Person
Every book William von Hippel recommended on podcasts
William von Hippel appears on podcasts such as Modern Wisdom and The Joe Rogan Experience, where he discusses behavioral genetics, evolutionary psychology, human history, and the cognitive mechanisms that shape modern society. Drawing on his expertise, von Hippel recommends and examines several influential books that explain human development. He highlights Richard Wrangham's Catching Fire to explain how cooking played a crucial role in enabling human brain development, and references Steve Simpson's The Nature of Nutrition when discussing research on protein as a limiting factor in appetite. To explore behavioral genetics and the future of humanity, von Hippel brings up Robert Plomin's Blueprint and Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence, respectively. He also discusses Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature to address the historical decline of violence, while strongly critiquing Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha's Sex at Dawn as total crap. Through these discussions, von Hippel uses literature to anchor his broader scientific arguments about human evolution and social behavior.
Books recommended by William von Hippel
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Catching Fire
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham is an anthropological study arguing that the harnessing of fire and the invention of cooking were the primary catalysts for human evolutionary development.
Recommended“so Richard Wrangham talks about that is wonderful book Catching Fire how basically in order to develop the big brain that we have that's supported by such a small gut you need to be eating a lot of me”
Where to get it
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Blueprint
Blueprint by Robert Plomin is a behavioral genetics book that argues DNA is the primary driving force behind human behavior, personality, and development, often outweighing environmental or parenting influences.
Recommended“so I don't know if you saw this book that Plomin just wrote called blueprint Robert Plomin he's a behavioural geneticist I haven't seen that oh it's a lovely book just came out”
Where to get it
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Consciousness Genesis In Artificial Intelligence
Consciousness Genesis In Artificial Intelligence by professor ibrahim elnoshokaty explores the complex emergence of awareness and cognitive systems within machine learning frameworks.
Recommended“and then if you read super intelligence with a fantastic book on on AI by Professor Nick Bostrom from the future humanities Institute of Oxford you know if there's so many different ways that we can [ __ ] this up like many from ways and it's nearly infinite”
Where to get it
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The Better Angels of Our Nature
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker is a sweeping historical analysis that argues violence has steadily declined over the course of human history due to the evolution of civilization, governance, and empathy.
Recommended“and I actually I think Pinker's got the best answer to this question which is basically well what structures do you need to put in place to make the world a safer and less violent place and and I don't know if you've talked to him about his book better angels of our nature I know you've talked to him”
Where to get it
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The Purpose of Reality
The Purpose of Reality by Steve Simpson is a philosophical and scientific exploration examining the fundamental nature of existence and biological drives.
Recommended“and this is really beginning with wonderful research by Steve Simpson who's a biologist spent much of his career at Oxford and is now at Sydney University and since schon he's got a wonderful book the nature of nutrition he's shown very clearly that if you vary the protein levels in food animals will weigh over eat carbohydrates in order”
Where to get it
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Enlightenment Now
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker is a data-driven defense of reason, science, humanism, and human progress, arguing that global living standards have steadily improved.
Discussed“and that's of course the point of Pinker's newest book enlightenment now know things are going freaking great turn it anarchy”
Where to get it
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Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth
Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth by Adam Frank is a scientific exploration examining astrobiology, climate change, and the long-term survival trajectories of technological civilizations in the universe.
Discussed“I think I did a podcast with Professor Adam Frankie wrote light of us stars and he identified that one of the byproducts of any world girdling civilization is going to be the level of global warming that we have because you can't have the energy you need for this civilization without the byproduct of the greenhouse gases and so”
Where to get it
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Sex at Dawn
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha is an evolutionary anthropology book that challenges traditional assumptions about human monogamy by arguing that our prehistoric ancestors practiced a more fluid, polyamorous form of mating.
Critiqued“have you ever read sex at dawn mmm-hmm what did you think of that um no offense but I think it's total crap”
Where to get it
Books William von Hippel wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Social Leap; How We Evolved From Tree Swinging to Human Being - William Von Hippel - #041 | Modern Wisdom | 2018-12-02 | 5 |
| #1201 - William von Hippel | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2018-11-13 | 5 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“so at this point I'm the easiest way to find me is simply the Google bill or william von Hippel vo nhi ppl my book the social leap is available now in the States and will be available soon in the UK”
“um the social leap yes”