Two Guys on Your Head

Two Guys on Your Head > All Episodes

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

May 31, 2024

Framing Discourse (Rebroadcast)

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in a debate, even with ourselves, that it doesn’t occur to us to change the frame of the conversation. As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, it’s important to find new ways to talk and think about things.

Listen

May 24, 2024

Wandering

It’s sometimes difficult to justify doing an activity that isn’t related to work or achieving a specific goal, but as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, letting your mind wander and thinking of things other than your immediate task can be beneficial for your brain and […]

Listen

May 17, 2024

Cause and Effect

It can be difficult to understand how to navigate behavior when there is no direct cause and effect between what you’re doing and the impact you want to have. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, talk about why it’s important to take daily actions toward long-term goals.

Listen

May 10, 2024

Time, Attention, and How To Get Things Done

Time is important, especially when it comes to the brain. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, talk about how our brains process and understand time and how we can reorient our goals within tasks to stay motivated and get more done.

Listen

May 3, 2024

Transparency

There’s a lot going on below the surface when it comes to what we reveal and conceal. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, talk about a few perplexing dimensions of the psychology of transparency.

Listen

April 26, 2024

Abstinence vs. Moderation

Some of our behaviors tend to get in the way of goals we would like to achieve or even the lives we want to live, but changing our behavior can be more complicated than we think. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, talk about the psychology of […]

Listen

April 19, 2024

How To Crush Writer’s Block

In April, we celebrate National Poetry Month, and in honor of this beautiful commemoration, we wanted to revisit our show on writer’s block! That phrase might induce panic and a recollection of a familiar experience. It’s a widespread phenomenon. So what is it? In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explain […]

Listen

April 12, 2024

The Soup Study Revisited

A classic study found that individuals eat less soup when they have a visual cue of how much they have eaten, thus demonstrating the power of external cues about eating. However, this research, done by Brian Wansink and his colleagues in 2005, was called into question by the lead researcher’s demonstrations of scientific misconduct. A […]

Listen