Cognitive Engineering
by Cognitive Engineering
Latest episode
It Just Doesn't Work
It Just Doesn't Work
About this podcast
Welcome to the Cognitive Engineering podcast. Occasionally coherent musings of Aleph Insights. We hope you like listening to them as much as we like recording them.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
Episodes
The newest 50 of 414 episodes
- It Just Doesn't Work · 40 min · Episode 415Why can you buy a toaster that can't toast a whole slice of bread? A listener’s dismay sets Fraser, Nick and Peter off on an investigation into everyday products that fail at…
- Bad Vibes · 34 min · Episode 418Can you tell whether someone is trustworthy from the moment you meet them? We often feel that we can spot a wrong ’un almost instantly, but how reliable are those gut instincts —…
- Swiss Army Knives · 39 min · Episode 414Whatever happened to the Swiss army knife? Fraser, Nick and Peter explore the history and appeal of the pocket-sized multi-tool. From the Swiss army knife to printers, sporks and…
- Two-by-Two Matrices · 44 min · Episode 412Can everything be made easier with two questions and four boxes? Fraser, Nick and Peter explore the undying appeal of 2×2 matrices, and ask how they can help us prioritise tasks…
- Looming · 30 min · Episode 411What determines how we respond to approaching threats like moving objects or approaching deadlines? Fraser, Nick and Peter explore how we detect oncoming danger and how that…
- Luck or Judgement? · 36 min · Episode 409Did Mark Zuckerberg build one of the world's greatest companies through extraordinary skill, or was he simply in the right place at the right time? Using Meta's $77 billion…
- Future Communication · 42 min · Episode 408As large language models become a routine part of office life, a curious workflow is emerging: people ask AI to expand a handful of bullet points into polished reports or emails…
- Faking it · 47 min · Episode 407"Fake it till you make it" is one of the most repeated pieces of career advice, but does it actually work? In this episode, the team explores the origin of the idea, when it…
- Trillionaires · 39 min · Episode 406Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire. But is this simply the result of inflation and economic growth, or does it signal that we're entering a new era of wealth…
- Sheer Luxury · 38 min · Episode 405Why do people spend extraordinary amounts of money on objects that seem to serve no practical purpose? And what exactly separates luxury from quality? Inspired by the case of…
- AI Slop · 48 min · Episode 404In this episode, we explore the phenomenon of AI slop - the flood of bland, over-polished, formulaic content generated by chatbots and their ilk - and ask how AI content has gone…
- It’ll Only Take Five Minutes · 35 min · Episode 403Why do days filled with quick, easy tasks leave us feeling as though we've achieved nothing? In this episode, we explore the psychology of the "five-minute job": the seemingly…
- How to Decline · 49 min · Episode 402Every great power eventually faces decline—but does decline inevitably lead to collapse? In this episode, Fraser, Nick and Peter examine what it really means for a nation, empire…
- Irrationality · 44 min · Episode 401In this episode, we begin with Hitler’s supposed Alpine Redoubt and use it to explore a broader question: how do we make sense of irrational decision-making? We discuss why…
- Weather Symbolism · 39 min · Episode 400In this episode, we explore why weather carries such powerful symbolic meaning in storytelling and everyday language. From storms representing conflict and change, to sunshine…
- Evil Corporations · 46 min · Episode 399In this episode, we explore the idea of “evil corporations,” prompted by a legal case in which a woman successfully sued social media companies for making their platforms…
- The Sense of an Ending · 40 min · Episode 398In this episode, we ask how we know when something has really ended, starting with the much-criticised finale of Game of Thrones. We explore why some endings feel satisfying…
- How to Buy a Car · 46 min · Episode 397In this episode of the Cognitive Engineering Podcast, the team responds to a listener’s question about how to buy a car, using it as a springboard into wider ideas about…
- Accessing the Past · 43 min · Episode 396In this episode, we explore why some older media remain surprisingly accessible while other, much newer works become almost impossible to experience. We compare a 300-year-old…
- Sensitive Topics · 36 min · Episode 395In this episode, we discuss a forthcoming board game about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and ask why some subjects feel uncomfortable when turned into games. We explore…
- Training · 43 min · Episode 394In this episode we discuss training: what it can realistically achieve, why it often fails and how people actually become good at things. The conversation begins with Aleph’s…
- Aleph Peace Prize · 37 min · Episode 393Episode summary In this episode, the team explores what prizes are actually for. Starting with a discussion of FIFA’s much-mocked “Peace Prize” and the longer pedigree of the…
- Username and Password · 30 min · Episode 392In this episode, Fraser McGruer, Nick Hare, Chris Wragg and Peter Coghill explore one of modern life’s most persistent irritations: being asked to create yet another username and…
- Turning It Off and On Again · 42 min · Episode 391In this episode, Fraser McGruer, Nick Hare, Peter Coghill and Chris Wragg explore one of the most enduring pieces of technical advice: have you tried turning it off and on again?…
