Are people selfish or cooperative in the time of COVID-19?
25 Mar 2020
On March 12th 2020, in a press conference, the UK’s chief scientific advisor Patrick Vallance stated that, in times of social challenge like the current pandemic, the people’s response is an outbreak of altruism. On the other hand, we have seen plenty of examples in the current crisis of bad behaviour: people fighting over the last bag of pasta, price gouging, flouting restrictions, and so on. So there is probably the raw material to tell both a positive and a negative story of human nature under severe threat, and both might even be true. Rebecca Saxe and I are trying to study intuitive theories of human nature. That is, not what people actually do in times of threat or pandemic, but what people believe other people will do in such times. This is important, because so much of our own behaviour is predicated on predictions about what others will do: if I think everyone else is going to panic buy, I should probably do so too; if I think they won’t, there is no need for me to do so. We have developed a method where we ask people about hypothetical societies to which various events happen, and get our … Continue reading “Are people selfish or cooperative in the time of COVID-19?”
The view from the top of the hierarchy of evidence
1 Oct 2019
About five years ago I began doing meta-analyses. (If, as they say, you lose a tooth for every meta-analysis you conduct, I am now gumming my way through my food.) I was inspired by their growing role as the premier source of evidence in the health and behavioural sciences. Yes, I knew, individual studies are low-powered, depend on very specific methodological assumptions, and are often badly done; but I was impressed by the argument that if we systematically combine each of these imperfect little beams of light into one big one, we are sure to see clearly and discover The Truth. Meta-analysis was how I proposed to counter my mid-life epistemological crisis. I was therefore depressed to read a paper by John Ionnidis, he of ‘Why most published research findings are false’ fame, on how the world is being rapidly filled up with redundant, mass produced, and often flawed meta-analyses. It is, he argues, the same old story of too much output, produced too fast, with too little thought and too many author degrees of freedom, and often publication biases and flagrant conflicts of interest to boot. Well, it’s the same old story but now at the meta-level. Just because … Continue reading “The view from the top of the hierarchy of evidence”
Hanging on to the Edges book published
25 Oct 2018
I am delighted to be able to say that my new book Hanging on to the Edges is now published. Thanks to Open Book Publishers, it’s an open access book; you can read it online, download the PDF, or order paper copies here. People often ask me what Hanging on to the Edges is about, and it is not entirely easy to say. It is based on fourteen blog essays I published on this site over the past two years, though they are revised and re-ordered in the book version. It is an attempt to reflect on the major things I care about most in life: science and being a scientist; human nature and human cognition; the relationship between the social and the biological; inter-disciplinarity; politics; and human well-being. To give you some idea of the scope, here’s a word cloud of the terms in the index: And here’s the table of contents: Contents Introduction PART ONE 1. How my theory explains everything: And can make you happier, healthier, and wealthier 2. What we talk about when we talk about biology 3. The cultural and the agentic 4. What is cultural evolution like? 5. Is it explanation yet? PART TWO 6. The mill … Continue reading “Hanging on to the Edges book published”
HOTTE #14: Morale is high (since I gave up hope)
15 May 2018
Buddhism and the replication crisis: morale is high (PDF) Click here to return to the Hanging On To The Edges hompage.
HOTTE #13: Is it explanation yet?
17 Apr 2018
A meditation on Newtonian mechanics, ‘life-history theory’, and optimal bus networks. Is it explanation yet? (PDF) Back to Hanging On To The Edges homepage
HOTTE #12: The worst thing about poverty is not having enough money
21 Mar 2018
Casinos, helicopter money, and the illusion of validity. The worst thing about poverty is not having enough money (PDF) Return to Hanging On To The Edges
HOTTE #11: Getting your head around the Universal Basic Income
13 Feb 2018
Big ideas, money for nothing, and the psychology of sharing out Getting your head around the Universal Basic Income (PDF) Back to the Hanging On To The Edges page
HOTTE #10: Waking up and going out to work in the uncanny valley
16 Jan 2018
‘The only thing worse than not getting cited is getting cited’, and other inter-disciplinary conceits: Uncanny valley.pdf Back to the Hanging On To The Edges page
HOTTE #9: The need for discipline
4 Dec 2017
A meditation on disciplinary boundaries, small worlds, and choral singing The need for discipline (PDF) Back to the Hanging On To The Edges page
HOTTE #8: What is cultural evolution like?
30 Oct 2017
A meditation on cultural Darwinism, evolutionary theory, and cross-country running. What is cultural evolution like (PDF). Return to the Hanging on to the Edges homepage.