmann and Charles Cassidy 01 - EXEMPLARS AND NARRATIVES Cristine Legare - Dan McAdams - Laurie Paul 02 - METACOGNITION AND JUDGMENT Gordon Pennycook - Tom Costello - Steven Fleming 03 - MEASURING WISDOM Judith Glück - Monika Ardelt - Eranda Jayawickreme 04 - INTERVENTIONS AND TRAINING Judith Glück - Ethan Kross - Kristján Kristjánsson 05 - WISDOM FRONTIERS Dilip Jeste - Barry Schwartz - Justin Brienza

What can insights from the psychology of technology teach us about wisdom in the age of AI? In this special follow-up episode, Igor and Charles are joined by Steve Rathje to explore how classic ideas like the Turing Test hold up now that AI can talk compellingly about human wisdom. Steve unpacks what today’s generative models are actually capable of, Igor is intrigued by how quickly the line between human and machine reasoning seems to be blurring, and Charles realises that telling human insight from machine insight isn’t nearly as straightforward as he'd hoped. The trio also reveal the results of our listener poll — who sounded the wisest, and was the audience able to spot the AI? Welcome to Episode 67.Special Guest: Steve Rathje.

What happens when we ask our own fantastic listeners — and AI — what it means to live wisely? In this episode, Igor and Charles hand the mic to members of the On Wisdom audience to hear their answers to the big questions usually reserved for scientists and philosophers. But there’s a twist: one set of responses was provided by AI. We invite you to vote on who gave the wisest answers — and to guess which one wasn’t human. Igor is surprised by just how insightful the answers from the regular folk (compared to experts) turn out to be, while Charles wonders if the wisest one may not be human at all? Can you pass the Wisdom Turing Test? Welcome to Episode 66. Link to Listener Poll here