Episode 029: p=eMPathy with Ariel Waldman, Ashe Dryden, and Brad Grzesiak
April 19th, 2017 · 1 hr 13 mins
About this Episode
00:16 – Welcome to “The Tale of Space Cat Burritos” …we mean, “Greater Than Code!”
02:26 – Space Technology and the Cultural Portrayal of Science
08:24 – The Influence of Science Fiction on the Current Developments in Science
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program (NIAC)
Supernatural Horror in Literature By H. P. Lovecraft
14:47 – What is sci-fi telling us about the world we live in now?
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
18:34 – “Hard” vs “Soft” Science Fiction; “Hard” Conference Talks vs “Soft” Talks
Coraline Ada Ehmke: Metaphors Are Similes. Similes Are Like Metaphors @ Rubyfuza 2017
24:43 – Understanding How People Work to Build Better Technology; Fighting for Accessibility in Science
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
33:11 – Machine Learning
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” – Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park
37:52 – Scarcity and Exploitation: Looking at Power Dynamics and Relationships Between Groups and People
41:34 – Reasons We Prefer to Focus on Technology; Siloing and Specialization
50:16 – Control: Who is the manager? Treating People Equally
52:46 – Congruency and Being Congruent: It’s a People Problem!
[The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully by Gerald M. Weinberg]((https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Consulting-Giving-Getting-Successfully/dp/0932633013)
“Emotions are valid inputs to every thought process.” – Coraline Ada Ehmke
01:01:44 – How do we know we are right?
The Art of Negotiating the Best Deal by Seth Freeman
Reflections:
Rein: These issues go straight up to the top in terms of the philosophical ladder we’re trying to climb of what do we value? How do we get other people to share our values? It doesn’t get easier by ignoring that the problem is that difficult and pretending that it’s just technical.
Coraline: It’s the responsibility of technologists to think about the social impact of the technical solutions they are making, whether that means by being better informed and striving to be generalists, or by making sure we are being inclusive and giving voice to people with different perspectives and levels of expertise on our teams to make sure we are addressing problems deeply and not just from one particular silo.
Ashe: Understanding how we are looking at a problem ethically, how we’re looking at it technically, and how we’re looking at it from a human point of view? What are the potential effects?
Brad: The laws of nature still exist in the absence of humans. Humans are the reason things are messy and complicated.
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