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July 29, 2022

Porosity Complicated

By: Rebecca McInroy

Last week’s episode focused on the concept of “porosity” a term developed by anthropologist Tanya Marie Luhrmann and psychology researcher Kara Weisman, to help understand the root of religious and spiritual beliefs. They argue that at the heart is the concept of a porous boundary between mind and world and that people in all human societies have conflicting intuitions about this boundary.

Here at Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman,  Dr. Bob Duke, and Rebecca McInroy find this concept interesting and thought we would spend a little time, not only understanding it but complicating it.

In this second in our three-part series on porosity we ask a few questions about how it manifests in our daily lives and why we should care.

“Porosity is The Heart of Religion”

 


Episodes

April 7, 2023

The Influencer

It turns out that although we may think we decide our preferences based on what we like or dislike, many times we are influenced by factors outside of our conscious awareness. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss the psychology of influence.

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March 31, 2023

Memory, Imagination, and Happiness

When it comes to imagination and happiness, it turns out there’s a lot going on. If you think, as William Arthur Ward said, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it,” you might be in for a surprise when it comes to well-being. In this edition […]

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March 24, 2023

Imagination and Change

Have you ever been in a situation that you just can’t see your way out of? Have you ever been stuck on a path you did not want to follow? In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about how we can practice gaining experiences that […]

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March 16, 2023

Forgetting To Remember

It turns out that forgetting is a feature, not a bug. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the many ways forgetting is more important than we may think, especially when it comes to what we remember.

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March 9, 2023

The Psychology, Science and Performance of Play

Turns out that understanding the why and how of play in our everyday lives is a serious business, but still a lot of fun! Listen back as Rebecca McInroy, Art Markman and Bob Duke of Two Guys on Your Head join Alison Preston, Kirk Lynn, and Sarah Abraham for a special presentation at the Texas […]

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March 3, 2023

Math, Music, and The Brain

There are some things that just feel like they’re true. For example, the idea that people who are gifted musicians are also good at learning math, or vice versa. However, there isn’t any data that suggests that there are any links in the brain between these proclivities. As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke […]

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February 24, 2023

Protect Your Boredom

It seems that people today carry with them the constant mantra, “I’m so busy.” And as it can be tough to juggle work, kids, and life in general, a lot of that feeling of being overwhelmed may be our own fault. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the […]

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February 17, 2023

How To Give a Great Talk

It turns out you don’t have to be exceptionally witty or charming to give a great talk, you just need to be you. And it doesn’t hurt, as Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, discuss in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, to follow a few other tips as well.

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