Social Science, Ideology, Culture, & History
Social science gives us ideas about human nature. What does it mean for the science when those ideas don’t just describe our nature, but shape it?
Science
Can We Create a Pattern Language for Behavioral Design?
Psychologies, especially as represented in lists of biases, point out problems. Developing a pattern language would point us to solutions.
What Shape Does Progress Take? Don’t Assume It’s a Straight Line
As we determine where to allocate effort and money, when to keep going and when to give up, different production functions call for different strategies. Yet, we rarely consider what production functions can tell us about our progress.
Behavioral Scientist’s Summer Book List 2024
The summer book list is a chance to peruse a collection of the most compelling behavioral science books published so far this year.
Places Unexpected
Craving adventure after finishing their Ph.D.s in neuroscience, Thomas Andrillon and Chiara Varazzani set off on a round-the-world trek in their 2006 Land Rover Defender, nicknamed Bechamel. But the trip almost didn’t happen. And once they were on the road, they almost didn’t make it back.
Understanding Energy Is Essential to Understanding Ourselves: A Q&A with Michael Muthukrishna (Part 2)
The common constraint for all life is the ability to find and use energy, yet we take it for granted, says Michael Muthukrishna. In his new book, he makes the case that energy should be central in how we understand ourselves and how we design our world.