
Shermer and Pompliano discuss: personal journey from college to Fortune to The Profile • what distinguishes the truly exceptional from the merely great • What is genius? • hindsight bias • David Goggins: Do something that sucks every single day • stress-testing yourself through regular hardship • victimhood: “Suffering is universal but victimhood is optional” • fear • updating existing beliefs • pursuing meaningful goals • trust = consistency + time.
In Science Salon podcast # 136, Michael Shermer speaks with Gad Saad about his new book The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense.

Shermer and Saad discuss: dangerous idea pathogens • ideological parasites • the origin of political correctness and how it was corrupted • identity politics and how it perpetrates bigotry, racism, and misogyny • the psychology of victimhood • virtue signaling and why it isn’t virtuous • why social justice is injustice • • the corruption of postmodernism • Islamophobia • diversity, inclusion and equity • safe spaces, microaggressions, trigger warnings • liberalism • the paradox of tolerance, and more…