Podcast episode about the human cognition in a digital world with Leslie Valiant, PhD

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Absorbent Minds: Human Cognition in a Digital World with Leslie Valiant PhD

Original Air Date Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

The learning mechanism in the human brain is not yet equipped to deal with information meant to deceive or manipulate. Armed with a computational approach to civilization but lacking the ability to discern fact from fiction, we find ourselves at the precipice of a new digital world for which we may not be prepared.

To reveal how human cognition processes information, Harvesting Happiness Podcast host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, Dr. Leslie Valiant.

Leslie discusses a human’s predisposition to accept the information we ingest as truth and explains the central tenet of his newest book, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness.

Tune in:

Meet Our Guest:

Leslie Valiant PhD, is the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1982. Before coming to Harvard, he had taught at Carnegie Mellon University, Leeds University, and the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Valiant’s work focuses on several areas of theoretical computer science, particularly complexity theory, learning, and parallel computation. He also has interests in computational neuroscience, evolution, and artificial intelligence and is the author of Circuits of the Mind, Probably Approximately Correct.

Book: The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness

Dr. Leslie Valiant PhD: Absorbent Minds

Defining Educable from Leslie’s book, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness. {2:45}
A computational approach to human civilization in a digital world. {13:27}
Industrialization has reduced the number of nutritionally rich foods the average person consumes. {14:17}
A human’s absorbent mind is mentally unprotected from bad ideas. {19:38}
Lisa gets nutrient-rich food swap advice for her go-to favorite summer salad. {23:06}
Strategies to remain educable. {31:53}

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Shareables:

“We are not equipped at all to deal with information which is false or prepared by someone adversarial.” Leslie Valiant on @HHTalkRadio Share on X “It is also important to educate children to be more suspicious.” Leslie Valiant on @HHTalkRadio Share on X “There is no end to the beliefs that people are willing to take up.” Leslie Valiant on @HHTalkRadio Share on X “We are too good at soaking up beliefs to question them.” Leslie Valiant on @HHTalkRadio Share on X

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