Linus Pauling was one of the world’s greatest chemists. He won two Nobel Prizes and was a pioneer in both quantum chemistry and molecular biology. But in later years, Pauling started to talk about medicine. In his advocacy of “mega-vitamin” therapies, Pauling argued that mega-doses of vitamin C could treat diseases such as cancer and cure ailments like the common cold. There is no reputable evidence to support this. The medical establishment did and does dismiss these claims as utterly unfounded, unproven, and dangerous.
Pauling is an example of what the philosopher Nathan Ballantyne calls an “epistemic trespasser.” And it’s probably why the smartest, best-educated person you know can sometimes say or do the most idiotic of things.
Epistemic trespassing
Epistemic trespassing is when an expert in one field thinks that they are an expert in another. As Ballantyne put it: “Epistemic trespassers judge matters outside their field of expertise. They have competence or expertise to make good judgments in one field, but move to another field where they lack competence—and pass judgment nevertheless. We should doubt that trespassers are reliable judges in ... Continue Reading »
AI is, I’m both intrigued and a bit terrified to say, seemingly everywhere. Including in my head, where it’s occupying prime mental real estate as I ponder how to best engage with this evolving technology. What to start doing. What to stop. How to keep pace. When to freak out.
I don’t have definitive answers — for myself or anyone else. But I’m lucky enough to work for Big Think+, a company that produces thought-provoking leadership training by interviewing subject-matter experts in a variety of fields. I’ve learned a ton just by immersing myself in their teachings. (My old boss used to describe this as pursuing a mini-MBA via osmosis.)
So here, informed by listening to these experts, are some questions I’m asking — and reasking — myself as I think about how our L&D department should partner with AI to create high-quality, trustworthy learning content.
1. Do you just want the product, or do you also want the process?
Need a memo? AI can draft it. Want a pie chart? AI can draw it. Looking for a quick prototype? As long as it’s digital, ... Continue Reading »
In the animal kingdom, one of the most bizarre discoveries of all-time was the platypus. When reports of the platypus reached the western hemisphere, most leading naturalists at the time assumed it was a hoax, including the first European scientists to examine a specimen in 1799. It was an animal that laid eggs, yet it was a mammal. It had the bill of a duck, but the tail of a beaver. It had (at least, the males do) venomous spurs on their hind legs, but also the ability to locate other creatures in the water through a specialized sense known as electroreception, common in sharks but very rare among mammals. And yet, the platypus exists with all of these properties, even if it would take decades (or more than a century) before we understood how such a creature could come to exist.
Astronomers have just encountered a very similar situation by looking at a large suite of data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We’ve seen all sorts of objects that we understand fairly well: stars, stellar remnants, galaxies, active ... Continue Reading »
Linus Pauling was one of the world’s greatest chemists. He won two Nobel Prizes and was a pioneer in both quantum chemistry and molecular biology. But in later years, Pauling started to talk about medicine. In his advocacy of “mega-vitamin” therapies, Pauling argued that mega-doses of vitamin C could treat diseases such as cancer and cure ailments like the common cold. There is no reputable evidence to support this. The medical establishment did and does dismiss these claims as utterly unfounded, unproven, and dangerous.
Pauling is an example of what the philosopher Nathan Ballantyne calls an “epistemic trespasser.” And it’s probably why the smartest, best-educated person you know can sometimes say or do the most idiotic of things.
Epistemic trespassing
Epistemic trespassing is when an expert in one field thinks that they are an expert in another. As Ballantyne put it: “Epistemic trespassers judge matters outside their field of expertise. They have competence or expertise to make good judgments in one field, but move to another field where they lack competence—and pass judgment nevertheless. We should doubt that trespassers are reliable judges in ... 
AI is, I’m both intrigued and a bit terrified to say, seemingly everywhere. Including in my head, where it’s occupying prime mental real estate as I ponder how to best engage with this evolving technology. What to start doing. What to stop. How to keep pace. When to freak out.
I don’t have definitive answers — for myself or anyone else. But I’m lucky enough to work for Big Think+, a company that produces thought-provoking leadership training by interviewing subject-matter experts in a variety of fields. I’ve learned a ton just by immersing myself in their teachings. (My old boss used to describe this as pursuing a mini-MBA via osmosis.)
So here, informed by listening to these experts, are some questions I’m asking — and reasking — myself as I think about how our L&D department should partner with AI to create high-quality, trustworthy learning content.
1. Do you just want the product, or do you also want the process?
Need a memo? AI can draft it. Want a pie chart? AI can draw it. Looking for a quick prototype? As long as it’s digital, ... 
In the animal kingdom, one of the most bizarre discoveries of all-time was the platypus. When reports of the platypus reached the western hemisphere, most leading naturalists at the time assumed it was a hoax, including the first European scientists to examine a specimen in 1799. It was an animal that laid eggs, yet it was a mammal. It had the bill of a duck, but the tail of a beaver. It had (at least, the males do) venomous spurs on their hind legs, but also the ability to locate other creatures in the water through a specialized sense known as electroreception, common in sharks but very rare among mammals. And yet, the platypus exists with all of these properties, even if it would take decades (or more than a century) before we understood how such a creature could come to exist.
Astronomers have just encountered a very similar situation by looking at a large suite of data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We’ve seen all sorts of objects that we understand fairly well: stars, stellar remnants, galaxies, active ...