We are joined by Alexander Beiner, current founder of Kainos and former co-founder of Rebel Wisdom, to grapple with that eternally slippery concept: sensemaking. Naturally, this leads us through interdisciplinary adventurism, reflections on the (il)legitimacy of academia, and the recurring “meaning crisis” that haunts our times. Sense will be made, unmade, and possibly reinvented along the way.

Links

• Alexander's Substack: Kainos
• Alexander's recent documentary: Leviathan
• Our original episode that mentions Kainos
• A related discussion we had a while back on the Stoa
• Our previous episode with Jamie Wheal

Chris and Matt walk into a bar with an atheist sensemaker, an Ayurvedic Guru, and a Christian Apologist, and predictable frivolities ensue. Featuring not one but two good-natured, robust exchanges of opinion between our two hosts.

The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 42 minutes).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Supplementary Material 39: Panpsychics, Sensemakers, and Bad Guys

00:00 Introduction

01:17 AI and the Music Industry

05:34 Is Chris a Bad Guy?

10:44 Vibe Physics with Travis Kalanick

16:10 Efforts to Falsify and AI

21:02 Gordon Pennycook with Sean Carroll: Vibes vs Analysis

32:44 Libertarianism and Personal Beliefs

35:10 A mini-debate on internal consistency

42:49 Matt's Personal Philosophy

44:16 Philosophical Feedback on the Sensemakers

55:06 Atheist vs Christian vs Spiritual Thinker

57:03 Dr. K's Role in the Discussion

01:09:01 Alex's Stance on Purpose

01:12:31 Dr. K's Perspective on Purpose

01:23:45 Dr. K and the Atheist pose

01:34:29 Philosophical Musings on Panpsychism

01:41:18 Outro

Sources

• Angela Collier: Conspiracy physics and you (and also me)
• All In Podcast: Travis Kalanick talks about AI (July 11, 2025)
• 333 | Gordon Pennycook on Unthinkingness, Conspiracies, and What to Do About Them
• Pennycook, G., Cheyne, J. A., Barr, N., Koehler, D. J., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2015). On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit. Judgment and Decision Making, 10(6), 549-563.
• The Diary of a CEO: Atheist vs Christian vs Spiritual Thinker: Is Not Believing In God Causing More Harm Than Good?!

In another exciting Required Reading episode, Chris and Matt offer their penetrating, high IQ thoughts on the latest book by journalist and podcast quizmaster, Helen Lewis. Titled 'The Genius Myth: The Dangerous Allure of Rebels, Monsters, and Rule Breakers', the book tears into some of the long-enduring myths surrounding historical and contemporary geniuses from Picasso to Elon Musk. It's a critical dissection of gurus and devoted fans, so very on topic! And yes, it is better than Cod...

Full episode is available to Patreons on the Revolutionary Genius tier! (1hr 13 mins).

Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurus

Links

• The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea by Helen Lewis
• Snippy Review at The Philosophers Magazine
• Less snippy review at the Observer

Required Reading: The Genius Myth

00:00 Book Review: Genius Myth

04:11 The Genius Myth: Book Thoughts!

07:02 Exploring the Concept of Genius

08:49 IQ Tests and High IQ Societies

10:55 Social Perception of Intelligence

12:20 Elon Musk and Modern Genius

16:08 Historical Perspectives on Genius

18:42 The people behind the Geniuses

25:15 The Role of Context and Luck

27:44 Mythmaking and Cultural Icons

45:01 The Flawed Genius Stereotype

50:50 What about Tim Robinson?

52:51 The deranging impact of attention

01:03:33 Overall Thoughts

01:12:44 Better than Cod