1 00:00:15,516 --> 00:00:26,356 Speaker 1: Pushkin. The Happiness Lab has just turned five years old. 2 00:00:26,836 --> 00:00:28,756 Speaker 1: It's hard to believe, but our first series went out 3 00:00:28,756 --> 00:00:31,636 Speaker 1: in the fall of twenty nineteen. Since then, we've made 4 00:00:31,676 --> 00:00:33,756 Speaker 1: a couple hundred episodes and say to all of you 5 00:00:33,836 --> 00:00:35,876 Speaker 1: out there, we've racked up more than one hundred and 6 00:00:35,876 --> 00:00:39,676 Speaker 1: thirty million doubtloads. We don't have much data on how 7 00:00:39,716 --> 00:00:42,836 Speaker 1: much happiness this has sparked, but I think it's probably 8 00:00:42,836 --> 00:00:45,596 Speaker 1: a ton. We've certainly tackled a lot of topics and 9 00:00:45,676 --> 00:00:48,836 Speaker 1: talked to some amazing people. But to celebrate these five years, 10 00:00:48,876 --> 00:00:51,276 Speaker 1: I've picked five episodes from the archive that holds a 11 00:00:51,316 --> 00:00:56,076 Speaker 1: special place in my heart. My producer, Ryan Dilly, has 12 00:00:56,116 --> 00:00:58,756 Speaker 1: been with me every step of this half decade journey. 13 00:00:59,236 --> 00:01:01,156 Speaker 1: So Ryan, tell me what the first show out of 14 00:01:01,156 --> 00:01:01,876 Speaker 1: the archive is. 15 00:01:02,076 --> 00:01:05,076 Speaker 2: So it's an episode called Mistakingly Seeking Solid Shoot, it's 16 00:01:05,076 --> 00:01:07,716 Speaker 2: from our very first season. So why did you have 17 00:01:07,796 --> 00:01:09,036 Speaker 2: me grab this particular episode? 18 00:01:09,156 --> 00:01:11,436 Speaker 1: Picked this episode because it's one of my favorite episodes. 19 00:01:11,476 --> 00:01:12,996 Speaker 1: I mean, which is always hard for me to say. 20 00:01:13,036 --> 00:01:15,196 Speaker 1: I love all my episodes. They're like children to me, 21 00:01:15,316 --> 00:01:17,276 Speaker 1: and so you have to love all of them. So 22 00:01:17,396 --> 00:01:20,356 Speaker 1: Mistakenly Singing Solitude is an episode about what we get 23 00:01:20,396 --> 00:01:23,916 Speaker 1: wrong when it comes to human connection, and in particular 24 00:01:23,996 --> 00:01:27,516 Speaker 1: our assumption that solitude, not chatting with people, enjoying our 25 00:01:27,556 --> 00:01:30,636 Speaker 1: space by ourselves, is maybe the right path to happiness, 26 00:01:30,716 --> 00:01:33,236 Speaker 1: when all the research seems to suggest that we'd be 27 00:01:33,276 --> 00:01:35,516 Speaker 1: much happier if we reached out to other people. But 28 00:01:35,596 --> 00:01:38,116 Speaker 1: this is genuinely one of my favorite. When I get asked, 29 00:01:38,116 --> 00:01:39,476 Speaker 1: you know, what are some of my favorite ones, this 30 00:01:39,516 --> 00:01:41,436 Speaker 1: one comes up at the top, and I think it's 31 00:01:41,436 --> 00:01:43,436 Speaker 1: for a couple of reasons. I really loved the science part. 32 00:01:43,476 --> 00:01:46,796 Speaker 1: It includes one of my favorite overall scientific guests, Nick Applee. 33 00:01:47,236 --> 00:01:49,116 Speaker 1: But it was also one of the first episodes that 34 00:01:49,156 --> 00:01:52,676 Speaker 1: we've recorded, I think the first episode that we recorded together, 35 00:01:52,756 --> 00:01:53,516 Speaker 1: right yeah, And I. 36 00:01:53,516 --> 00:01:55,516 Speaker 2: Guess it was also the first time you went on 37 00:01:55,556 --> 00:01:58,196 Speaker 2: a solo recording journey out in the field. You bet 38 00:01:58,196 --> 00:02:01,356 Speaker 2: the inventor of the ATM, didn't you, And you found 39 00:02:01,356 --> 00:02:03,676 Speaker 2: that immediately as a recalled, you found the woes of 40 00:02:03,676 --> 00:02:05,516 Speaker 2: being an audio producer, Right, Yes, that. 41 00:02:05,596 --> 00:02:07,876 Speaker 1: Was a trip that I got to take to Texas 42 00:02:08,316 --> 00:02:11,196 Speaker 1: to meet Don Walt's the inventor of the ATM, and 43 00:02:11,716 --> 00:02:14,436 Speaker 1: he had a lovely house. He actually let me journey 44 00:02:14,516 --> 00:02:16,316 Speaker 1: to his house so that I could record with him 45 00:02:16,356 --> 00:02:20,596 Speaker 1: at his house live. But his house had lots of clocks, 46 00:02:21,036 --> 00:02:24,596 Speaker 1: like he collected Google clocks that all kind of seemed 47 00:02:24,596 --> 00:02:27,276 Speaker 1: to go off at really random times, which was lovely. 48 00:02:27,316 --> 00:02:29,636 Speaker 1: It sounded beautiful, but it did not make for very 49 00:02:29,636 --> 00:02:30,196 Speaker 1: clean audio. 50 00:02:30,236 --> 00:02:30,756 Speaker 3: If I re call. 51 00:02:30,996 --> 00:02:32,196 Speaker 2: We made the best of it. I think it was 52 00:02:32,236 --> 00:02:34,236 Speaker 2: really lovely though, but yeah, there was lots and lots 53 00:02:34,236 --> 00:02:36,396 Speaker 2: of clocks going off. Since we've recorded this, you know, 54 00:02:36,436 --> 00:02:38,476 Speaker 2: five years ago, society seems to have gone in the 55 00:02:38,476 --> 00:02:42,036 Speaker 2: wrong direction since the episode aired. Whenever I get on 56 00:02:42,076 --> 00:02:43,876 Speaker 2: a train, I always lament the fact that there were 57 00:02:43,956 --> 00:02:46,396 Speaker 2: quiet cars still, but there are no chatty cars, which 58 00:02:46,476 --> 00:02:48,356 Speaker 2: is something we talk about. The chatty car is where 59 00:02:48,356 --> 00:02:50,116 Speaker 2: you can go to meet your fellow commuteritis and actually 60 00:02:50,116 --> 00:02:50,756 Speaker 2: get to know them. 61 00:02:50,916 --> 00:02:52,876 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's all a little bit depressing. I mean, when 62 00:02:52,916 --> 00:02:54,636 Speaker 1: we made the episode, I'd hope the idea for the 63 00:02:54,716 --> 00:02:56,916 Speaker 1: chatty car would resonate and some company would take it 64 00:02:56,956 --> 00:02:58,916 Speaker 1: on and we'd all have like you know, trains now 65 00:02:58,956 --> 00:03:01,756 Speaker 1: that everyone was chatting and stuff. But it didn't seem 66 00:03:01,796 --> 00:03:04,156 Speaker 1: to happen, And so I think that's another one of 67 00:03:04,196 --> 00:03:05,996 Speaker 1: the reasons that I loved this episode so much is 68 00:03:06,036 --> 00:03:08,556 Speaker 1: that I think it matters now just as much as 69 00:03:08,556 --> 00:03:10,476 Speaker 1: it did five years ago when we first put the 70 00:03:10,516 --> 00:03:12,916 Speaker 1: episode out. So given all of that, here is possibly 71 00:03:12,996 --> 00:03:16,956 Speaker 1: my favorite ever Happiness Lab episode. Mistakenly Seeking Solitude. 72 00:03:18,436 --> 00:03:20,556 Speaker 4: The fighting in the streets of Saigon during the New 73 00:03:20,636 --> 00:03:22,996 Speaker 4: Year or Test Offensive made the war. 74 00:03:22,836 --> 00:03:23,996 Speaker 5: Too real tonight. 75 00:03:24,116 --> 00:03:27,076 Speaker 4: I have ordered aircraft and our naval vessels to make 76 00:03:27,196 --> 00:03:29,516 Speaker 4: no attacks on North Vietnam. 77 00:03:30,196 --> 00:03:34,036 Speaker 1: It's nineteen sixty eight, a pretty tumultuous year had wrapped 78 00:03:34,076 --> 00:03:34,676 Speaker 1: in the combat. 79 00:03:34,716 --> 00:03:37,396 Speaker 6: Ban agting helped the crock the road Now officers also 80 00:03:37,556 --> 00:03:40,556 Speaker 6: reportedly chased and fired on a radio equipped. 81 00:03:40,116 --> 00:03:42,276 Speaker 5: Cark and very good negotiators. 82 00:03:42,316 --> 00:03:45,356 Speaker 3: Certainly not optimistic about one hundred Peter League that one 83 00:03:45,516 --> 00:03:48,116 Speaker 3: Tumar Tumar wounded great. 84 00:03:48,236 --> 00:03:50,676 Speaker 1: But there was one event in nineteen sixty eight that 85 00:03:50,796 --> 00:03:54,316 Speaker 1: didn't make the headlines even though it's still having a 86 00:03:54,396 --> 00:03:56,036 Speaker 1: huge effect on your well being. 