- Culturally Significant Deaths · 38 min · Episode 390In this episode, we explore a deceptively simple question: what makes a death culturally significant? The conversation begins with an unsatisfying Reddit-style list of famous…
- Inventions · 33 min · Episode 389Where did all the eccentric inventors go? The men (and women) in sheds, the gadgets with flashing lights, the sense that the future was arriving one bizarre prototype at a time…
- Destroying the World · 41 min · Episode 388A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Mirror life https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/17/science/mirror-cell-life-dangers For more information on Aleph Insights visit our…
- Worst President Ever · 34 min · Episode 387A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Trump ranked as worst president https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/20/presidents-ranking-trump-biden-list? - George W Bush…
- Best Technology · 33 min · Episode 385Tech it or leave it: what is the best technology? The bed, writing, antibiotics? In this podcast we ask: how do we define technology, and can we objectively measure the best of…
- Crap Internet · 32 min · Episode 386Click bait and switch: has the internet swapped out knowledge for monetisation? Search engine optimisation, advertising run amok, users as customers: has the internet become a…
- Lost Media · 28 min · Episode 384The missing link: why are we fascinated by lost media? From Celebrity Number Six to the original Backrooms photo, Love's Labours Won to absent Doctor Who episodes: what is it…
- Big Companies · 39 min · Episode 383Is bigger really better? Does a company's product suffer the larger its owner gets? And if so, why? In this podcast, we discuss all things 'enshittification' - the perceived…
- Am I Old? · 41 min · Episode 382In this podcast, we're discussing old age and when, exactly, it befalls us. Do we simply wake up one day absent of youth? Or can we estimate its proximity by certain metrics…
- Hobbies · 48 min · Episode 381Leisure bound: what exactly makes a hobby a 'hobby'? In this podcast, we discuss all things structured fun. From train spotting to Morris dancing, board games to beach-going, we…
- National Treasures · 43 min · Episode 380On the hunt: what does it take to be a National Treasure? In this podcast, we discuss what it takes to be awarded National Treasure status: from niceness metrics and longevity…
- Why History? · 37 min · Episode 379Buff or bust: why do we study history? In this podcast, we explore the value of studying history and discuss why it's more than a pastime meandering through past times. From…
- Bearded Soldiers · 45 min · Episode 378Preposterous protocols, nonsensical norms, and peculiar policies: what makes a rule weird? In this podcast, Nick, Ben, Leon, and Fraser discuss the British army's recent…
- Agree to Disagree · 39 min · Episode 377The taming of the shrewd: how do we rationally agree to disagree? In this podcast, Nick, Peter, Chris, and Fraser discuss the finer details of polite polemics, courteous…
- Daniel Kahneman · 33 min · Episode 376Think fast! But ideally don't. In this podcast, Nick, Peter, and Fraser discuss Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel-prize-winning psychologist whose scholarship challenged economists'…
- Legacy Issues · 41 min · Episode 375Cremated, buried or donated to science? How much have you thought about what happens to you or your body after you die? Who owns your body after you die? And is having a legacy…
- User Interfaces · 40 min · Episode 374In this podcast, we explore user interfaces. Specifically, we discuss the development, integration, progress and limitations of interfaces, and consider what could be next…
- Plagiarism · 43 min · Episode 373Plagiarism is a complex concept that spans a spectrum from inspiration to theft. But is plagiarism strictly black and white? Can it occur unintentionally and can it be considered…
- Madness Vs Genius · 31 min · Episode 372Where is the much vaunted line between genius and madness? At a glance, it seems like they could be two sides of the same coin. Is the opposite of genius simply sheer stupidity?…
- Eternal Youth · 39 min · Episode 371The pursuit of immortality is a tantalising idea that appears in science and technology as well as works of art and literature. But who actually wants to live forever? What does…
- Neatness · 45 min · Episode 370The observant among us will have noted that 2023 ended on a Sunday. For those who believe Sunday marks the end of the week, this seems like a logical day to end the year. But why…
- Moaners · 35 min · Episode 369You would be forgiven for missing it, but late last year Google Maps changed its colour scheme. This caused an outcry across the Twittersphere and social media platforms, with…
- Populist Hair · 39 min · Episode 368What do Trump, Johnson, Wilders and Milei all have in common? No, it’s not politics, it’s an eccentric and recognisable coiffure. Do these examples allow us to draw a theory…
- Baddies · 46 min · Episode 367When we think of good and evil the picture appears obvious. The side of good is attractive, righteous and persuasive while the bad side is ugly, flawed and fallible. But does the…
- Change vs Rest · 32 min · Episode 366When we go on holiday or experience an interruption to our daily lives, we are often reminded that a change can be as good as a rest. But is doing something different actually…
- Figment of the Imagination · 41 min · Episode 365People who spread lies and deceive others are treated with contempt by society, and rightfully so. But what happens when the people we lie to and deceive are ourselves? Using the…
