Thought Process

Andrew Hunt is a Professor of History at the University of Waterloo, specializing in Modern US Cultural and Social History, and an author. Pop culture is an excellent window into the hearts and minds of a population – from understanding sentiments around a war, to gauging the strength of the culture as a whole. Fortunately, Andrew is a lifelong historian who has read, written, and taught about all things US Culture, publishing several books that span the Korean and Cold Wars. Expect to learn how the US can solve the growing political rift between the Right and Left, how we can forge a path forward into the future by looking to the past, why the Vietnam War was such a watershed moment for US culture, what Mr. Beast videos can tell us about the future of Hollywood's influence on culture, how Andrew found himself getting arrested in Utah, and much more... More from Andrew: Andrew's Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/history/people-profiles/andrew-huntAndrew's Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrew-E.-Hunt/author/B001JP7YUO?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

Cosmin Munteanu is an Associate Professor and Shlegel Research Chair in Technology for Healthy Aging. In today's world, our devices are inseparable from us. With time, technology only gets smaller, more affordable, and more integrated into our lives. But what will happen in the future, when the barriers between our physical and digital world all but disappear entirely? Expect to learn what happened when an eating disorder helpline replaced their human staff with ChatGPT, why creating a good voice assistant is really difficult, where Cosmin believes technology is headed, if Cosmin believes the Apple Vision Pro will move the needle regarding virtual reality adoption, why technologies are not adapting to a rapidly aging global population, and much more... More from Cosmin: Cosmin's Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/systems-design-engineering/profile/c2muntea -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

Lisa Ramsden is a Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace USA, an NGO focused on tackling today's biggest climate change issues. We use plastic in quite literally every facet of our lives, and that is incredibly disconcerting. There are so many downstream effects of plastic exposure and consumption, and people need to be more aware of it. Fortunately, Lisa has been working for over 15 years to fight Oil & Gas and Big-Plastic, and is here to spread the word. Expect to learn just how bad the plastic epidemic has gotten, and how much bigger it is projected to become, how much plastic we consume in any given week, why your athleisure wardrobe may not be so good for you, how we may find our way out of this mess, and much more.. More from Lisa: Lisa's Greenpeace Page: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/bios/lisa-ramsden/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ramsdelisa -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879

Paul Fieguth is the Associate Dean of Resources & Planning for the Faculty of Engineering, a Professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, and an author, and and, a former Professor of mine. The world is, well, complex. And this complexity oftentimes tricks us into believing we know more about our environment than we do. These nonlinearities are everywhere in the world, which can make navigating it quite tricky. Luckily, Paul is here to help us understand the world just a little better. Expect to learn why most of the resources tend to be held by a tiny group of people, why we can expect more record highs and record lows as the climate continues to change, how Paul thinks about striking a balance between efficiency and resilience, how something as complex as consciousness can seemingly emerge out of nowhere, and much more. More from Paul: Paul's UWaterloo Page: https://uwaterloo.ca/systems-design-engineering/profile/pfieguth -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube:    / @jackmackinnon3879  

Britt Anderson is an associate professor and director at the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience at the University of Waterloo. We all have our own way of seeing the world. It's shaped by our experiences and predicts how our environment will change and respond to our actions. The way we build these mental models is subtle, yet complex, and Britt is here to walk us through some of the nuances. Expect to learn how to optimize your chances to win at Plinko from the Price is Right, why participation trophies may be both a great and a terrible idea, the details of how we create mental models, how viral videos and stories on the internet may incorrectly influence how we see the world, and much more... More from Britt: Britt's UWaterloo Page: https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/people-profiles/britt-anderson -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879

Jeff Orchard is an associate professor and director of the Neurocognitive Computing Lab at the University of Waterloo. The human brain is one of evolution's greatest creations, yet we know shockingly little about it. Fortunately, Jeff is working on better understanding the brain through Artificial Intelligence systems. Expect to learn why you may have learned to be bad at math, why our brains ballooned in size, how dolphins may be smarter than us, Jeff's prediction on when we will achieve AGI, how AI may make another massive leap soon, and much more... More from Jeff: Jeff's UWaterloo Page: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jorchard/ -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879