87 00:03:56,636 --> 00:03:59,436 Speaker 4: I had to wait, wait, wait, and I really got 88 00:03:59,476 --> 00:04:02,396 Speaker 4: a little bit averrogage because I knew I had the 89 00:04:02,436 --> 00:04:04,516 Speaker 4: money there, so all I had to do is, you know, 90 00:04:04,676 --> 00:04:06,516 Speaker 4: cashy check and get out of there. 91 00:04:07,436 --> 00:04:10,956 Speaker 1: This is Don Wetzel calling a fateful day in November 92 00:04:10,956 --> 00:04:13,556 Speaker 1: of that year when he was trying to do something simple. 93 00:04:13,996 --> 00:04:16,156 Speaker 1: He just wanted to withdraw some cash at his bank. 94 00:04:16,876 --> 00:04:19,836 Speaker 4: I was scheduled to take a trip on a Monday 95 00:04:19,836 --> 00:04:23,356 Speaker 4: morning on so on Friday, on the lunch hour, I 96 00:04:23,436 --> 00:04:26,876 Speaker 4: went to my bank to get some money. I would 97 00:04:26,916 --> 00:04:30,756 Speaker 4: say maybe eight to ten people in line. My guess is, 98 00:04:32,356 --> 00:04:34,556 Speaker 4: you know, maybe I was in that line for like 99 00:04:34,876 --> 00:04:37,956 Speaker 4: eighteen to twenty minutes just to cash and check. 100 00:04:38,596 --> 00:04:41,756 Speaker 1: Don's time was really valuable. He was a talented engineer 101 00:04:41,916 --> 00:04:44,436 Speaker 1: and vice president of a technology company that was on 102 00:04:44,476 --> 00:04:47,356 Speaker 1: the hunt for a new business. But instead of problem 103 00:04:47,356 --> 00:04:49,556 Speaker 1: solving at his desk at work, he was stuck in 104 00:04:49,596 --> 00:04:50,356 Speaker 1: a bank lobby. 105 00:04:50,516 --> 00:04:53,436 Speaker 4: So my job was to come up with one or 106 00:04:53,436 --> 00:04:56,116 Speaker 4: more new products, and I was getting nowhere. 107 00:04:56,676 --> 00:05:00,156 Speaker 1: Half a century later, we still share Don's misery. We're 108 00:05:00,196 --> 00:05:02,916 Speaker 1: stuck in lines all the time, when we wait for 109 00:05:02,956 --> 00:05:05,596 Speaker 1: coffee in a cafe, when we stand on a crowded 110 00:05:05,636 --> 00:05:09,316 Speaker 1: train platform, when we get stuck for hours in airport security. 111 00:05:09,836 --> 00:05:13,156 Speaker 1: We know exactly what he was feeling watching time slip 112 00:05:13,196 --> 00:05:20,076 Speaker 1: through his fingers. My brother Aaron wrote a book called 113 00:05:20,116 --> 00:05:23,436 Speaker 1: how Many Licks? Hey, Hey, Santo's How's it going? Or 114 00:05:23,476 --> 00:05:26,836 Speaker 1: How to estimate damn near anything. I asked him to 115 00:05:26,876 --> 00:05:29,276 Speaker 1: calculate for us how much time we're likely to spend 116 00:05:29,356 --> 00:05:31,636 Speaker 1: waiting in line over our entire lifetimes. 117 00:05:32,236 --> 00:05:34,356 Speaker 2: Yeah, so, I think the number one came up with 118 00:05:34,636 --> 00:05:36,196 Speaker 2: was seven thousand hours. 119 00:05:37,116 --> 00:05:40,516 Speaker 1: Seven thousand hours waiting in line. That's more than six 120 00:05:40,596 --> 00:05:44,076 Speaker 1: months of our life stuck in some cue. That's crazy, 121 00:05:44,156 --> 00:05:47,556 Speaker 1: right With seven thousand hours, you could take a massive vacation. 122 00:05:48,116 --> 00:05:50,316 Speaker 1: You could learn a new instrument, or a new language, 123 00:05:50,436 --> 00:05:52,956 Speaker 1: or a new sport. But you're not doing any of that. 124 00:05:53,636 --> 00:05:57,196 Speaker 1: You're just waiting, staring at the back of someone's head, 125 00:05:57,516 --> 00:06:02,076 Speaker 1: and it sucks. We tell ourselves that standing in line 126 00:06:02,156 --> 00:06:06,116 Speaker 1: is an awful, annoying, happiness straining waste of time. But 127 00:06:06,156 --> 00:06:08,276 Speaker 1: what if we could see that line not has a 128 00:06:08,316 --> 00:06:10,876 Speaker 1: huge pain in the butt, but as an opportunity to 129 00:06:10,956 --> 00:06:15,476 Speaker 1: be happier. Our minds are constantly telling us what to 130 00:06:15,516 --> 00:06:17,836 Speaker 1: do to be happy. What if our minds are wrong? 131 00:06:18,396 --> 00:06:20,756 Speaker 1: What if our minds are lying to us, leading us 132 00:06:20,756 --> 00:06:24,076 Speaker 1: away from what will really make us happy. The good 133 00:06:24,116 --> 00:06:26,556 Speaker 1: news is that understanding the science of the mind can 134 00:06:26,596 --> 00:06:29,876 Speaker 1: point us all back in the right direction. You're listening 135 00:06:29,996 --> 00:06:43,036 Speaker 1: to the Happiness Lab with me, doctor Laurie Santos. 136 00:06:39,436 --> 00:06:39,716 Speaker 5: Hey. 137 00:06:40,076 --> 00:06:45,156 Speaker 1: Don Don Wetzel doesn't have the same name recognition as 138 00:06:45,196 --> 00:06:48,516 Speaker 1: Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs, but he's an inventor too, 139 00:06:49,276 --> 00:06:52,116 Speaker 1: and it turns out his irritation with waiting in line 140 00:06:52,396 --> 00:06:55,916 Speaker 1: led to a creation that revolutionized the financial sector. It 141 00:06:55,956 --> 00:06:59,796 Speaker 1: has also completely changed the daily routines of ordinary people 142 00:06:59,956 --> 00:07:03,076 Speaker 1: around the world. Before I met Don, I had a 143 00:07:03,076 --> 00:07:05,836 Speaker 1: certain image of him in my mind. I rang the doorbell, 144 00:07:05,916 --> 00:07:09,476 Speaker 1: expecting to meet a slick, self important inventor guy. But 145 00:07:09,556 --> 00:07:12,276 Speaker 1: then ninety year old Don welcomed me into the cozy 146 00:07:12,356 --> 00:07:15,556 Speaker 1: Dallas home that he shares with his wife, Eleanor, and 147 00:07:15,596 --> 00:07:18,836 Speaker 1: I realized Don wasn't the Elon Musk type I had imagined. 148 00:07:19,476 --> 00:07:21,316 Speaker 4: Well, I've delighted your ear. 149 00:07:21,716 --> 00:07:22,636 Speaker 3: Thank you so much. 150 00:07:23,196 --> 00:07:26,996 Speaker 1: Don was like the friendliest grandpa you've ever met. I 151 00:07:26,996 --> 00:07:29,236 Speaker 1: sat with Don and Eleanor in their living room, which 152 00:07:29,356 --> 00:07:33,756 Speaker 1: was filled with comfy pillows, smiling photos of their twelve children, 153 00:07:33,836 --> 00:07:37,756 Speaker 1: and clocks, lots of clocks. They were lovely, but clocks 154 00:07:37,756 --> 00:07:40,316 Speaker 1: are kind of the nemesis of the podcaster. And wait 155 00:07:40,356 --> 00:07:43,396 Speaker 1: till this answer stops at a second, and I'll finish up. 156 00:07:45,236 --> 00:07:47,356 Speaker 6: I can stop that no, that's okay. 157 00:07:47,596 --> 00:07:51,156 Speaker 1: The clocks are kind of fitting though, because Don understands 158 00:07:51,196 --> 00:07:54,276 Speaker 1: the value of time. In fact, it was that feeling 159 00:07:54,316 --> 00:07:57,436 Speaker 1: of wasted time back in nineteen sixty eight that led 160 00:07:57,436 --> 00:08:00,116 Speaker 1: to his life changing idea. 161 00:08:00,196 --> 00:08:04,996 Speaker 4: So, while I was in line, I thought, seems to 162 00:08:05,036 --> 00:08:10,876 Speaker 4: me a teller's job mostly is cashy chick and taken deposits. 163 00:08:11,436 --> 00:08:16,116 Speaker 4: So I just got the idea that, hm, I think 164 00:08:16,516 --> 00:08:18,476 Speaker 4: a machine could do that. 165 00:08:18,476 --> 00:08:21,956 Speaker 1: That's right. Don had just dreamed up the ATM, the 166 00:08:22,036 --> 00:08:25,436 Speaker 1: automated teller machine that millions upon millions of busy people 167 00:08:25,716 --> 00:08:29,756 Speaker 1: use every day nowadays. The idea of an ATM seems 168 00:08:29,796 --> 00:08:32,676 Speaker 1: really obvious, but Don faced a lot of resistance. When 169 00:08:32,676 --> 00:08:34,196 Speaker 1: he first pitched the idea. 170 00:08:34,636 --> 00:08:39,636 Speaker 4: On the board of our company. There was a banker. 171 00:08:39,916 --> 00:08:42,436 Speaker 4: He thought it was the dumbest idea he had ever heard. 