Your brain isn’t as rational as you think, and that blind spot can wreck your decision-making, relationships, and even your health. In this episode, you’ll learn how to spot the hidden cognitive traps that even the smartest people fall for, and how to upgrade your thinking so you can perform better, live longer, and make choices that actually serve you.
Listen to the FULL-LENGTH version of this episode on your favorite audio platform:
-Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-human-upgrade-biohacking-for-longevity-performance/id451295014
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2mkB9OoukPVKCTKSuAIgCq
Host Dave Asprey sits down with Steven Pinker, a world-renowned cognitive psychologist, Harvard professor, and bestselling author whose research reshaped how we understand language, bias, social norms, and rationality. Pinker’s decades of scholarship make him a trusted guide to the mechanics of the mind and the behaviors that either elevate or derail human performance and longevity.
Together they break down how the brain actually reasons, why smart people still fall for tribal thinking, what current AI gets wrong about human intelligence, and how “common knowledge” quietly governs cooperation, law, and civility. This is a masterclass in brain optimization through better thinking, built for people who care about biohacking, hacking mental models, neuroplasticity, and high-performance decision-making.
You’ll learn:
• How to recognize and counter the “my-side bias,” even if you’re highly intelligent
• Why common knowledge creates and sustains social norms and coordination
• The art of indirect speech and tact, and how to calibrate your words to reduce social risk
• Simple upgrades that make video calls feel closer to real eye contact and why that boosts trust
• What today’s AI gets wrong about minds and why models hallucinate
• Rational habits that work in the real world: steelmanning, probabilistic thinking, adversarial collaboration, and making bets as a tax on bad arguments
• Why liberal democracy fits human nature better than autocracy and how norms erode or hold
• How to rebuild face-to-face social skills in a screen-first culture to improve resilience and performance
This is essential listening for fans of biohacking, brain optimization, human performance, neuroplasticity, and longevity who want clear, usable frameworks to think better and live better with Dave Asprey.
Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.
New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (audio-only), and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the questions no one else will and gives you real tools to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient.
Resources:
• Steven’s Website: https://stevenpinker.com/
Timestamps:
0:00 — Trailer
0:59 — Introduction
1:30 — Foundations of Government
2:14 — Cognitive Biases & Collective Action
6:01 — AI vs. Human Intelligence
11:00 — Fairness & the Just World Hypothesis
13:40 — Social Norms & Common Knowledge
17:12 — Outrage, Stupidity & Social Dilemmas
18:11 — Indirect Speech & Relationships
23:03 — Navigating Social Interactions
26:50 — Technology, Loneliness & Social Change
28:53 — Cognitive Biases & Rationality
33:03 — Final Thoughts & Book Insights
Connect with Dave Asprey!
Website: https://daveasprey.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daveaspreyofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dave.asprey/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daveaspreyofficial/
X: https://x.com/daveasprey
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/daveaspreybpr
The Human Upgrade Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/TheHumanUpgradePodcast/ https://m.facebook.com/Thehumanupgrade/
Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/DAVE15
Dave Asprey’s BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com/
Dave Asprey’s New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated/
Dave’s favorite supplements: https://www.shopsuppgradelabs.com/discount/DAVE15
Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com
Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com
40 Years of Zen: https://40yearsofzen.com
