Make Your Damn Bed

2025 brought in some studies that left me with some hope about the future, and I wanted to share that with you. You can read the ones I missed here at Berkeley's Greater Good Magazine Website. SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

Today is the finale of our series on street epistemology, and we're digging into what NOT to do. Wonder: The big question.Hypothesis: The interlocutor's proposed answer to the question.Elenchus: Question and answer to discover what other reasonable propositions are likely to be true that refute the hypothesis. Proceed by mutual agreement at every step - elenchus is not a debate.Accept or Revise: Refine or revise the hypothesis - either without vulnerability to that elenchus, with reduced confidence, or even rejecting it. On the other hand, if the hypothesis survives repeated attempts at elenchus, provisionally accept it.Act accordingly: Reduce confidence in and reliance on the hypothesis that is refuted by elenchus.Read about the brain in a vat argument.Read about The Teapot Analogy. Read: On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshitRead Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

Some people think their faith is "enough". Today I share ways to get them to reflect on the flaws in that thinking, and how to deal with people who refuse to budge. Wonder: The big question.Hypothesis: The interlocutor's proposed answer to the question.Elenchus: Question and answer to discover what other reasonable propositions are likely to be true that refute the hypothesis. Proceed by mutual agreement at every step - elenchus is not a debate.Accept or Revise: Refine or revise the hypothesis - either without vulnerability to that elenchus, with reduced confidence, or even rejecting it. On the other hand, if the hypothesis survives repeated attempts at elenchus, provisionally accept it.Act accordingly: Reduce confidence in and reliance on the hypothesis that is refuted by elenchus.Read: On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshitRead Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

Wonder: The big question. Hypothesis: The interlocutor's proposed answer to the question. Elenchus: Question and answer to discover what other reasonable propositions are likely to be true that refute the hypothesis. Proceed by mutual agreement at every step - elenchus is not a debate.Accept or Revise: Refine or revise the hypothesis - either without vulnerability to that elenchus, with reduced confidence, or even rejecting it. On the other hand, if the hypothesis survives repeated attempts at elenchus, provisionally accept it. Act accordingly: Reduce confidence in and reliance on the hypothesis that is refuted by elenchus.Read: On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshitRead Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

You can't change minds when people are defensive. Practice using neutral language and reframing techniques to minimize defensiveness. These are difficult conversations, but they shouldn't feel like confrontations. Today we talk about some ways to do that. Read Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. IWe are fallible. We can't "know that we know" everything. Street epistemology is based on reliabilism. It's not dogmatic, but it does help us recognize fallacies when people are claiming extraordinary events are true.Read Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

You can affirm a person without affirming their ideas. Treat people with respect, leave space for silent reflections, and allow yourself humility in how you approach these dialogues. Read Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

We are fallible. We can't "know that we know" everything. Street epistemology is based on reliabilism. It's not dogmatic, but it does help us recognize fallacies when people are claiming extraordinary events are true. Read Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

Challenge your biases + stereotypes. Focus on first-hand experiences. Focus on individual humanity, not their group membership. Assume good intentions. Be intentional with expanding your interactions with other cultures. Learn to engage with context not the connotation.Read Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources.Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I

It's not about changing someone's mind, it's about finding common ideas so you can expose the vulnerabilities + biases, but there are risks involved. You may start to identify your own faulty beliefs. This work isn't for everyone, all the time. It's not your responsibility to have productive conversations about everything, all the time. If you have the capacity, though, some of these strategies and skills can help us hone those skills. Read Perth Skeptics collection of street epistemology resources. Read Berkeley's "Bridging Differences Playbook" Visit the Street Epistemology Website.Read the Wikipedia on Street Epistemology.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I