172 00:08:43,116 --> 00:08:45,516 Speaker 4: He said, we have tellers to do that. Has anybody 173 00:08:45,516 --> 00:08:46,196 Speaker 4: told you that? 174 00:08:46,316 --> 00:08:46,516 Speaker 5: Yet? 175 00:08:46,596 --> 00:08:48,676 Speaker 4: You know, we do have tellers that do exactly what 176 00:08:48,716 --> 00:08:52,276 Speaker 4: you're saying your machine can do, So why you think 177 00:08:52,556 --> 00:08:53,716 Speaker 4: anybody would buy this? 178 00:08:54,436 --> 00:08:57,756 Speaker 1: That board member wasn't entirely crazy. There had been earlier 179 00:08:57,756 --> 00:09:01,316 Speaker 1: attempts at automated bank machines and they'd all failed, including 180 00:09:01,316 --> 00:09:05,236 Speaker 1: one that took deposits. It's inventor, Luther Simjion lamented the 181 00:09:05,276 --> 00:09:08,236 Speaker 1: only people using the machine were prostitutes and gamblers who 182 00:09:08,236 --> 00:09:10,316 Speaker 1: didn't want to deal with the teller face to face. 183 00:09:11,196 --> 00:09:13,756 Speaker 1: The genius of Don's ATM is that it won the 184 00:09:13,796 --> 00:09:17,036 Speaker 1: trust of millions of regular customers who loved its convenience. 185 00:09:17,316 --> 00:09:20,876 Speaker 4: You know, everybody prefers to get things done quicker, and 186 00:09:20,956 --> 00:09:24,716 Speaker 4: you know, the ATM was a quick and easy way 187 00:09:24,836 --> 00:09:28,396 Speaker 4: anybody could use an ATM, really, because it's very simple. 188 00:09:28,636 --> 00:09:32,436 Speaker 4: Stick the card in, key in your pin number, and bingo, 189 00:09:32,716 --> 00:09:34,636 Speaker 4: here comes the money if you got it in the bank, 190 00:09:34,716 --> 00:09:35,076 Speaker 4: of course. 191 00:09:35,196 --> 00:09:37,436 Speaker 1: But now in hindsight, can you see that this started, 192 00:09:37,716 --> 00:09:40,356 Speaker 1: you know, in some ways a revolution of convenience? 193 00:09:41,076 --> 00:09:44,036 Speaker 4: Well, I never thought of it that way, really, Laurie. 194 00:09:44,916 --> 00:09:47,196 Speaker 4: Now I'll tell you a story about that. You know, 195 00:09:47,236 --> 00:09:49,756 Speaker 4: I had to come up with a forecast as to 196 00:09:49,836 --> 00:09:53,476 Speaker 4: how many of these ATMs were going to sell, and 197 00:09:54,076 --> 00:09:57,196 Speaker 4: I felt like we could sell four thousand of these machines. 198 00:09:58,076 --> 00:09:59,756 Speaker 1: I think there might have been four thousand just in 199 00:09:59,836 --> 00:10:03,276 Speaker 1: the in the airport where I was just at DFW today. 200 00:10:03,436 --> 00:10:07,596 Speaker 4: Well, at the latest report that I heard throughout the world. 201 00:10:07,676 --> 00:10:13,596 Speaker 4: They estimate there is one point three million ATMs installed nowadays. 202 00:10:14,156 --> 00:10:17,036 Speaker 1: But the real success of the ATM, according to Don, 203 00:10:17,396 --> 00:10:19,956 Speaker 1: is that it improves people's well being. It gets them 204 00:10:19,996 --> 00:10:21,556 Speaker 1: out of those annoying lines. 205 00:10:22,156 --> 00:10:25,676 Speaker 4: It just made sense that nobody wanted to wait in 206 00:10:25,756 --> 00:10:29,476 Speaker 4: the tell A line like I did, so it makes 207 00:10:29,916 --> 00:10:32,676 Speaker 4: every bank customer happy to get in and get out 208 00:10:33,036 --> 00:10:34,196 Speaker 4: and do some other things. 209 00:10:34,836 --> 00:10:36,916 Speaker 1: A bit more free time is something we all need, 210 00:10:37,316 --> 00:10:40,716 Speaker 1: and down simple idea has probably freed up millions, possibly 211 00:10:40,876 --> 00:10:44,396 Speaker 1: billions of hours the world over. But it turns out 212 00:10:44,716 --> 00:10:47,716 Speaker 1: there's an awful downside to all this convenience and save time, 213 00:10:48,316 --> 00:10:53,836 Speaker 1: one that are lying minds don't even realize. Don Wetzel's 214 00:10:53,876 --> 00:10:56,316 Speaker 1: intuition was that most people want a bit of extra 215 00:10:56,356 --> 00:10:59,636 Speaker 1: free time, then it'll make us happier, and the science 216 00:10:59,636 --> 00:11:02,836 Speaker 1: backs him up. Simply put, we all feel way too 217 00:11:02,916 --> 00:11:07,316 Speaker 1: busy today. Many of us experience what scientists call time famine. 218 00:11:07,636 --> 00:11:11,516 Speaker 1: We're literally starving for time, and that famished feeling has 219 00:11:11,556 --> 00:11:14,956 Speaker 1: a negative effect on our well being. In fact, people 220 00:11:14,996 --> 00:11:17,476 Speaker 1: who report feelings short on time are more likely to 221 00:11:17,476 --> 00:11:20,956 Speaker 1: be depressed, anxious, and less happy than people who feel 222 00:11:20,996 --> 00:11:24,276 Speaker 1: like they have lots of free time. Psychologists have even 223 00:11:24,356 --> 00:11:26,476 Speaker 1: come up with a term for that amazing feeling you 224 00:11:26,516 --> 00:11:29,716 Speaker 1: get when, say, a meeting is canceled and you suddenly 225 00:11:29,716 --> 00:11:32,636 Speaker 1: have a free hour you didn't expect. We call it 226 00:11:32,876 --> 00:11:36,796 Speaker 1: time affluence, and those rare moments when we feel wealthy 227 00:11:36,796 --> 00:11:39,836 Speaker 1: in time can make us feel amazing. It's one of 228 00:11:39,836 --> 00:11:42,196 Speaker 1: the reasons that every once in a while, I sometimes 229 00:11:42,236 --> 00:11:45,756 Speaker 1: surprise my Yale students by canceling my Happiness class, and 230 00:11:45,796 --> 00:11:49,196 Speaker 1: their reactions show just how important a little unexpected time 231 00:11:49,236 --> 00:11:53,556 Speaker 1: off can be. One student even burst into tears. She 232 00:11:53,676 --> 00:11:55,836 Speaker 1: said it was the first time she had an hour 233 00:11:55,916 --> 00:11:59,796 Speaker 1: off all semester. She'd almost forgotten what it was like 234 00:11:59,996 --> 00:12:02,836 Speaker 1: to have some free time, so adding even a few 235 00:12:02,876 --> 00:12:05,796 Speaker 1: extra minutes to our perceived time banks can feel really good. 236 00:12:06,396 --> 00:12:10,716 Speaker 1: But recent studies also suggest something rather intuitive. That is, 237 00:12:11,276 --> 00:12:15,676 Speaker 1: we misestimate just how busy we really are. While there's 238 00:12:15,716 --> 00:12:18,436 Speaker 1: lots of work showing that we feel busier than ever before, 239 00:12:18,956 --> 00:12:22,076 Speaker 1: there is very little evidence showing that we actually are busier, 240 00:12:22,596 --> 00:12:25,316 Speaker 1: which is kind of weird. It's as though our minds 241 00:12:25,356 --> 00:12:28,076 Speaker 1: tell us we're super busy all the time, but in 242 00:12:28,116 --> 00:12:31,436 Speaker 1: reality it's not as bad as we think. But there's 243 00:12:31,436 --> 00:12:34,396 Speaker 1: another even more insidious way our mind leads us astray 244 00:12:34,676 --> 00:12:37,356 Speaker 1: when we try to save some time. It turns out 245 00:12:37,636 --> 00:12:40,716 Speaker 1: there's an opportunity cost that comes from avoiding those bank lines, 246 00:12:41,036 --> 00:12:45,516 Speaker 1: and the cost is a social one. Long lines are frustrating, 247 00:12:45,916 --> 00:12:48,476 Speaker 1: but they're also an opportunity to be around other people, 248 00:12:49,076 --> 00:12:51,316 Speaker 1: and the sheer amount of time we spend around other 249 00:12:51,356 --> 00:12:55,516 Speaker 1: people actually predicts how happy we are. Take one famous 250 00:12:55,556 --> 00:12:59,796 Speaker 1: study by positive psychologists Ed Diner and Marty Selliban. They 251 00:12:59,796 --> 00:13:02,356 Speaker 1: looked at people who scored in the highest tenth percentile 252 00:13:02,356 --> 00:13:05,476 Speaker 1: on happiness surveys and try to figure out what makes 253 00:13:05,476 --> 00:13:07,876 Speaker 1: them so much happier than the rest of us. The 254 00:13:07,956 --> 00:13:10,996 Speaker 1: researchers discover the these happy people didn't spend any more 255 00:13:11,036 --> 00:13:14,556 Speaker 1: time exercising or doing religious activities. What did these happy 256 00:13:14,556 --> 00:13:18,236 Speaker 1: folks do differently? They were more social. They spent more 257 00:13:18,276 --> 00:13:21,716 Speaker 1: time around other humans than people with average levels of happiness. 