Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey

In order to give you all a break from the talk about the end of the world, this episode has Jonah speaking with psychologist Dr. Michele Gelfand about one of his pet-obsessions: “tight” and “loose” theories of culture. Why do places like Japan and Singapore seem to be in lockstep while the U.S. is so freewheeling? How should we tighten up, culturally, as a response to COVID? And why are Mexican teachers unions so weird? We ask the hard questions here on The Remnant, so don’t miss it. Show Notes: -Michele’s book, Rule Makers, Rule Breakers -The complexity of fractals, for those who actually understand math -Michele’s Tight-Loose Quiz -Mexican teaching jobs are given to… teachers’ kids? -The gum-free land of Singapore -D.E. Brown’s list of universal traits across all human cultures -Jonathan Haidt’s article, which then spawned a book, which then spawned a Remnant episode -Robert Wright, The Moral Animal -John Tooby’s “coalition instinct” -Jonah’s Wednesday “news”letter -Michele’s piece on COVID in the Boston Globe -Michele’s “Honor Dictionary” -The fascinating concept of “pluralistic ignorance” -GetBlueVine.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices