Lionel Page
@lionelpage.bsky.social
Director of UQ Centre for Unified Behavioural and Economic Sciences. Editor of the Journal of the Economic Science Association. Book: ‘Optimally Irrational’, Substack: https://www.optimallyirrational.com/
Do we need religion for morality to make sense?
Thinking that religion is required for morality is getting things backwards. Our moral sense preceded religions and shaped their ideas about right and wrong.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/no-religio...
Thinking that religion is required for morality is getting things backwards. Our moral sense preceded religions and shaped their ideas about right and wrong.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/no-religio...
No, religion isn't required for morality
Our moral sense precedes religious doctrines
www.optimallyirrational.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Do we need religion for morality to make sense?
Thinking that religion is required for morality is getting things backwards. Our moral sense preceded religions and shaped their ideas about right and wrong.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/no-religio...
Thinking that religion is required for morality is getting things backwards. Our moral sense preceded religions and shaped their ideas about right and wrong.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/no-religio...
The challenge of designing AI agents as helpers:
In the short term, we prefer positive feedback.
In the long term, we benefit from having harsh but fair feedback.
AI companies might make more money by following our preference for sycophancy rather than our long-term interest.
In the short term, we prefer positive feedback.
In the long term, we benefit from having harsh but fair feedback.
AI companies might make more money by following our preference for sycophancy rather than our long-term interest.
November 20, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The challenge of designing AI agents as helpers:
In the short term, we prefer positive feedback.
In the long term, we benefit from having harsh but fair feedback.
AI companies might make more money by following our preference for sycophancy rather than our long-term interest.
In the short term, we prefer positive feedback.
In the long term, we benefit from having harsh but fair feedback.
AI companies might make more money by following our preference for sycophancy rather than our long-term interest.
We have moral intuitions and emotions that help us play the game of morals well with others in order to go through the game of life seamlessly. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/morality-w...
November 10, 2025 at 2:50 PM
We have moral intuitions and emotions that help us play the game of morals well with others in order to go through the game of life seamlessly. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/morality-w...
Clickbait strategies backfire over time. Chasing quick clicks may build an audience, but clickbait erodes reputation in the long run. High-quality content may attract an audience more slowly, but it can outperform clickbait strategies over time.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/what-are-w...
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/what-are-w...
What are we really doing on social media?
The motives and strategies that shape our online presence
www.optimallyirrational.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Clickbait strategies backfire over time. Chasing quick clicks may build an audience, but clickbait erodes reputation in the long run. High-quality content may attract an audience more slowly, but it can outperform clickbait strategies over time.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/what-are-w...
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/what-are-w...
Reposted by Lionel Page
This is a clever, social-sciency take on social media by @lionelpage.bsky.social When you read it, you will understand why I was compelled to share it with you
What are we really doing on social media?
The motives and strategies that shape our online presence
www.optimallyirrational.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:20 PM
This is a clever, social-sciency take on social media by @lionelpage.bsky.social When you read it, you will understand why I was compelled to share it with you
Why did democracy spread? I argue the key driver were factors shifting bargaining power towards popular coalitions.
Will it keep spreading? There is no historical law guaranteeing it, I am afraid. And AI may even give more cards to autocratic rulers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/does-the-a...
Will it keep spreading? There is no historical law guaranteeing it, I am afraid. And AI may even give more cards to autocratic rulers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/does-the-a...
October 27, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Why did democracy spread? I argue the key driver were factors shifting bargaining power towards popular coalitions.
Will it keep spreading? There is no historical law guaranteeing it, I am afraid. And AI may even give more cards to autocratic rulers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/does-the-a...
Will it keep spreading? There is no historical law guaranteeing it, I am afraid. And AI may even give more cards to autocratic rulers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/does-the-a...
“There’s almost no limit to what you can get people to do if you let them think it is their idea”
Jim Downey - former SNL writer
Jim Downey - former SNL writer
October 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
“There’s almost no limit to what you can get people to do if you let them think it is their idea”
Jim Downey - former SNL writer
Jim Downey - former SNL writer
Reposted by Lionel Page
How gerrymandering can change election outcomes, in one chart www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp...
October 16, 2025 at 5:35 PM
How gerrymandering can change election outcomes, in one chart www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp...
Goring explaining, in 1946, Putin's strategy to drag his population into war.
October 16, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Goring explaining, in 1946, Putin's strategy to drag his population into war.
Everything you ever wanted to know about why we behave the way we do on social media.
The three layers of strategic considerations shaping our online presence: presentation, competition, and coalition building.
The three layers of strategic considerations shaping our online presence: presentation, competition, and coalition building.
What are we really doing on social media?
The motives and strategies that shape our online presence
www.optimallyirrational.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Everything you ever wanted to know about why we behave the way we do on social media.
The three layers of strategic considerations shaping our online presence: presentation, competition, and coalition building.
The three layers of strategic considerations shaping our online presence: presentation, competition, and coalition building.
Reposted by Lionel Page
Human General Intelligence requires an ability to learn, which is closely linked to a goal.
Thus, artificial general intelligence will need a goal, too.
While we get ours from evolution, what goals will we give machines?
Good piece by @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/nQ8XxAl
Thus, artificial general intelligence will need a goal, too.
While we get ours from evolution, what goals will we give machines?
Good piece by @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/nQ8XxAl
October 8, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Human General Intelligence requires an ability to learn, which is closely linked to a goal.
Thus, artificial general intelligence will need a goal, too.
While we get ours from evolution, what goals will we give machines?
Good piece by @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/nQ8XxAl
Thus, artificial general intelligence will need a goal, too.
While we get ours from evolution, what goals will we give machines?
Good piece by @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/nQ8XxAl
To develop artificial general intelligence, it is likely that we will need to give AI a general goal and the ability to learn how to progress towards this goal. The fundamental question is: which goal?
Artificial General Intelligence will likely require a general goal, but which one?
AGI, LLMs and the challenge of alignment
www.optimallyirrational.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:38 PM
To develop artificial general intelligence, it is likely that we will need to give AI a general goal and the ability to learn how to progress towards this goal. The fundamental question is: which goal?
Great quote from Matthew McConaughey on how material incentives slant our perception of reality.
(From when he decided to refuse romcom roles)
(From when he decided to refuse romcom roles)
October 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Great quote from Matthew McConaughey on how material incentives slant our perception of reality.
(From when he decided to refuse romcom roles)
(From when he decided to refuse romcom roles)
Reposted by Lionel Page
Religion is declining worldwide in a predictable sequence - across generations, participation drops, then importance of religion, and later belonging.
This is a broad model for understanding religious change around the world.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This is a broad model for understanding religious change around the world.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Religion is declining worldwide in a predictable sequence, study argues
(RNS) — The study maps secularization and religious change across more than 100 countries and major religious traditions.
religionnews.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Religion is declining worldwide in a predictable sequence - across generations, participation drops, then importance of religion, and later belonging.
This is a broad model for understanding religious change around the world.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This is a broad model for understanding religious change around the world.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
An imbalance of power erodes the quality of public debate. The dominant side faces fewer epistemic constraints on its arguments, while the dominated side has less incentive to produce strong arguments or to engage with the rules of knowledge institutions.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/power-bala...
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/power-bala...
Power balance and ideology
Why the cultural hegemony of the left erodes its epistemic standing
www.optimallyirrational.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM
An imbalance of power erodes the quality of public debate. The dominant side faces fewer epistemic constraints on its arguments, while the dominated side has less incentive to produce strong arguments or to engage with the rules of knowledge institutions.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/power-bala...
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/power-bala...
Reposted by Lionel Page
The evidence around us, is overwhelming that cooperation is vastly more effective at creating welfare for all than (political) violence.
Our fantasies of violence as a way to settle political differences are an evolutionary mismatch, argues @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/uy9CnVx
Our fantasies of violence as a way to settle political differences are an evolutionary mismatch, argues @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/uy9CnVx
September 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM
The evidence around us, is overwhelming that cooperation is vastly more effective at creating welfare for all than (political) violence.
Our fantasies of violence as a way to settle political differences are an evolutionary mismatch, argues @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/uy9CnVx
Our fantasies of violence as a way to settle political differences are an evolutionary mismatch, argues @lionelpage.bsky.social:
buff.ly/uy9CnVx
Which reputations matter most across societies?
September 18, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Which reputations matter most across societies?
Fantasies of political violence are delusions that divert from the type of strategies that are effective at resolving conflicts in the modern world.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-delusi...
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-delusi...
The delusion of political violence
Our fantasies about violence are an evolutionary mismatch
www.optimallyirrational.com
September 18, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Fantasies of political violence are delusions that divert from the type of strategies that are effective at resolving conflicts in the modern world.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-delusi...
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-delusi...
Reposted by Lionel Page
We are offering a 2-year postdoctoral position at CIMCyC (Granada, Spain) to work on the psychology of dis(mis)information.
Apply before 26th September. Nice city, great environment ☺️
Please share! 🔃
cimcyc.ugr.es/en/informati...
#socialpsychology
#cogpsyc
#PsychSciSky
#PsychJob
#PhDJob
Apply before 26th September. Nice city, great environment ☺️
Please share! 🔃
cimcyc.ugr.es/en/informati...
#socialpsychology
#cogpsyc
#PsychSciSky
#PsychJob
#PhDJob
Job Offer: Postdoctoral Researcher in Disinformation
As part of the strategic plan linked to the María de Maeztu Seal of Excellence award, the CIMCYC is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher with experience in the field of the psychology of disinformatio...
cimcyc.ugr.es
September 16, 2025 at 6:02 PM
We are offering a 2-year postdoctoral position at CIMCyC (Granada, Spain) to work on the psychology of dis(mis)information.
Apply before 26th September. Nice city, great environment ☺️
Please share! 🔃
cimcyc.ugr.es/en/informati...
#socialpsychology
#cogpsyc
#PsychSciSky
#PsychJob
#PhDJob
Apply before 26th September. Nice city, great environment ☺️
Please share! 🔃
cimcyc.ugr.es/en/informati...
#socialpsychology
#cogpsyc
#PsychSciSky
#PsychJob
#PhDJob
Reposted by Lionel Page
Sport may be ‘beautiful’ to some, but that is not really why most people are so into sports.
The truth about sport, writes @lionelpage.bsky.social, is that it is a status game—for individuals *and* for groups:
open.substack.com/pub/lionelpa...
The truth about sport, writes @lionelpage.bsky.social, is that it is a status game—for individuals *and* for groups:
open.substack.com/pub/lionelpa...
September 12, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Sport may be ‘beautiful’ to some, but that is not really why most people are so into sports.
The truth about sport, writes @lionelpage.bsky.social, is that it is a status game—for individuals *and* for groups:
open.substack.com/pub/lionelpa...
The truth about sport, writes @lionelpage.bsky.social, is that it is a status game—for individuals *and* for groups:
open.substack.com/pub/lionelpa...
Why do we watch sport? It is commonly said that it is because of the beauty of athletic performance.
In reality, sport taps into our natural interest in status games. This explains many of the seemingly surprising aspects of how we consume it.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-truth-...
In reality, sport taps into our natural interest in status games. This explains many of the seemingly surprising aspects of how we consume it.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-truth-...
The truth about sport
Why we really care about it
www.optimallyirrational.com
September 12, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Why do we watch sport? It is commonly said that it is because of the beauty of athletic performance.
In reality, sport taps into our natural interest in status games. This explains many of the seemingly surprising aspects of how we consume it.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-truth-...
In reality, sport taps into our natural interest in status games. This explains many of the seemingly surprising aspects of how we consume it.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-truth-...
New post on Optimally Irrational:
Everything you ever wanted to know about friendship: why it feels good, has its rituals, and sometimes brings anxiety. The puzzles of friendship make sense once we unpack its strategic layers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/friendship...
Everything you ever wanted to know about friendship: why it feels good, has its rituals, and sometimes brings anxiety. The puzzles of friendship make sense once we unpack its strategic layers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/friendship...
Friendship politics
Everything you have always wanted to know on friendship
www.optimallyirrational.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:37 AM
New post on Optimally Irrational:
Everything you ever wanted to know about friendship: why it feels good, has its rituals, and sometimes brings anxiety. The puzzles of friendship make sense once we unpack its strategic layers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/friendship...
Everything you ever wanted to know about friendship: why it feels good, has its rituals, and sometimes brings anxiety. The puzzles of friendship make sense once we unpack its strategic layers.
www.optimallyirrational.com/p/friendship...
Reposted by Lionel Page
There’s a lot more calculation to establishing friendships than you might realize.
@LionelPage.bsky.social exposes and explores the game theory of choosing friends:
buff.ly/ZXYoZnI
@LionelPage.bsky.social exposes and explores the game theory of choosing friends:
buff.ly/ZXYoZnI
August 27, 2025 at 11:22 AM
There’s a lot more calculation to establishing friendships than you might realize.
@LionelPage.bsky.social exposes and explores the game theory of choosing friends:
buff.ly/ZXYoZnI
@LionelPage.bsky.social exposes and explores the game theory of choosing friends:
buff.ly/ZXYoZnI