258 00:13:22,516 --> 00:13:25,396 Speaker 1: The results were so strong that these researchers deemed being 259 00:13:25,436 --> 00:13:29,676 Speaker 1: around other people as a necessary condition for very high happiness. 260 00:13:30,956 --> 00:13:34,716 Speaker 1: Another study by Nobel Prize winning psychologist Danny Kanneman confirmed this. 261 00:13:35,356 --> 00:13:38,276 Speaker 1: He and his colleagues tested which daily activities make us 262 00:13:38,276 --> 00:13:44,556 Speaker 1: feel best the winner socializing with others. It's better than eating, shopping, relaxing, 263 00:13:44,916 --> 00:13:48,356 Speaker 1: or even watching TV. Just being with other people makes 264 00:13:48,396 --> 00:13:51,996 Speaker 1: us feel good, even if those people are strangers. 265 00:13:52,316 --> 00:13:56,396 Speaker 6: There are lots of sources of well being standing around you. 266 00:13:56,396 --> 00:13:57,876 Speaker 6: You just have to tap into them. 267 00:13:58,436 --> 00:14:01,116 Speaker 1: My friend Nick Epley is a professor of behavioral science 268 00:14:01,156 --> 00:14:03,836 Speaker 1: at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. 269 00:14:04,356 --> 00:14:08,996 Speaker 6: Happiness isn't about the intensity of experiences that we have, 270 00:14:09,756 --> 00:14:13,596 Speaker 6: It's about the frequency of them. Happiness is like is 271 00:14:13,716 --> 00:14:16,276 Speaker 6: like a you know, a leaky tire on your car. 272 00:14:16,596 --> 00:14:18,756 Speaker 6: You don't have a nice conversation with somebody and then 273 00:14:18,796 --> 00:14:21,996 Speaker 6: are happy forever. But if you're having a nice conversation 274 00:14:22,036 --> 00:14:24,276 Speaker 6: with somebody on a plane, that plane ride is more 275 00:14:24,356 --> 00:14:27,116 Speaker 6: enjoyable than it would have been otherwise. But then you know, 276 00:14:27,116 --> 00:14:28,516 Speaker 6: once you're off the plane ride, you know your tire 277 00:14:28,556 --> 00:14:29,996 Speaker 6: goes flat a little bit. You got to do something 278 00:14:29,996 --> 00:14:32,196 Speaker 6: else to pump it back up. And so I find 279 00:14:32,236 --> 00:14:36,036 Speaker 6: a lot of these conversations are like, are like, uh, 280 00:14:36,116 --> 00:14:38,556 Speaker 6: you know, air compressors for my tires. 281 00:14:38,996 --> 00:14:41,636 Speaker 1: Next studies why we're so resistant to being more social? 282 00:14:42,196 --> 00:14:44,036 Speaker 1: Why don't we take more time to fill up our 283 00:14:44,116 --> 00:14:46,476 Speaker 1: leaky happiness tires with a quick conversation. 284 00:14:46,676 --> 00:14:51,476 Speaker 6: People get the consequences of social interaction wrong, particularly with strangers. 285 00:14:51,956 --> 00:14:54,996 Speaker 6: Not engaging in conversation with somebody else gives you a 286 00:14:55,076 --> 00:14:58,636 Speaker 6: cost somewhere else, and people don't always seem to recognize that. 287 00:14:59,116 --> 00:15:01,996 Speaker 1: It turns out the cost of not being social, not 288 00:15:02,076 --> 00:15:04,676 Speaker 1: taking enough time to connect with other people is that 289 00:15:04,796 --> 00:15:06,276 Speaker 1: it makes us feel pretty awful. 290 00:15:06,556 --> 00:15:08,956 Speaker 6: Feeling lonely or isolated, just kind. 291 00:15:08,836 --> 00:15:12,876 Speaker 1: Of loneliness is now a growing epidemic around the world. 292 00:15:13,276 --> 00:15:16,396 Speaker 1: People today report feeling lonely at double the rate they 293 00:15:16,396 --> 00:15:20,156 Speaker 1: did in the nineteen eighties. Take college campuses like where 294 00:15:20,156 --> 00:15:23,476 Speaker 1: I work at Yale Nationally in the US, right now, 295 00:15:23,676 --> 00:15:27,036 Speaker 1: over sixty percent of college students report feeling very lonely 296 00:15:27,396 --> 00:15:30,596 Speaker 1: most of the time. This is higher than in any 297 00:15:30,636 --> 00:15:31,876 Speaker 1: other previous generation. 298 00:15:32,196 --> 00:15:35,036 Speaker 6: A stressor like that impairs your well being at it 299 00:15:35,076 --> 00:15:36,636 Speaker 6: impairs your health. 300 00:15:37,236 --> 00:15:40,676 Speaker 1: Recent research shows that the physical consequences of our increased 301 00:15:40,676 --> 00:15:44,436 Speaker 1: loneliness are staggering. Feeling isolated is said to be as 302 00:15:44,516 --> 00:15:47,476 Speaker 1: bad for our health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. 303 00:15:48,236 --> 00:15:50,916 Speaker 1: If loneliness had a health warning, it would sound like 304 00:15:50,996 --> 00:15:54,116 Speaker 1: this may cause increase risk of inflammation, disrupt its leap 305 00:15:54,196 --> 00:15:58,796 Speaker 1: abnormal immune responses, depression, anxiety, higher stress levels, early cognitive decline, alcoholism, 306 00:15:58,876 --> 00:16:02,916 Speaker 1: cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, diabetes, suicide, and even early dine. 307 00:16:04,676 --> 00:16:08,036 Speaker 1: So what can we do to fight this loneliness epidemic. Well, 308 00:16:08,156 --> 00:16:09,996 Speaker 1: you can get a few hints from people who don't 309 00:16:10,076 --> 00:16:13,476 Speaker 1: feel all that lonely, people like Eleanor Wetzel. 310 00:16:13,956 --> 00:16:18,876 Speaker 3: I'm half extrovert and half introvert, and so that part 311 00:16:18,876 --> 00:16:22,356 Speaker 3: of my personality enjoys the connection with people. 312 00:16:22,676 --> 00:16:25,276 Speaker 1: From the moment Don Wetzel's wife welcomed me into her home, 313 00:16:25,796 --> 00:16:28,476 Speaker 1: it was obvious that this old fashioned grandmother was the 314 00:16:28,476 --> 00:16:31,436 Speaker 1: opposite of lonely. She was one of the most sociable 315 00:16:31,476 --> 00:16:33,836 Speaker 1: people I had met in a while. She had a 316 00:16:33,876 --> 00:16:36,956 Speaker 1: story for everything, including how she met Don. 317 00:16:37,356 --> 00:16:40,716 Speaker 3: It was a blind date, so we were starting at zero, 318 00:16:41,316 --> 00:16:43,596 Speaker 3: and I think there was just a chemistry there. 319 00:16:44,076 --> 00:16:45,916 Speaker 1: I had planned to spend only thirty minutes or so 320 00:16:45,956 --> 00:16:48,396 Speaker 1: on this interview, but I ended up chatting with Eleanor 321 00:16:48,436 --> 00:16:51,956 Speaker 1: for over two hours. We talked about our families, while 322 00:16:51,956 --> 00:16:54,316 Speaker 1: her life was like growing up, how she was able 323 00:16:54,316 --> 00:16:57,916 Speaker 1: to raise so many children and other stuff too. I 324 00:16:57,956 --> 00:17:00,756 Speaker 1: asked what her secret was, how did she connect with 325 00:17:00,796 --> 00:17:04,916 Speaker 1: people so easily. It turns out she just chats with 326 00:17:04,956 --> 00:17:06,436 Speaker 1: strangers whenever she can. 327 00:17:07,276 --> 00:17:11,636 Speaker 3: I had no problem with wrecked eye content and smiles, 328 00:17:12,036 --> 00:17:14,636 Speaker 3: and you know, that's that's who we are, that's how 329 00:17:14,756 --> 00:17:17,356 Speaker 3: you relate to people. But I can see a lot 330 00:17:17,356 --> 00:17:21,516 Speaker 3: of downers with the technology that we have available. The 331 00:17:21,556 --> 00:17:25,996 Speaker 3: ATM doesn't smile back at you, marvel or showing me 332 00:17:26,036 --> 00:17:28,916 Speaker 3: their pretty eyes or whatever. So we don't want to 333 00:17:28,956 --> 00:17:30,076 Speaker 3: lose all of that. 334 00:17:30,836 --> 00:17:33,156 Speaker 1: It's true that Don's ATMs have given us back time, 335 00:17:33,436 --> 00:17:36,396 Speaker 1: but they've also robbed us of an important opportunity to 336 00:17:36,436 --> 00:17:40,396 Speaker 1: connect with human tellers and our fellow bank customers. They 337 00:17:40,436 --> 00:17:42,996 Speaker 1: steal one of the small chances we have each day 338 00:17:43,316 --> 00:17:46,236 Speaker 1: to fill up our leaky happiness tires with a quick conversation, 339 00:17:47,316 --> 00:17:50,596 Speaker 1: which is why Eleanor has taken a relatively shocking stance 340 00:17:50,756 --> 00:17:51,556 Speaker 1: on ATMs. 341 00:17:52,036 --> 00:17:54,676 Speaker 3: Well, I've actually never used one period. 342 00:17:55,236 --> 00:17:58,916 Speaker 1: That's right, Eleanor has never used an ATM, even though 343 00:17:58,956 --> 00:18:02,196 Speaker 1: her husband is the guy that invented them. She just 344 00:18:02,236 --> 00:18:03,596 Speaker 1: prefers to chat with the teller. 345 00:18:04,556 --> 00:18:07,516 Speaker 3: I don't think we even know yet how much he's 346 00:18:07,596 --> 00:18:12,356 Speaker 3: being lost without that interaction of human beings, the whole bit. 347 00:18:12,396 --> 00:18:15,236 Speaker 3: There's just there's so many components. I wouldn't even have 348 00:18:15,276 --> 00:18:16,916 Speaker 3: time to go into all of them, and I'm sure 349 00:18:16,956 --> 00:18:18,636 Speaker 3: I haven't even thought of all of them. 350 00:18:19,076 --> 00:18:22,476 Speaker 1: Eleanor's right here, we're automating the humans out of everything. 351 00:18:23,156 --> 00:18:26,756 Speaker 1: Take music, for example. Back in nineteen sixty eight, if 352 00:18:26,796 --> 00:18:29,116 Speaker 1: Eleanor wanted to hear a new song, she'd have to 353 00:18:29,196 --> 00:18:31,756 Speaker 1: interact with a bunch of people. She'd have to find 354 00:18:31,796 --> 00:18:34,276 Speaker 1: a record store, ask the clerk where to find that 355 00:18:34,316 --> 00:18:36,996 Speaker 1: new song, stand in line with other folks to buy it, 356 00:18:37,316 --> 00:18:39,476 Speaker 1: and only then could she drive home with her kids 357 00:18:39,676 --> 00:18:43,156 Speaker 1: to throw it on her record player. But today it's different. 358 00:18:44,076 --> 00:18:49,236 Speaker 3: Who is this Alexa that you can do everything for you? 359 00:18:50,116 --> 00:18:53,676 Speaker 1: Every new automated convenience we introduce into our lives has 360 00:18:53,676 --> 00:18:56,916 Speaker 1: a cost, and that cost, all too often is a 361 00:18:56,916 --> 00:19:00,756 Speaker 1: social one. The problem is it's not often a cost 362 00:19:00,796 --> 00:19:07,316 Speaker 1: we even realize. The question is why. But first we 363 00:19:07,356 --> 00:19:09,436 Speaker 1: need some music to send us into the break. So 364 00:19:09,516 --> 00:19:13,396 Speaker 1: let's tease what's coming up next, Alexa, play anything by 365 00:19:13,396 --> 00:19:14,556 Speaker 1: the Talking Heads. 366 00:19:15,796 --> 00:19:17,556 Speaker 5: I'm having trouble connecting. 367 00:19:17,156 --> 00:19:20,556 Speaker 1: To the internet. Oh, I'm so sorry. Give me a moment, 368 00:19:20,676 --> 00:19:22,356 Speaker 1: the Happiness Lab will be right back. 369 00:19:32,996 --> 00:19:37,636 Speaker 6: I ride the train into Chicago every day to my 370 00:19:37,676 --> 00:19:40,276 Speaker 6: office in Hyde Park from one of the far southside suburbs, 371 00:19:40,276 --> 00:19:41,796 Speaker 6: and every day I get on the train and I 372 00:19:41,876 --> 00:19:44,556 Speaker 6: was seeing exactly the same kind of phenomena I'd seen 373 00:19:44,596 --> 00:19:45,196 Speaker 6: it for years. 374 00:19:46,076 --> 00:19:49,756 Speaker 1: Science begins with observation, and Nick ePIE observes something on 375 00:19:49,796 --> 00:19:53,316 Speaker 1: his daily commute that is so commonplace yet so odd 376 00:19:53,356 --> 00:19:54,596 Speaker 1: when you really think about it. 377 00:19:55,356 --> 00:19:58,116 Speaker 6: Where people would get on sit down next to their neighbors, 378 00:19:59,276 --> 00:20:03,276 Speaker 6: perfectly decent, lovely people going into Chicago to work for 379 00:20:03,316 --> 00:20:06,276 Speaker 6: the day. They would sit down, cheek to jowl next 380 00:20:06,276 --> 00:20:09,116 Speaker 6: to somebody else, and they would then ignore each other 381 00:20:09,236 --> 00:20:10,156 Speaker 6: for forty five minutes. 382 00:20:11,876 --> 00:20:14,516 Speaker 1: Most train cars are full of people, which means they're 383 00:20:14,516 --> 00:20:18,396 Speaker 1: also full of knowledge, stories and jokes, but most are 384 00:20:18,436 --> 00:20:19,676 Speaker 1: also deathly quiet. 385 00:20:19,996 --> 00:20:23,356 Speaker 6: I mean, almost nobody ever talks on the train. The 386 00:20:23,436 --> 00:20:24,436 Speaker 6: question is why. 387 00:20:24,476 --> 00:20:27,956 Speaker 1: Nick decided to test this. He recruited passengers sharing his 388 00:20:27,956 --> 00:20:31,916 Speaker 1: commute to work, dividing them into three different groups or conditions, 389 00:20:31,956 --> 00:20:34,956 Speaker 1: as we researchers call them. He asked each group to 390 00:20:34,996 --> 00:20:37,356 Speaker 1: act in a certain way while they were on the train. 391 00:20:37,916 --> 00:20:40,196 Speaker 6: The one condition we told them to keep to themselves, 392 00:20:40,276 --> 00:20:43,276 Speaker 6: just focus on their day ahead, don't engage others around 393 00:20:43,316 --> 00:20:47,876 Speaker 6: you in conversation this morning. Second condition, we asked them 394 00:20:47,916 --> 00:20:50,076 Speaker 6: to do whatever they normally do, which is typically the 395 00:20:50,116 --> 00:20:52,676 Speaker 6: same as what happens in the solitude condition, almost nobody 396 00:20:53,036 --> 00:20:56,116 Speaker 6: talks to strangers on the train. And in the third condition, 397 00:20:56,156 --> 00:20:58,036 Speaker 6: we asked them to do something radical. We asked them 398 00:20:58,036 --> 00:21:00,956 Speaker 6: to try to make a connection with the person who 399 00:21:00,956 --> 00:21:03,596 Speaker 6: sits down next to you this morning on the train. 400 00:21:03,716 --> 00:21:05,756 Speaker 6: Try to get to know something about him or her, 401 00:21:06,676 --> 00:21:07,956 Speaker 6: so they were going to have a conversation. 402 00:21:09,316 --> 00:21:11,956 Speaker 1: Let's think about these different groups for a second. Which 403 00:21:12,036 --> 00:21:14,636 Speaker 1: one would you be happiest in the groups in which 404 00:21:14,636 --> 00:21:17,196 Speaker 1: you could enjoy your solitude or the one that forced 405 00:21:17,196 --> 00:21:20,756 Speaker 1: you to talk to a complete stranger. You might naturally 406 00:21:20,796 --> 00:21:23,756 Speaker 1: have a pretty strong intuition here, but I bet that 407 00:21:23,756 --> 00:21:25,156 Speaker 1: intuition is wrong. 408 00:21:25,916 --> 00:21:29,636 Speaker 6: People reported the most positive commute in the connection condition, 409 00:21:30,196 --> 00:21:33,476 Speaker 6: less positive in the control condition, and least positive in 410 00:21:33,556 --> 00:21:35,636 Speaker 6: the solitude condition, where they kept to themselves. 411 00:21:36,836 --> 00:21:39,476 Speaker 1: Being forced to talk with a stranger was far and 412 00:21:39,516 --> 00:21:44,076 Speaker 1: away the most pleasurable experience. Simply making a connection with 413 00:21:44,156 --> 00:21:48,236 Speaker 1: someone we don't know makes us feel really Good nixed 414 00:21:48,276 --> 00:21:50,316 Speaker 1: out on this very same study. In a number of 415 00:21:50,316 --> 00:21:53,756 Speaker 1: different contexts, on city buses and cabs, at the airport, 416 00:21:53,956 --> 00:21:57,756 Speaker 1: in waiting rooms, they all find the same result. People 417 00:21:57,796 --> 00:22:02,116 Speaker 1: are happiest when they're being social with someone. But what 418 00:22:02,236 --> 00:22:03,316 Speaker 1: about that other person? 419 00:22:03,876 --> 00:22:07,276 Speaker 6: You could imagine that we were potentially spreading misery that 420 00:22:07,316 --> 00:22:09,276 Speaker 6: the person who has talked to maybe was I was 421 00:22:09,316 --> 00:22:12,236 Speaker 6: unhappy about this. We were like polluting the train with 422 00:22:12,516 --> 00:22:14,556 Speaker 6: all of this unwonted conversation. 423 00:22:15,236 --> 00:22:17,836 Speaker 1: So does your conversation make other people miserable? 424 00:22:18,316 --> 00:22:18,476 Speaker 4: Well? 425 00:22:18,556 --> 00:22:21,676 Speaker 1: Nick tested that too by creating a fake waiting room 426 00:22:21,796 --> 00:22:22,756 Speaker 1: in his laboratory. 427 00:22:23,156 --> 00:22:26,756 Speaker 6: They were also happier when they were talked to than 428 00:22:26,796 --> 00:22:31,356 Speaker 6: when they were not talked to, and that effect was 429 00:22:31,556 --> 00:22:34,796 Speaker 6: just as big as the effect on the people who 430 00:22:34,796 --> 00:22:37,676 Speaker 6: were instructed to talk. So I didn't I don't think 431 00:22:37,676 --> 00:22:40,636 Speaker 6: we're spreading misery on the trains or the US. Is 432 00:22:41,276 --> 00:22:44,436 Speaker 6: connecting with someone as pleasant, whether you are the one 433 00:22:44,476 --> 00:22:47,156 Speaker 6: who's initiating it or the one you're receiving it. 434 00:22:47,756 --> 00:22:50,756 Speaker 1: Note that Nick's not advocating harassing someone on the train 435 00:22:51,316 --> 00:22:53,676 Speaker 1: or continuing to try to talk to someone who clearly 436 00:22:53,716 --> 00:22:56,436 Speaker 1: doesn't want you to speak to them. All nick saying 437 00:22:56,516 --> 00:22:59,316 Speaker 1: is that a quick conversation can make us feel good. 438 00:22:59,636 --> 00:23:02,396 Speaker 1: The problem is that's not what we think is going 439 00:23:02,436 --> 00:23:05,876 Speaker 1: to happen. When Nick asked people to imagine how they'd 440 00:23:05,916 --> 00:23:09,596 Speaker 1: feel getting into a conversation with a stranger, they wrongly 441 00:23:09,636 --> 00:23:12,436 Speaker 1: predicted that it wouldn't be fun or uplifting. 442 00:23:12,916 --> 00:23:16,956 Speaker 6: The reason that's interesting is because our expectations guide our behavior. 443 00:23:17,396 --> 00:23:20,036 Speaker 6: So if you expect it's going to be freezing cold outside, 444 00:23:20,076 --> 00:23:21,516 Speaker 6: you'll pick up a jacket. You'll wear it when you 445 00:23:21,596 --> 00:23:23,076 Speaker 6: go outside. If you expect that it's going to be 446 00:23:23,156 --> 00:23:25,516 Speaker 6: really warm outside, you won't wear a jacket. If I 447 00:23:25,556 --> 00:23:27,796 Speaker 6: expect that talking to somebody will be pleasant, I'll do it. 448 00:23:27,796 --> 00:23:29,596 Speaker 6: If I expect it'll be miserable, I won't. 449 00:23:29,996 --> 00:23:32,796 Speaker 1: But I bet you're thinking, what if you're shy around people? 450 00:23:33,396 --> 00:23:36,036 Speaker 1: Maybe all this talking to strangers stuff works if you're 451 00:23:36,076 --> 00:23:38,916 Speaker 1: really outgoing, but maybe it sucks for introverts. 452 00:23:39,396 --> 00:23:42,316 Speaker 6: And we did measure this, and we found actually no 453 00:23:42,356 --> 00:23:45,356 Speaker 6: difference at all between introverts and extroverts, and in across 454 00:23:45,396 --> 00:23:51,436 Speaker 6: these conditions, that is, introverts enjoyed connecting with others as 455 00:23:51,476 --> 00:23:57,636 Speaker 6: extroverts did. Introverts did not enjoy keeping to themselves in solitude, 456 00:23:57,716 --> 00:24:01,556 Speaker 6: and extroverts didn't enjoy that either. What tends to vary 457 00:24:01,996 --> 00:24:05,116 Speaker 6: are people's expectations about how they're going to feel. So 458 00:24:05,156 --> 00:24:07,996 Speaker 6: an introvert, because they think they're not going to enjoy 459 00:24:07,996 --> 00:24:10,876 Speaker 6: a party, is going to choose not to go, whereas 460 00:24:10,876 --> 00:24:13,796 Speaker 6: an extrovert who enjoys a party might choose to go. 461 00:24:14,436 --> 00:24:17,236 Speaker 6: On average, people tend to feel happier when they are 462 00:24:17,236 --> 00:24:21,956 Speaker 6: connecting with others, and that's true for both extroverts and introverts. 463 00:24:22,516 --> 00:24:24,996 Speaker 1: Nix's results are quite challenging for a lot of people 464 00:24:25,036 --> 00:24:28,156 Speaker 1: to hear. No matter what your personality type is, you 465 00:24:28,236 --> 00:24:30,836 Speaker 1: will increase your happiness if you interact with people you 466 00:24:30,916 --> 00:24:33,636 Speaker 1: randomly meet in stores or on public transport. 467 00:24:33,876 --> 00:24:37,036 Speaker 6: Creates a social connection. It keeps you connected on the 468 00:24:37,116 --> 00:24:37,676 Speaker 6: right level. 469 00:24:37,756 --> 00:24:40,316 Speaker 1: I made this very point on the CBS Morning News recently. 470 00:24:40,556 --> 00:24:43,516 Speaker 1: Happy people take time for social connection. They try to 471 00:24:43,556 --> 00:24:45,636 Speaker 1: make connections with the people on the street, and I 472 00:24:45,676 --> 00:24:48,916 Speaker 1: got some interesting reactions from the viewers. Here's one tweet 473 00:24:49,316 --> 00:24:51,396 Speaker 1: from someone who says, quote, talk to a stranger on 474 00:24:51,436 --> 00:24:54,556 Speaker 1: the bus? Are you insane? Don't talk to strangers, It's dangerous. 475 00:24:54,756 --> 00:24:58,036 Speaker 1: Didn't your mama teach you anything. Here's another one one 476 00:24:58,076 --> 00:25:01,756 Speaker 1: of my personal favorites. If a stranger talks to me 477 00:25:01,756 --> 00:25:03,996 Speaker 1: on a bus, I will go nuts. People die because 478 00:25:03,996 --> 00:25:08,716 Speaker 1: of shite like this. Hell no. So do you hit 479 00:25:08,756 --> 00:25:11,436 Speaker 1: similar reactions where people hear these data and are just like, 480 00:25:11,636 --> 00:25:12,356 Speaker 1: not true, not me. 481 00:25:12,916 --> 00:25:15,036 Speaker 6: Oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah No. I get it 482 00:25:15,396 --> 00:25:17,876 Speaker 6: all the time. I get a lot of pushback on 483 00:25:17,876 --> 00:25:20,916 Speaker 6: this because the expectations are so strong. So what people 484 00:25:20,916 --> 00:25:25,916 Speaker 6: are imagining, I think, are random people who might come 485 00:25:25,996 --> 00:25:30,836 Speaker 6: up to you and talk to you, and they imagine 486 00:25:30,876 --> 00:25:35,316 Speaker 6: sort of the worst case outcome. So they're imagining homeless 487 00:25:35,356 --> 00:25:38,636 Speaker 6: people are you know, mentally ill people or something who 488 00:25:38,716 --> 00:25:43,596 Speaker 6: are dangerous to them, or psychopaths whatever. But that's a 489 00:25:43,596 --> 00:25:47,596 Speaker 6: different situation from what we're asking people to do here. 490 00:25:48,196 --> 00:25:50,876 Speaker 6: We're just asking you to talk to a person who 491 00:25:50,956 --> 00:25:52,636 Speaker 6: happens to be sitting next to you, and the person 492 00:25:52,676 --> 00:25:55,316 Speaker 6: who happens to be sitting next to you is likely 493 00:25:55,356 --> 00:25:59,436 Speaker 6: to just be a normal person, not a psychopath. 494 00:26:01,276 --> 00:26:03,556 Speaker 1: We don't do something that's almost certain to make us 495 00:26:03,596 --> 00:26:06,116 Speaker 1: happier because we think we'll be preyed upon by some 496 00:26:06,236 --> 00:26:10,596 Speaker 1: imaginary psycho killer. Actually we're going into the break again. 497 00:26:10,956 --> 00:26:14,356 Speaker 1: Alexa play psycho Killer by the talk, I'm having trouble 498 00:26:14,356 --> 00:26:17,436 Speaker 1: connecting to the Internet. That's so annoying. I'm so sorry. 499 00:26:17,556 --> 00:26:31,956 Speaker 1: The show will be back in a moment. Nick Epley 500 00:26:32,036 --> 00:26:34,476 Speaker 1: thinks we're too scared of falling victim to some psycho 501 00:26:34,596 --> 00:26:38,476 Speaker 1: killer to strike up conversations on a train. Such unfounded 502 00:26:38,476 --> 00:26:40,316 Speaker 1: fears are part of why we seem to find the 503 00:26:40,356 --> 00:26:45,076 Speaker 1: automation revolutions so alluring. Don Ze atm was the first step, 504 00:26:45,476 --> 00:26:48,196 Speaker 1: but now we're killing the human part of so many 505 00:26:48,276 --> 00:26:51,796 Speaker 1: of our interactions. I want to introduce you to someone 506 00:26:51,836 --> 00:26:55,756 Speaker 1: who's deeply worried about this new direction, someone who is 507 00:26:55,796 --> 00:26:59,916 Speaker 1: making changes in his own life to fight back. David Byrne. 