Shows
REAL PARANORMAL ACTIVITY - THE PODCAST/NETWORK(VIDEO) ENTERTAINING SHORT FILMS: WICKENENTERTAINING SHORT FILMS is a new category on the RPA Network, which features indie short films for your enjoyment! We applaud these creators! A young woman Skyping with her long distance boyfriend late night realises that an ancient evil presence may have been unleashed upon her. Written, Directed and Edited by: FAISAL HASHMI Starring: NOUR SAFIEH, STUART RICHARD, HANNA LIATSKO, SALLY MOURAD Producer: FAISAL HASHMI, JULLZ BEK Cinematography: FAISAL HASHMI Sound Recording, Design & Mix: KANE RODRIGUES Score: ISAK OLSSON Make-Up & Special Effects: ABRAR...
2022-09-0907 min
unfocusWhy so critical? - The burden of creative standards.After talking about tongue clicks, we dive into this episode's topic, the issue of setting standards for your creative work. Abrar wonders why people often set high standards for their projects that stifle them from putting stuff out. We realize that worrying about how much the audience will appreciate our work is a big factor, even though they aren't always as critical as we think. Zubair introduces the idea of capturing and immortalizing aspects of your life, with photography for example, reminding us that our future selves are also a part of the audience. And even if our work...
2021-09-2348 min
unfocusStatistics and how we measure the world.After a short exchange about the philosophy behind mountain biking, this episode turns to Statistics, the branch of math that's most applicable to the real world, but also the messiest. We point out aspects of statistical reporting that are surprisingly arbitrary, like why a 5% chance of error is considered low enough, or why the mean wealth or income are reported more than the median. We wonder whether this selectivity is inevitable, or if it's sometimes backed by malicious intentions. We think about demographics from this perspective: people look at the world's population as neatly divided into countries and regions...
2021-07-1353 min
unfocusElder-youth interactions.This episode starts with us rambling about Zubair's new book collection, specifically The Courage to be Disliked, and hones in on the topic of how elders and youth interact when it comes to advice. Abrar claims that it's good for youth to sometimes question advice from elders instead of taking it at face value. We explore when such questioning is even possible, and when it is actually constructive. Zubair shares his experience that having open discussion with an elder can increase our respect for them, and enrich their perspectives.
-
Links
Vsauce's Video...
2021-07-0757 min
unfocusBook Discussion: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.Welcome back! It's been a few months, hope you missed us. In this episode, Zubair recounts some of the lessons he learned from An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, an autobiography by Chris Hadfield. We discuss each lesson using examples from the book and elsewhere. Along the way, we get a glimpse into the life of an astronaut, which is both extremely unique and relatable at the same time.
-
Links
Chris Hadfield's Book: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
-
Get in Touch
Email...
2021-05-061h 25
unfocusGive me a break - Why things take so long.This episode starts with the question of why we have default limits on how much we're able to accomplish in a day, and why these limits vary so greatly between people. We soon realize that the way we take breaks during (or in between) tasks can "make or break" productivity. We classify three different types of breaks based on mental activity: active (like spending a few minutes practicing a foreign language), passive (like watching an episode of a show), and inactive (like taking a walk and daydreaming). We discover the importance of taking the right kind of break at...
2021-01-241h 03
unfocusA discussion about debates.This episode is about debate. We explain how there are two opposing modes of debate: doing it to seek the truth vs. doing it to "win", named Mode 1 and 2 respectively. For Mode 2, a.k.a argument, we explore how people often win by strawmanning their opponents position or by nitpicking on semantics or technicalities, and how this pulls the arguers deeper into their own echo chambers (see Ep.11 for more)! We contrast this with Mode 1, a.k.a discussion, which is more collaborative and lets both sides learn from eachother, but is also inherently fragile. As expected, we get...
2021-01-101h 00
unfocusIntellectual bubbles: The invisible architecture of our identities.The last episode of 2020 is here! Zubair introduces the idea of intellectual bubbles, and wonders how they affect our perception of the world and our identities. We investigate the forces that pull people into bubbles and, conversely, what drives us to break out of them. We refer back to conversational blackholes from Ep.09 and suspect that incompatible bubbles may be the underlying cause. On the other hand, we explore the benefits of having a constellation of bubbles and combining them to forge new ones. Finally, we look at bubbles gone bad: echo chambers and intellectual shells.
-
2020-12-281h 14
unfocusPrivilege and education.This episode is about privilege (don't worry, it's not very political). We've all had to reckon with the question of whether success is the result of privilege or hard work. For the first part of the episode, we take the perspective of the "privileged", arguing that it's easy to ignore the amount of work that goes into a project, and that the harder you work on a skill, the more effortless it looks when you use it. In the second part, we ask what causes some people to fall behind, especially in education. We discuss how the effect of...
