Jordan Peterson - Why Do Smart People Double Down On Bad Ideas? | Dr. Gad Saad

Jun 5, 2025 The Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and evolutionary psychologist Dr. Gad Saad reunite for a conversation that blends ancient myth, evolutionary theory, and cultural psychology. Together, they dissect cognitive dissonance, the dangers of willful blindness, and the evolutionary logic behind sacrifice, delayed gratification, and identity formation.

This episode was filmed on May 23rd, 2025.
Why Do Smart People Double Down On Bad Ideas? | Dr. Gad Saad | EP 553
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rop6FnLD01o

| Chapters |

(0:00) Coming up
(0:54) Intro
(3:40) One night at Mar-a-Lago, what Harvard used to be
(15:40) Why people fall into and defend cognitive dissonance
(22:25) What the ancient Egyptians knew about order
(29:01) Understand the “inverted you”
(42:53) Why you go to work
(48:51) Null effects and conscientiousness
(56:41) How birth order affects sibling outcomes
(1:04:54) Why we evolved to reproduce through sex
(1:06:44) Storehouses of value and the parasite problem