508 00:27:00,156 --> 00:27:04,516 Speaker 5: We're losing something, and a lot of the efficiency that 509 00:27:04,996 --> 00:27:07,916 Speaker 5: we think is there is kind of an illusion. 510 00:27:08,316 --> 00:27:11,716 Speaker 1: This is in You probably know David as a Talking 511 00:27:11,796 --> 00:27:14,236 Speaker 1: Heads front man, but what you may not know is 512 00:27:14,276 --> 00:27:18,276 Speaker 1: that David also writes brilliant social essays. He recently authored 513 00:27:18,316 --> 00:27:21,836 Speaker 1: a fantastic article for the MIT Technology Review on the 514 00:27:21,876 --> 00:27:26,476 Speaker 1: hidden dangers of automation. It's title Eliminating the Human. 515 00:27:27,196 --> 00:27:32,236 Speaker 5: If these things are becoming so ubiquitous, the elimination of 516 00:27:32,316 --> 00:27:37,636 Speaker 5: the human interaction, What does that mean for us as individuals, 517 00:27:38,116 --> 00:27:40,196 Speaker 5: as a society, as a community. 518 00:27:40,676 --> 00:27:43,636 Speaker 1: David's thesis is that humans have developed over millions of 519 00:27:43,716 --> 00:27:47,796 Speaker 1: years to work, trade, have fun, and form relationships face 520 00:27:47,836 --> 00:27:48,276 Speaker 1: to face. 521 00:27:49,036 --> 00:27:53,596 Speaker 5: You're getting all these different signals. You're getting signals from 522 00:27:53,796 --> 00:27:58,036 Speaker 5: their body language, their facial expression, what their eyes are doing, 523 00:27:58,676 --> 00:28:02,756 Speaker 5: the tone of their voice. We are social animals, That's 524 00:28:03,316 --> 00:28:06,756 Speaker 5: what we are. We're like ants and wolves, and we 525 00:28:06,796 --> 00:28:12,476 Speaker 5: are an animal that flourishes because we are social. And 526 00:28:12,556 --> 00:28:16,076 Speaker 5: you wonder what will happen or what is happening when 527 00:28:17,196 --> 00:28:21,636 Speaker 5: that aspect of our deep makeup starts to be taken 528 00:28:21,676 --> 00:28:23,876 Speaker 5: away from us, or not so much taken away, we 529 00:28:23,956 --> 00:28:25,476 Speaker 5: give it up voluntarily. 530 00:28:25,756 --> 00:28:28,796 Speaker 1: David's worried that we're all voluntarily turning our backs on 531 00:28:28,836 --> 00:28:31,836 Speaker 1: our fellow humans every day thanks to new products which 532 00:28:31,876 --> 00:28:35,436 Speaker 1: promise us ease and convenience, be it an ATM or 533 00:28:35,476 --> 00:28:37,916 Speaker 1: an app to pre order our groceries, or a film 534 00:28:37,956 --> 00:28:40,476 Speaker 1: streaming service that saves us a trip to a crowded 535 00:28:40,476 --> 00:28:40,996 Speaker 1: movie theater. 536 00:28:41,396 --> 00:28:45,556 Speaker 5: I'm not saying that whoever designed these things had in 537 00:28:45,596 --> 00:28:47,996 Speaker 5: the front of their mind. Can I come up with 538 00:28:48,156 --> 00:28:51,356 Speaker 5: a technology to eliminate some of the human interaction in 539 00:28:51,356 --> 00:28:55,316 Speaker 5: my life, but it sure seems to be the result. 540 00:28:55,996 --> 00:28:58,836 Speaker 1: No disrespect to inventors like Don Wetzel, who is as 541 00:28:58,876 --> 00:29:01,876 Speaker 1: social as social can be. But David worries that a 542 00:29:01,916 --> 00:29:05,956 Speaker 1: relatively small section of society, namely the engineers who design 543 00:29:05,956 --> 00:29:08,556 Speaker 1: all this stuff, they're creating a world that the rest 544 00:29:08,556 --> 00:29:11,516 Speaker 1: of us must habit, and they are creating it in 545 00:29:11,636 --> 00:29:12,716 Speaker 1: their own image. 546 00:29:13,196 --> 00:29:15,116 Speaker 6: My father was an engineer. 547 00:29:15,556 --> 00:29:19,716 Speaker 5: I enjoy that mindset of looking at things from an 548 00:29:19,756 --> 00:29:24,036 Speaker 5: engineer's point of view, but I recognize a lot of 549 00:29:24,076 --> 00:29:29,996 Speaker 5: that and a lot of programmers, coders engineers who are 550 00:29:30,036 --> 00:29:33,956 Speaker 5: designing a lot of the things that kind of envelop 551 00:29:34,076 --> 00:29:39,036 Speaker 5: us in the contemporary world. You can sense that a 552 00:29:39,076 --> 00:29:41,516 Speaker 5: lot of these guys, and most of them are guys, 553 00:29:43,236 --> 00:29:48,396 Speaker 5: are not comfortable in social situations. So even if they 554 00:29:48,476 --> 00:29:52,356 Speaker 5: would not vocally say I want to make a world 555 00:29:52,396 --> 00:29:55,036 Speaker 5: where I never have to interact with a person, they 556 00:29:55,116 --> 00:29:58,236 Speaker 5: might unconsciously do that. 557 00:29:58,236 --> 00:29:59,476 Speaker 6: That's the world that has. 558 00:29:59,356 --> 00:30:03,076 Speaker 5: Been made for us, and whether we want to or not, 559 00:30:03,956 --> 00:30:05,236 Speaker 5: we're living in their world. 560 00:30:06,076 --> 00:30:09,796 Speaker 1: Whether or not you completely buy the stereotype that engineers 561 00:30:09,796 --> 00:30:12,876 Speaker 1: shun human company, most of us can admit that what 562 00:30:12,916 --> 00:30:16,676 Speaker 1: they've designed is often pretty tempting. Many of us have 563 00:30:16,756 --> 00:30:20,756 Speaker 1: moments where we relish opportunities to be by ourselves or 564 00:30:20,876 --> 00:30:21,796 Speaker 1: just hide away a bit. 565 00:30:22,636 --> 00:30:25,396 Speaker 5: When I was much younger, I was much shyer, I 566 00:30:25,476 --> 00:30:31,236 Speaker 5: was much, much, much more uncomfortable in social situations. I 567 00:30:31,276 --> 00:30:36,036 Speaker 5: would create a kind of facade or character or persona 568 00:30:36,516 --> 00:30:40,276 Speaker 5: that would be my face for a social interaction, and 569 00:30:40,316 --> 00:30:43,276 Speaker 5: it was a little bit artificial in that sense. I 570 00:30:43,316 --> 00:30:48,076 Speaker 5: can identify and understand that a lot of people feel like, 571 00:30:49,316 --> 00:30:51,956 Speaker 5: oh no. If I can figure out a way to 572 00:30:52,116 --> 00:30:58,196 Speaker 5: navigate the world with as few annoying interactions with the human, 573 00:30:58,916 --> 00:31:05,236 Speaker 5: then very good. Let's design interfaces that speed things along 574 00:31:05,356 --> 00:31:09,636 Speaker 5: and help someone who is uncomfortable in social sitch situations, 575 00:31:09,676 --> 00:31:14,116 Speaker 5: for example, get through them without the pesky human. 576 00:31:15,716 --> 00:31:18,596 Speaker 1: At the end of his MIT Tech Review article, David 577 00:31:18,716 --> 00:31:21,676 Speaker 1: argues that as we spend less and less time talking 578 00:31:21,876 --> 00:31:24,756 Speaker 1: and listening to each other, will become less tolerant of 579 00:31:24,756 --> 00:31:29,836 Speaker 1: each other's differences, will become more inclined to envy and antagonism. 580 00:31:30,316 --> 00:31:34,596 Speaker 1: It's a chilling prospect, but can science save us? Can 581 00:31:34,676 --> 00:31:38,076 Speaker 1: researchers like Nick convince the champions of automation that they're 582 00:31:38,116 --> 00:31:43,116 Speaker 1: getting the balance between convenience and happiness all wrong. I'm 583 00:31:43,116 --> 00:31:48,676 Speaker 1: afraid to say it doesn't look promising. Remember Nick's experiment 584 00:31:48,796 --> 00:31:51,596 Speaker 1: using trained passengers, how he found that the people he 585 00:31:51,716 --> 00:31:55,396 Speaker 1: forced into conversation with their fellow commuters had happier journeys. 586 00:31:56,196 --> 00:31:56,316 Speaker 3: Well. 587 00:31:56,396 --> 00:31:58,716 Speaker 1: Nick reported these findings back to the head of marketing 588 00:31:58,756 --> 00:32:01,676 Speaker 1: at the railroad company, and here was her response. 