Exquisite Failures: The 233rd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

In this 233rd in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.

In this week’s episode, we discuss The Hope Accord, which calls for the “immediate suspension of Covid-19 mRNA vaccine products.” We encourage you to sign it. Then: wisdom from Charlie Munger on why we should prefer a world in which some people are not compensated for their losses (even if they didn’t deserve to lose), over having gameable systems in which cheaters flourish. Then: how the NYT stacks the deck in favor of sunscreen, by asking oncologists and dermatologists. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Finally, how chytrid fungus has wiped out frog populations and species across the world; how fever is used by endotherms like us to clear infections; and new research that finds that frogs like frog saunas, which not only feels great, but helps them clear fungal infections. The through-line: human hubris intervening in complex systems often ends badly.

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Mentioned in this episode:

The Hope Accord: https://thehopeaccord.org

Poor Charlie’s Almanack: https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Charlies-Almanack-Charles-Expanded/dp/1578645018

The New York Times consults experts on the value of sunshine vs sunscreen: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/well/sunscreen-vitamin-d-skin-cancer.html

Lindqvist et al 2016. Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death: A competing risk analysis of the melanoma in southern Sweden cohort. Journal of Internal Medicine, 280(4): 375– 387: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joim.12496

Weldon et al 2004. Origin of the amphibian chytrid fungus. Emerging infectious diseases, 10(12): 2100: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323396/pdf/03-0804.pdf

Waddle et al 2024. Hotspot shelters stimulate frog resistance to chytridiomycosis. Nature: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07582-y

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Timestamps:
(00:00) Wait
(06:52) Welcome
(09:32) Sponsors
(21:22) Sign the Hope Accord
(30:12) Social media bots and abuse
(35:22) The Hope Accord
(38:02) Charlie Munger Introduction
(42:17) California's compensation laws
(55:57) Construction of solutions
(01:02:02) Immunity for vaccine manufacturers
(01:06:12) A system that can't be gamed
(01:12:18) Sunscreen
(01:29:13) Frogs plummeting population
(01:41:12) Boosting frogs immunity
(01:55:20) Through line and wrap up