No Way Out

The Episode Where We Launch the Podcast as a Controlled Hallucination | Ep 1

Season 1 Episode 1

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In the inaugural episode, hosts Mark McGrath and Brian "Ponch" Rivera introduce themselves and the show, and explain the origin of the title, which was inspired by something they discovered in the John Boyd archives at Marine Corps University.

Throughout the episode, Mark and Ponch discuss the forces that shape our lives and the importance of understanding them in order to navigate them successfully. They also touch on the dangers of relying on so-called "experts" or "analysts," and instead advocate for a multidisciplinary approach to gain a broader range of perspectives and understanding.

In addition to exploring the applicability of John Boyd's theories to various industries, including the arts, business, sports, the market, and medicine, Mark and Ponch also delve into the importance of suppressing ego in order to become better versions of ourselves.

Be sure to use the Chapters Feature on Apple and Spotify to quickly browse and navigate to segments of this episode.

//Books and briefs mentioned in this episode//
Being You  –  by Anil Seth, PhD
How to Change Your Mind   
–  by Michael Pollan
Livewired 
–  by David Eagleman, PhD
Trauma 
–  by Paul Conti, MD
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War
  –  by Robert Coram
“A Discourse on Winning and Losing”  –  John R. Boyd
“Information Warfare”  –  Marine Corps University Press

//Theories mentioned in this episode//
Entropic Brain Hypothesis  –  Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD
The Free Energy Principle  –  Karl Friston, PhD
Constructal Law  –  Adrian Bejan, PhD

//Tritone Paradox//
https://ccrma.stanford.edu/realsimple/mus_illus/mus_illus.pdf
http://ccrma.stanford.edu/realsimple/mus_illus/tritone.wav

//Animation: OODA and Perception as a Controlled Hallucination//
https://www.aglx.com/interaction-and-isolation-on-the-ooda-loop-the-free-energy-principle-and-the-dangers-of-a-polarized-political-environment/

John Boyd’s Conceptual Spiral was originally titled “No Way Out.” In his words:

“There is no way out unless we can eliminate the features just cited. Since we don’t know how to do this, we must continue the whirl of reorientation…”


Download a complete transcript of Conceptual Spiral for free by clicking here.

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