Julia Galef co-founded the Center for Applied Rationality to help people do something rare: change their minds. In this conversation, she explains how to spot your blind spots, reprogram your thinking, and why your gut isn’t the enemy—it’s just misunderstood. One of the most useful episodes we’ve ever done.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
- What happened when Julia was 7 years old that first sparked a lifelong interest in good argument
- The one thing her parents did that helps her keep an open mind to new evidence even when she might be wrong
- The two types of rationality and how they both affect the way we view reality and the world we live in
- Why she co-founded the Center for Applied Rationality and how they are changing the way people think about problems and make decisions
- The role intuition plays in our decision-making process, (and when we can trust it to take over)
- What the strengths and weaknesses of the 2 systems of our brain are and how they interact to help us function
- The two-step process to changing minds (both your own and others’)
- Julia’s tips on how to process the daily deluge of available information with a more rational mind
And a lot more …
If you’ve ever wished you could wave a hand like a Jedi to change someone’s mind, listening to this episode would be a good place to start.
Books Mentioned
- Language, Truth and Logic by Alfred J. Ayer
- Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini
- Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock (listen to Tetlock’s interview on The Knowledge Project)
- Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference by William MacAskill
- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
- Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler
