161. The Philosophical Side of BE, an interview with Dr. Nick Hobson

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today I am very excited to have a fellow behavioral science podcaster, Dr. Nick Hobson on the show. His podcast is called,</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">It’s All Just a Bunch of BS</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. He also writes for The Behaviorist and is the chief scientist at Emotive Technologies.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, why did I say at the top of the show that this would likely show you a different side of Nick than you may have seen or heard before? It is because we really focus on philosophy, which is different than anything I’ve had on the show before and was a lot of fun to chat about.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I must admit, in my undergrad I really hated philosophy. I’m not sure if I had a bad teacher or if I just wasn’t ready for it yet, but it was one of my least favorite classes. As time has passed, I’ve come to realize that the types of questions I love to ask and my personal approach to applying behavioral economics are built on a foundation of philosophy. So even if you’ve not been a fan of the field in the past, I recommend you stick around. I think you’re going to like the conversation. </span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Show Notes:</span></h3> <ul> <li>[00:06] In today’s episode I’m excited to introduce you to Dr. Nick Hobson for a fascinating conversation that even if you know Nick, I’m guessing you haven’t heard him talk about on a show before.</li> <li>[01:13] In this episode, we really focus on philosophy, which I found to be so interesting and I hope you will too.</li> <li>[03:51] Nick shares a funny story about being a doctor and using it for a dinner reservation with his wife.</li> <li>[05:49] Nick has a doctorate degree in social psychology and social neuroscience. His dissertation was about the psychology of neuroscience and rituals. </li> <li>[08:03] He was very interested in rituals and that determined the next five years of his life. </li> <li>[09:45] Now he is an a