108 | Carl Bergstrom on Information, Disinformation, and Bullshit

108 | Carl Bergstrom on Information, Disinformation, and Bullshit

We are living, in case you haven't noticed, in a world full of bullshit. It's hard to say whether the amount is truly increasing, but it seems that everywhere you look someone is trying to convince you of something, regardless of whether that something is actually true. Where is this bullshit coming from, how is it disseminated, and what can we do about it? Carl Bergstrom studies information in the context of biology, which has led him to investigate the flow of information and disinformation in social networks, especially the use of data in misleading ways. In the time of Covid-19 he has become on of the best Twitter feeds for reliable information, and we discuss how the pandemic has been a bounteous new source of bullshit.

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Carl Bergstrom received his Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University. He is currently a professor of biology at the University of Washington. In addition to his work on information and biology, he has worked on scientific practice and communication, proposing the eigenfactor method of ranking scientific journals. His new book (with Jevin West) is Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World, which grew out of a course taught at the University of Wisconsin.


Episoder(418)

Ask Me Anything | April 2023

Ask Me Anything | April 2023

Welcome to the April 2023 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patre...

3 Apr 20234h 4min

231 | Sarah Bakewell on the History of Humanism

231 | Sarah Bakewell on the History of Humanism

Human beings are small compared to the universe, but we're very important to ourselves. Humanism can be thought of as the idea that human beings are themselves the source of meaningfulness and matteri...

27 Mar 20231h 21min

230 | Raphaël Millière on How Artificial Intelligence Thinks

230 | Raphaël Millière on How Artificial Intelligence Thinks

Welcome to another episode of Sean Carroll's Mindscape. Today, we're joined by Raphaël Millière, a philosopher and cognitive scientist at Columbia University. We'll be exploring the fascinating topic ...

20 Mar 20231h 57min

229 | Nita Farahany on Ethics, Law, and Neurotechnology

229 | Nita Farahany on Ethics, Law, and Neurotechnology

Every time our brain does some thinking, there are associated physical processes. In particular, electric currents and charged particles jump between neurons, creating associated electromagnetic field...

13 Mar 20231h 12min

AMA | March 2023

AMA | March 2023

Welcome to the March 2023 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patre...

6 Mar 20233h 1min

228 | Skye Cleary on Existentialism and Authenticity

228 | Skye Cleary on Existentialism and Authenticity

God is dead, as Nietzsche's madman memorably reminded us. So what are we going to do about it? If there is no powerful force out there to guide us and give meaning to our lives, how are we supposed to...

27 Feb 20231h 16min

227 | Molly Crockett on the Psychology of Morality

227 | Molly Crockett on the Psychology of Morality

Most of us strive to be good, moral people. When we are doing that striving, what is happening in our brains? Some of our moral inclinations seem pretty automatic and subconscious. Other times we have...

20 Feb 20231h 11min

226 | Johanna Hoffman on Speculative Futures of Cities

226 | Johanna Hoffman on Speculative Futures of Cities

Cities are incredibly important to modern life, and their importance is only growing. As Geoffrey West points out, the world is adding urban areas equivalent to the population of San Francisco once ev...

13 Feb 20231h 12min

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