58: Adam Mastroianni - Let Me Be Useful

About this episode

Adam Mastroianni (Website, X) is an experimental psychologist and the writer of Experimental History. He earned his PhD in psychology at Harvard before leaving academia to pursue research and writing independently. I first came across Adam through “Good conversations have lots of doorknobs,” which remains one of my favorite essays on Substack. We talk about why psychology is stuck, why science needs people willing to look stupid, and how prestige can lead you toward a life you don’t want. From there, unpack Adam’s coffee bean test for figuring out what to do, getting “de-bogged,” and what improv teaches us about better conversations (or: create doorknobs). We also discuss writing that surprises its author, his upcoming book, The Strangest Idea in the World, and the prayer he says before publishing: “Let me be useful.” I hope you leave a little more willing to question what seems obvious, risk looking stupid, and spend your time in ways you actually enjoy. Transcript & links: https://dialectic.fm/adam-mastroianni --- Dialectic is presented by Notion. Notion is an AI-powered connected workspace where teams think together and create their best work. Notion AI works across your d