Full Interview: Sandy Pentland on Your Hidden Social Cues

by spark@cbc.ca (CBC Radio: Spark)

Original Photo by Kalandrakas

"Honest Signals" is the term for the non-verbal cues we send to other people when we're in conversation. Even if we're not consciously aware of them, we pick up on them, letting us know if someone we're talking to is interested in us, for instance, or if the poker player beside us is bluffing. In his new book, Honest Signals, MIT professor, Alex (Sandy) Pentland, argues that honest signals not only influence individual behaviour, they also influence group intelligence, and group decision-making.

I talked to the delightful Sandy Pentland recently for our next episode. I'm hoping to get another piece of the puzzle from you, though, for that show. Can you describe a time when you deliberately chose to go and talk to someone in person, rather than just send an email? Thanks!

An edited version of this interview will air on the Oct 29th & Nov 1st version of Spark. You candownload the full interview, or listen below:

Original audio source