Visit our website BeautifulIllusions.org for a complete set of show notes and links to almost everything discussed in this episode

Selected References:

• 4:37 - See more on Daniel Kahneman, “The Father of Behavioral Science,” at The Decision Lab
• 6:31 - Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
• 6:44 - In his book, The Happiness Hypothesis, psychologist Jonathan Haidt characterizes the human mind as a partnership between separate but connected entities using the metaphor of the rider and the elephant - the rider represents all that is conscious and is the director of actions and executor of thought and long term goals, while the elephant represents all that is automatic, and often acts independently of conscious thought.
• 8:10 - Listen to Beautiful Illusions Episode 12 - A New Enlightenment: The Age of Cognitivism from March, 2021
• 9:19 - Philosophize This!
• 17:19 - The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
• 21:43 - Listen to Mindscape Episode 340 - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein on What Matters and Why It Matters
• 28:40 - See “Each Shuffle of a Deck of Cards is Probably Unique in History”

This episode was recorded in January 2026

The “Beautiful Illusions Theme” was performed by Darron Vigliotti (guitar) and Joseph Vigliotti (drums), and was written and recorded by Darron Vigliotti