589 00:32:02,276 --> 00:32:05,236 Speaker 6: Nick, You're not going to believe what we're about to do. 590 00:32:06,316 --> 00:32:08,596 Speaker 6: She said, we're going to roll out a new policy 591 00:32:08,636 --> 00:32:11,236 Speaker 6: on the train. We're going to put in place a 592 00:32:11,316 --> 00:32:15,996 Speaker 6: quiet car. I said, oh really, And the quiet car 593 00:32:16,196 --> 00:32:19,436 Speaker 6: is one she explained, where people are not allowed to 594 00:32:19,556 --> 00:32:21,756 Speaker 6: engage in conversation, they're not allowed to talk on their 595 00:32:21,796 --> 00:32:23,836 Speaker 6: cell phones, they're not allowed to talk to somebody sitting 596 00:32:23,836 --> 00:32:25,636 Speaker 6: next to them. It's supposed to be absolutely quiet. 597 00:32:25,916 --> 00:32:28,436 Speaker 1: Nick was surprised why the train company had made a 598 00:32:28,476 --> 00:32:31,796 Speaker 1: decision that completely contradicted his well being research, and. 599 00:32:31,796 --> 00:32:34,676 Speaker 6: She said, well, because we asked people on a survey 600 00:32:34,716 --> 00:32:38,876 Speaker 6: what they wanted, and this is what they said they wanted, which, 601 00:32:38,916 --> 00:32:41,236 Speaker 6: of course I pointed out, there is exactly what our 602 00:32:41,276 --> 00:32:45,076 Speaker 6: participants said they wanted to and it just turned out 603 00:32:45,196 --> 00:32:47,116 Speaker 6: not quite to be right. At least in terms of 604 00:32:47,156 --> 00:32:47,916 Speaker 6: their well being. 605 00:32:48,596 --> 00:32:51,476 Speaker 1: Nick, being a good scientist, wanted to know if the 606 00:32:51,556 --> 00:32:55,236 Speaker 1: railroad people had carried out an experiment with the opposite 607 00:32:55,236 --> 00:32:56,076 Speaker 1: of a quiet car. 608 00:32:56,436 --> 00:32:59,996 Speaker 6: Have you ever just put a chatty car on the 609 00:33:00,076 --> 00:33:03,116 Speaker 6: line where people can just get together, you know, maybe 610 00:33:03,116 --> 00:33:05,396 Speaker 6: you got snacks or something, and you can get together 611 00:33:05,476 --> 00:33:07,276 Speaker 6: and you just talk. You just you get to know 612 00:33:07,276 --> 00:33:09,036 Speaker 6: your neighbors a little bit, get to know your commuter, 613 00:33:09,356 --> 00:33:12,276 Speaker 6: your chatty car. And she laughed and she said, no, 614 00:33:12,516 --> 00:33:16,156 Speaker 6: we've never done the chatty car. But we used to 615 00:33:16,156 --> 00:33:19,676 Speaker 6: have bar cars on the trains where people would get 616 00:33:19,716 --> 00:33:21,916 Speaker 6: together and often they would then connect with each other there. 617 00:33:21,956 --> 00:33:23,556 Speaker 6: And I asked her to used to have the bar 618 00:33:23,596 --> 00:33:26,236 Speaker 6: cars anymore. She said, no, we don't have them anymore. 619 00:33:26,236 --> 00:33:28,356 Speaker 6: And I asked why not. I was imagining, you know, 620 00:33:28,356 --> 00:33:30,836 Speaker 6: her telling stories about people stumbling off the trains drunk 621 00:33:30,916 --> 00:33:34,076 Speaker 6: or something. But she said the real problem was they 622 00:33:34,116 --> 00:33:39,156 Speaker 6: were too crowded. That is, they were too popular, so 623 00:33:39,356 --> 00:33:41,316 Speaker 6: there were too many people who wanted to be in there. 624 00:33:41,836 --> 00:33:44,156 Speaker 6: That's the point at which as a behavioral scientists you 625 00:33:44,196 --> 00:33:49,396 Speaker 6: just sort of sigh, we think it clearly seems they 626 00:33:49,396 --> 00:33:52,356 Speaker 6: have clear data that people really enjoy being able to 627 00:33:52,356 --> 00:33:57,116 Speaker 6: connect with each other, and yet that service doesn't get extended, 628 00:33:57,156 --> 00:34:00,236 Speaker 6: so they canceled it because the chatty car or the 629 00:34:00,276 --> 00:34:02,996 Speaker 6: equivalent of it was too crowded. 630 00:34:04,316 --> 00:34:07,676 Speaker 1: So if banks and railroad companies and app designers and 631 00:34:07,756 --> 00:34:11,276 Speaker 1: store owners aren't going to come to our rescue, what 632 00:34:11,316 --> 00:34:14,596 Speaker 1: are we to do to stop feeling so isolated? The 633 00:34:14,636 --> 00:34:18,076 Speaker 1: answer is pretty simple. We just need to connect with 634 00:34:18,116 --> 00:34:21,316 Speaker 1: other people, and not just our friends and family members. 635 00:34:22,196 --> 00:34:24,356 Speaker 1: We also need to make the effort to connect more 636 00:34:24,356 --> 00:34:27,596 Speaker 1: with strangers, the random people around us in lines and 637 00:34:27,636 --> 00:34:33,556 Speaker 1: on our commute. They matter more than we think. David 638 00:34:33,596 --> 00:34:37,556 Speaker 1: Byrne realized this. Despite his natural shyness, he's trying to 639 00:34:37,596 --> 00:34:40,876 Speaker 1: be part of the cure. He now embraces opportunities to 640 00:34:40,916 --> 00:34:42,716 Speaker 1: connect with the people who cross his path. 641 00:34:43,076 --> 00:34:45,676 Speaker 5: Yeah, it happened the other day. The subways were messed 642 00:34:45,756 --> 00:34:51,156 Speaker 5: up and there was a Chinese guy who was really 643 00:34:51,196 --> 00:34:53,316 Speaker 5: having a heart. He had some luggage with him and 644 00:34:53,356 --> 00:34:55,836 Speaker 5: he was really having a hard time. Everything, all of 645 00:34:55,956 --> 00:34:58,076 Speaker 5: everything has changed. You know, this train's now on this line, 646 00:34:58,116 --> 00:35:00,356 Speaker 5: This train's now running on this line. This used to 647 00:35:00,356 --> 00:35:02,156 Speaker 5: be an express, now it's a local. And it was 648 00:35:02,196 --> 00:35:05,916 Speaker 5: all this we kind of figured it out together, which 649 00:35:05,996 --> 00:35:11,996 Speaker 5: was kind of sweet. You have made a connection. And 650 00:35:12,916 --> 00:35:17,156 Speaker 5: what I discover is very often they'll smile that you 651 00:35:17,356 --> 00:35:21,956 Speaker 5: are sharing this acknowledgment with them. They might laugh, You'll laugh, 652 00:35:22,156 --> 00:35:25,316 Speaker 5: and so it kind of well, it sounds like a cliche, 653 00:35:25,396 --> 00:35:28,876 Speaker 5: but it brightens your day for another fifteen minutes at least. 654 00:35:31,836 --> 00:35:34,316 Speaker 1: So what have we learned in this episode? For one thing, 655 00:35:34,516 --> 00:35:38,316 Speaker 1: we too readily assume that convenience, efficiency and near instant 656 00:35:38,316 --> 00:35:42,356 Speaker 1: gratification are the roots to happiness, but that assumption is 657 00:35:42,396 --> 00:35:46,316 Speaker 1: often wrong. Tiny human interactions are the burst of air 658 00:35:46,396 --> 00:35:49,516 Speaker 1: we need for our happiness. Tires to steal. Next metaphor, 659 00:35:50,396 --> 00:35:52,876 Speaker 1: your mind might tell you a quick conversation is going 660 00:35:52,916 --> 00:35:56,156 Speaker 1: to be awkward, too much time, not worth it. But 661 00:35:56,196 --> 00:36:00,596 Speaker 1: those intuitions are wrong even for shy folks. So get 662 00:36:00,596 --> 00:36:03,876 Speaker 1: out there and make a new connection. Next time you 663 00:36:03,916 --> 00:36:06,356 Speaker 1: are standing in line, talk to the person next to you. 664 00:36:07,036 --> 00:36:09,436 Speaker 1: If you can't think of something to say, you could 665 00:36:09,476 --> 00:36:12,156 Speaker 1: tell them that lines are an opportunity, and that the 666 00:36:12,196 --> 00:36:15,356 Speaker 1: guy who had the inspiration for the ATM machine did 667 00:36:15,436 --> 00:36:18,156 Speaker 1: so while waiting in a bank line, and that his 668 00:36:18,236 --> 00:36:21,876 Speaker 1: wife has never used that invention. You could even tell 669 00:36:21,916 --> 00:36:25,036 Speaker 1: them that you heard that on a podcast, a podcast 670 00:36:25,076 --> 00:36:28,316 Speaker 1: called The Happiness Lab with doctor Laurie Santos,