Jonathan Fugelsang is a professor and researcher on the psychology of higher-level cognition. Thinking critically of the world is hard, and it takes work, especially in a world where new information is bombarding you at every turn. How can we sort truth from fiction, and the profound from pseudo-profound bullsh*t? Expect to learn why the quote "Attention and intention are the mechanics of manifestation" doesn't actually mean anything, why both simple and highly intelligent people are more prone to become polarized, why you think you may see faces in the sky, why the most confident people often know the least, and much more... More from Jonathan: Jonathan's Faculty Page: https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/people-profiles/jonathan-fugelsang -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jackmackinnon3879

Bas Korsten is the Global Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman Thompson, an award-winning global advertising agency. Bas has helped make Wunderman Thompson one of the most recognizable and accomplished advertising agencies in the world, delivering the double Grand Prix-winning campaign 'The Next Rembrandt'. To date, Bas has won 42 Cannes Lions, 11 D&AD Pencils, and many other international awards. In 2016 Bas was awarded a spot in Ad Age's Creativity 50, a list of the 50 most creative people in the world, alongside recognizable names, such as Tom Ford, Beyonce, Prince, and David Bowie. Bas is the real deal. Expect to learn why Bas created a meatball made of Mammoth meat, no seriously he made a meatball out of Mammoth tissue, whether Bas believes AI will replace human creativity, how to enter into the Alpha-flow state, why we may ditch data centers in favor of DNA storage, and much more... More from Bas: Bas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bas-korsten-/ Wunderman Thompson: https://www.wundermanthompson.com/people/bas-korsten Mammoth Meatball: https://www.wundermanthompson.com/work/mammoth-meatball -------- Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

Juli Berwald is an ocean scientist, a science writer, and an author. The oceans contain some of the most mysterious places on Earth, and they have taken the brunt of the disruptions caused by climate change. Among these mystical places are coral reefs, the most productive ecosystems we know of, and they need our help. Juli has traveled the world to see and document humanity's best efforts regarding coral reef restorations and has joined me to discuss what the future of the seas will look like. Expect to learn how coral are adapting to warming oceans, what unsuspecting billionaire is funding coral restoration projects, why we may start shooting salt crystals into the atmosphere, where the most ambitious coral restoration projects are underway, how reefs can protect white sand beaches, and much more... More from Juli: Juli's Website: https://www.juliberwald.com/ Juli on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliberwald -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

Jason M Allen is the founder and CEO of Incarnate Games and Art Incarnate, and not an artist. Jason has created quite a stir online, being the first well-known case of winning an art competition using AI. He has found himself at the frontlines of the culture war between artists and technologists. His formative piece, Theatre D'Opera Spatial, is a symbol of distaste and frustration for some, and a symbol of the future of creation for others. Expect to learn why Jason's piece has been so polarizing amongst the art and tech communities, what about Theatre D'Opera Spatial makes it so captivating, why despite not being an artist, Jason is now fighting for AI art, what Jason thinks the future of media will look like, and much more... More from Jason: Jason's Website: https://www.jasonmallen.com/ Incarnate Games: https://incarnategames.com/ Art Incarnate: https://artincarnate.com/ Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason_m_allen/ -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ

James Danckert is a professor and researcher of cognitive neuroscience, and an author. Sometimes, life can feel, well, boring. But what does boredom mean? And how should we respond to it? Expect to learn why it feels like there are no good options to solve your boredom, why my dad decided to sweep part of the parking lot beside my house, and why he may have found that meaningful, why playing contact sports may make you more bored, how we may use boredom to our benefit, and much more... -------- Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmackn Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackkmackinnon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cZwJz41l-vnEWPXxcP7xQ