E81: Status, Sacred, and Neglected Truths with Robin Hanson

In this episode of Upstream, Erik Torenberg is joined by economist and futurist Robin Hanson. 

They dissect the intricacies of human motives, the psychology of status, and the profound impact of self-deception on behavior. Robin shares his revolutionary ideas for reforming academia and his pioneering work on prediction markets and his thoughts on the future of innovation amidst falling fertility rates.

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SPONSORS:

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RECOMMENDED PODCASTS:

🎙️ Dealcraft: Insights from Great Negotiators is the brand new weekly podcast that features interviews with world’s greatest dealmakers and diplomats, including Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, and music industry super-lawyer John Branca, on their most challenging negotiations. Each episode, host Jim Sebenius (Harvard Business School professor and renowned negotiation expert) relates fascinating deal stories and distills useful insights for listeners to apply in their toughest deals and disputes.

Apple: https://link.chtbl.com/3CG3TbHY?sid=Turpentine

🎙️History 102 with WhatifAltHist

Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cover a major topic in history in depth -- in under an hour. This season will cover classical Greece, early America, the Vikings, medieval Islam, ancient China, the fall of the Roman Empire, and more.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/36Kqo3BMMUBGTDo1IEYihm

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-102-with-whatifalthists-rudyard-lynch-and/id1730633913

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@History102-qg5oj

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LINKS:

The Elephant in the Brain, Robin Hanson and Kevin Simler https://amzn.asia/d/82WLQX6 

Robin Hanson and Agnes Callard’s podcast Minds Almost Meeting https://mindsalmostmeeting.com/ 

Agnes Callard on Upstream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g2F0e-LZjM 

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(04:25) How Robin developed his theory of the Sacred

(07:52)The Sacred binds people together

(16:05) Why elites drive innovation

(17:43) Sponsor: Dealcraft | Fundrise

(19:48) Plebeians, wonks, and plutocrats

(36:10) Gossip networks

(37:00) Sponsors: Ats | Squad

(39:08) Proposal to fix academia

(45:31) Falsehoods

(01:05:05) Double agents in our minds

(01:08:31) What is cringe?

(01:12:27) Therapy

(01:16:55) How falling fertility will affect innovation

(01:23:43) Social change strategies for reviving fertility rates

(01:25:05) Wrap