#AcademicRunPlaylist - 1/23/25

Here's one more picture from yesterday, and while today I was mostly inside for calls I still managed to get out and listen to some talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an incredible talk by David Spiegelhalter on how to think about change, ignorance, risk, and luck at the LSE. This goes beyond the math (although there is some of that), digging into how probability itself is inherently a projection of human subjectivity and the implications of that in a variety of settings. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvLsQyfVDTQ

Next was an excellent talk by Görkem Akgöz on issues with the "global south" framing and the implications for global labor history at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZxYgZ3ZURo

Last was "Tripping on Utopia" by Benjamin Breen. This book focuses on the personal stories of people involved with the birth and rapid development of psychedelic science. These are colorful characters, but what I found most interesting about the book is how the formal field mirrored many others in mid-century science. These folks appropriate indigenous knowledge with little to no attribution, had a techno-utopian view of their field, and became deeply entangled with unethical research within academic institutions and with the US defense complex https://benjaminpbreen.com/books/tripping/