The Neurodivergent Professor
Let's revolutionize human evolution by reintegrating uniqueness to maximize diversity using a systems approach to individuality and community.
More at www.chrisburcher.com
Episodes
209 episodes
Hitting the Pause Button to Deliver Our Boat
I want to let y’all know what is going on in my life.There will be a pause in my articles, podcast, and videos until at least August. For the next two weeks or so I will be delivering our boat from the BVI to the USA. Wait, W...
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Season 4
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5:15
We Can Reach Fitness by Returning to the Optimum Condition: NDP 182
Have you ever sat down and thought about your values? Values are important, motivating, and provide guidance.I’ve done a lot of values work in therapy and find it challenging. I value many things, but prioritizing the top fiv...
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Season 4
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Episode 182
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22:53
On Being a Good Steward of Earth: NDP 181
You don’t have to look far to find something to complain about. Climate changeInequalitySuicidal ideationMalnutritionLoneliness The world is full of problems.Now, I’m no doomer. My intent is not ...
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Season 4
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Episode 181
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29:11
Is Punctuated Equilibrium a Good Way to Change the World? NDP 180
Have you seen (or read) “2001: A Space Odyssey”?The story opens at the time of early humans. Folks are going about their business when a ginormous monolith appears. Everyone freaks out at first, but then some develop the ability to use b...
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Season 4
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Episode 180
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29:39
Making a Good Life: NDP 179
The unexamined life is not worth living — SocratesIt seems natural, even innate, to want to make the most of one’s life. To have a good life seems to require examination. Examining one’s life, growing, and continuing to...
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Season 4
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Episode 179
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30:03
If Natural Selection Determined Human Value Systems: NDP Episode 178
Do you suffer?Humans have problems. It’s hard to deny. Despite many pleas for ‘looking on the bright side of life’, we live in a world full of suffering. For whatever reason, I think about these problems, the causes, and pote...
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Season 4
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Episode 178
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29:13
The Beauty of Your Comfort Zone: NDP Episode 177
Do you ever think about your comfort zone? I’m sure most people are at least aware of the concept.To me, our comfort zone is like an invisible egg that surrounds our physical body. Near the center, we are, well, comfortable. As we near t...
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Season 4
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Episode 177
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28:51
Is This a Testable Personal Growth Hypothesis? NDP 176
Does science play a role in your life? Do you value hard data and evidence? Do you think humans are good at proving things? Or maybe you defer to religion or culture to decide what is real?I talk a lot about how science i...
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Season 4
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Episode 176
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24:54
Reincarnation May Not Be True but It Can Be Helpful: NDP 175
Do other people ever make you angry?I’d be worried about you if you said no. Or assume you are the Dalai Lama. Many of us struggle to find connections to people we disagree with. Or people who act out, are annoying, or mean.<...
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Season 4
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Episode 175
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29:16
I'm Not You and You're Not Me: NDP 174
Have you ever wondered how any two people can have a conversation and walk away feeling both like they were heard and believing they heard the other person?It blows my mind how limiting conversation can be. As magical as language is, it ...
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Season 4
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Episode 174
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34:37
Can We Stop Enabling? NPD 173
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”― Charles BukowskiDo you ever think about this? Can you think of an example from your l...
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Season 3
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Episode 173
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26:33
Learning About Where We Goofed Up: NDP 172
What went right?Do you ever wonder how we got here? Do you ever think about what has changed over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution?The past few decades have seen exponential growth in technology. Smartphones. Pass...
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Season 3
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Episode 172
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31:02
Can We Treat Death as a Mentor? NDP Episode 171
Ok, I know, it sounds weird but hear me out. Humans are freaked out by death. I’m not saying I’m any different, just drawing attention to this in hopes of reducing our suffering. Today I’m wondering what life would be like if we cou...
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Season 3
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Episode 171
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30:58
Will You Talk to Me?: NPD Episode 170
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt meDo you remember this nursery rhyme? When I was younger, I believed it. I thought I would rather be yelled at than physically harmed. W...
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Season 3
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Episode 170
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33:36
What Is The Matter? NDP Episode 169
What IS the matter?Matter is an interesting word. It’s a noun and a verb. The noun means something of substance and can be physical or metaphysical. The verb means for something to be important. There’s matter, and there is the matter. I...
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Season 3
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Episode 169
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30:15
Things We Could Care Less About. NDP 168
I couldn’t care less about that.How many times have you said that?We use this phrase as a euphemism to mean we completely don’t like, disagree with, or are opposed to whatever is being discussed. There are things in li...
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Season 3
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Episode 168
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29:17
The Cumulative Stress Hypothesis. NDP 168
Are you aware of the stress in your life? Can you FEEL it when stressors are building up and you think you may pop? Do you ever feel like you’re right on the verge of a meltdown?I think most of us are familiar with these scenarios....
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Season 3
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Episode 167
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27:06
NDP 166: Trying to Predict the Future Is Like Living in the Matrix
Do ever joke that we’re living in the Matrix? I often refer to the movie when talking about the problems of the world. Sometimes it does seem like we’re living in a computer simulation. Or does it? Anyway, I was inspired...
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Season 3
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Episode 166
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33:26
NDP Episode 165: Does Neurodivergence Empower Us to Resist Conformity?
This week I’ll skip right to the punchline. The ability to see beyond the mainstream and to understand the continuum of whatever feature it is in the world is a special gift. This is enhanced awareness. I wonder if being...
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Season 3
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Episode 165
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29:42
NDP Episode 164: Mindfulness Practice Is the Key to Human Success
Are you familiar with Jon Kabat-Zinn? In short, he’s one of the people who has made meditation mainstream. While I generally don’t like words like ‘mainstream’ and ‘conformity’, anything that makes helpful tools more accessible to the masses is...
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Season 3
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Episode 164
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28:38
NDP Episode 163: How Neurodivergent People Can Learn Healthy Boundaries
Have you ever thought about your boundaries? Maybe a therapist told you your boundaries were weak. Or maybe you read something about relationships and how some people might not respect your boundaries. I learned early on that my bou...
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Season 3
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Episode 163
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32:26
NDP Episode 162: Neurodivergence Is an Awesome Gift of Evolutionary Brilliance
Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong anywhere? Do you have a ‘sacred space’ where you do feel like you have membership?For many of us, we have our family. Whether or not we truly feel comfortable in that space, there is a membership...
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Season 3
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Episode 162
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29:12
NDP Episode 161: Masking is One Way Our Amazing Minds Protect Us
How do you feel about terms like people pleaser, codependent, inauthentic, or chameleon?We use these terms to describe when we are not ‘being ourselves’ in the presence of other people.I think this probably has some evolutionary ...
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Season 3
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Episode 161
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28:40
NDP Episode 160: How to Save the Planet With Neurodiversity
I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues. Dr. Seuss, The LoraxDo you have an opinion about climate change? How about abortion? Or universal basic income?W...
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Season 4
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Episode 160
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27:44
NDP Episode 159: What This Neurodivergent Dude Gained From Therapy
What is your experience with therapy? Have you tried it? Wanted to try it? Hesitant to try it? Overwhelmed? Did you have a bad experience? I have noticed some neurodivergent people have had negative experiences with therapy. Here I...
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Season 4
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Episode 159
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34:14