2020-11-1600 min
unfocusThe black holes of conversation.This episode is a spiritual successor to Ep.04, and we reuse a lot of terminology from it. We start with Zubair's gripe about conversational black holes, pondering why conversations between some people invariably devolve into talking about one thing. We list some examples of these blackhole topics, such as school/work life and TV shows, before turning to how their pull can be escaped. Some ideas we bring up include talking more about personal projects that one or both people are involved in, and maintaining a diversity of things to talk about to keep conversations from reaching their event...
2020-10-1200 min
unfocusIt's about time.This is our first inter-city episode, with Abrar in Ottawa and Zubair in Toronto. What starts off as a rant by Abrar about a poor decision to TA for a course (while his hands are already full) turns to a discussion about the importance of making time for personal endeavors amidst institutional commitments. We realize that the value of your free time depends on how much you already have. We discuss our gripes with the "busy-ness" mentality and and explain why people should measure how much value they get out of their time rather than how much money.
2020-09-2053 min
unfocusAll right then, keep your secrets - Why we guard our ideas.In this episode, we try to get to the bottom of why we guard our ideas for projects. We hash out a model to classify ideas as urgent vs. luxurious, and novel vs. iterative (this seemingly nebulous terminology is defined as the model is developed). We ask what makes a project novel, and when an idea should be shared or kept secret for moral or personal reasons. Examples served include cooking blogs and search engines, with a side of Vsauce.
-
Links
Visual Model: Idea Compass
Michael Stevens on YouTube: Vsauce
2020-07-261h 06
unfocusDiscussion: "If I Knew Then - Turning Points".On the 50th reunion of Harvard Business School's Class of 1963, class members shared advice they had for young people. One of the topics was "turning points", which we discuss in this episode. The advice (and our discussion) touched on turning points in the context of themes such as how to turn around setbacks to one's advantage, taking the road less travelled, and being ambitious with careers while relying on personal relationships for stability.
-
Show Notes
Harvard Business School Class of 1963 Blog: If I Knew Then
-
Get in...
2020-07-061h 16
unfocusLightbulbs, risk bias, and COVID-19.We started this episode without any clear topic in mind, but then started talking about lightbulbs (CFL bad, LED good), the pros of nuclear energy, and finally settled on the idea of risk. We discuss how the element of control makes us more willing to take risks, and how invisible threats can be made easier to perceive. We draw on COVID-19 to talk about the importance of "health culture", whether seeing everyone else wearing masks makes people more or less cautious, and the importance of learning from others' mistakes so you don't make them.
Stick around till...
2020-06-231h 11
unfocusA circumstantial model for friendships.This episode starts with the question of why we hesitate to reach out to friends we haven't spoken with in a while and the kinds of excuses we develop. We talk about the difference between imposed versus intentional circumstances in the context of friendships, and the importance of "graduating" to the latter kind. We also ponder over why our parents (who immigrated to Canada) had an easier time maintaining long-term friendships. Throughout this episode we draw on personal examples from our lives, including discussing our own friendship.
-
Get in Touch
Follow us...
2020-06-091h 13
unfocusBeing present in a productive world.Welcome back after our long (unplanned) hiatus! To make up for it, this episode is a long one. You may need a few sittings to get through it all!
In this episode, our talk revolves around the conflict between living in the present and wanting to be productive and achieve future success. We begin by discussing how we often put off living life for the sake of work, and also how to do things with more purpose and set broader goals. We reminisce on what made high school so enjoyable and "present-minded". Finally, we talk about the...
2020-05-302h 10
unfocusThe praise problem.In this episode, we talk about praise. Do we praise each other too much or too little? What are the different kinds of praise, and which ones are more meaningful? How does praise change in a group setting as opposed to in a one-on-one conversation? To help us answer these questions, we introduce some helpful terms, like "praiser", "praisee", and even "unpraised". Later, we get into a meta-discussion about our podcast, and the value of recording our thoughts.
-
Get in Touch
Follow us on Instagram: @unfocuspodcast
2020-03-1946 min
unfocusRetaining hobbies, finding time, the fear of failure, and seizing opportunity.On our first episode, we discuss hobbies, and go on a lot of (relevant) tangents. Why do we give up on hobbies? How do we make time in our lives for the things we want to do? What’s the right attitude to have towards failure?
This is our very first episode, and we’re excited to see where things go from here. Stay tuned!
Note: There may be some inconsistencies in sound from Zubair's end. We are currently troubleshooting the mic, so this will be rectified from the next episode onward!
-
2020-01-261h 28
Audible WisdomIslamic Wills and Applicable U.S. Laws
A special presentation by Mufti Abrar Mirza and Attorney Zubair M. Tajuddin, Esq. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) commanded: It is incumbent for every Muslim to have his/her written will in a safe place at all times. Without a valid Will/Trust, between 6% and 40% of your assets could go to taxes and fees, and your […]
2011-02-151h 30