Season 1
Going back to first principles
In this season, we wanted to go back to some of the cornerstones of thinking and making sense of the world. This isn't a 101 thinking course, there's a lot of content out there that does that far better than we could. This is us two revisiting the fundamentals, flagging what's important, what's missing and trying to give real life examples.
We're going to aim for one episode every two weeks, but we've recorded a few to start us off.
We really want you to engage with us, so any feedback, good or bad is sought and welcome.
Email us at shout@thecollators.com or join the discord.
Episode 0: Who are The Collators?
This is a trailer episode to introduce the pod - We’ve tried to make a show for people who want to sharpen their thinking. Whether you’re a seasoned analyst or simply curious about how we make sense of the world. If you’re interested in critical thinking, information theory of just how people form beliefs, then I think we might have something for you. On behalf of Mark, Howard and Jay, Hello world…
Episode 1: An appeal for information
We use the word information every day, but what does it actually mean? In this first episode, drawing on experience from intelligence, law enforcement and academia Mark and Howard dig into the foundations of our information-saturated world, exploring how data becomes meaning, why context matters, and how our assumptions shape what we think we know.
Episode 2: OMG, TMI - How much information is too much?
In this episode of The Collators, Mark and Howard dig into the firehose of the digital age. From
the days of cereal-box reading and limited TV channels to today’s infinite scroll of TikTok,
Twitter, and AI-generated content, how has the internet reshaped the way we process and
perhaps fail to really think about the information we recieve.
Episode 3: Intelligence; good, bad and indifferent - What is it?
Mark and Howard wrestle with the deceptively simple question: What is intelligence? They explore why intelligence is so hard to define, how it differs from raw data and information, and why it sits somewhere between science and art. Along the way, they highlight the many uses (and misuses) of the word “intelligence” from law enforcement practice to political spin.