1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: Brought to you by Toyota. Let's go places. Welcome to 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know from house stuff Works dot com. Hey, 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles W. 4 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant, and this is stuff you should know the podcast. 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: Greetings pricklings. Hello, everyone, brains, brains, brains. That's right, that's 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: my intro. Uh that you didn't do it ten times though? 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: About no one wants to hear that. And we're not 8 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: going to even talk about ten brain myths we even 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: though the this episode is called ten Myths about the Brain. Yeah, 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,480 Speaker 1: if you're new to the show and you've never heard 11 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: us do one of our famous top tens, then you 12 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: probably don't know. We rarely cover all ten. We will 13 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: tease you a bit with six to eight and then 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: say go read the article if you want the other one. 15 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: And in this case, we've actually covered a couple of 16 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: the things before, so there's no point in rehashing exactly 17 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: so that. I guess I just probably need to explain 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: that you laid the ground rules pretty well man to 19 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: a top ten that is really not tin um. So 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: we we have brains in our heads. Uh, And I 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: think most people walk around feeling like they have some 22 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 1: ideas about the brain, some understanding, um, but it turns 23 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: out that some of them are wrong. There's myths out 24 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: there and so have kind of interesting weird origins too. Yeah. 25 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: I thought this is pretty cool article because we've covered 26 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: the brain a lot and it's one of our favorite, 27 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: favorite favorite subjects. So it's kind of cool to root 28 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: out some of these things that a couple of these 29 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: I thought were true. Well. Well, for example, like, um, 30 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: your brain is gray, I thought that to be true. Well, 31 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: and it's understandable why too, because people call the brain 32 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: gray matter. Um apparently Hercule Paul row I just said 33 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: that like a dog that was That was right, h 34 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: That's an odd name to have to say though. Yeah, 35 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: Hercules plaically especially from my tongue marble mouth. He used 36 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: to call his brains his gray cells. Oh yeah. Um, 37 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: so yeah, everybody thinks the brain is great and it 38 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: is gray. There are very much, um lots of gray 39 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: areas called gray matter, but there's other colors to the 40 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: brain too. Yeah. This kind of knocked me out because 41 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: I had no idea that the brain was also white, black, 42 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: and red like our Georgia bulldogs in Atlanta, falcon starts 43 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: lapping in there, everybody's brains walking around the bulldog fan So, 44 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: like you said, there is a lot of gray matter, 45 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: uh cells, neurons connecting to each other. There's also white matter. 46 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: Well that's the stuff that connects them. Well, the white 47 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: matter is is the nerve fibers right right, So it 48 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: connects like your gray matter regions to one another. So 49 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: that makes sense. Yeah, but what about the substantia nigra 50 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: Latin for black substance that is part of your brain 51 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,399 Speaker 1: is black? I would think that would be scary. Yeah, 52 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: he was dead, dude, think so. But the that that 53 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: region of the brain um, it has to do with 54 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: motor control, like fine control, and that's that They think 55 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: that possibly that's where Parkinson's damage comes from, or Parkinson's 56 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,239 Speaker 1: disease is located there. And the reason it's black is 57 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: because of neuromelanin, which is a pigment. And I was 58 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: very curious why your brain would eat any kind of pigment? Whatsoever? 59 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 1: Did you get to that? Yeah, it turns out they 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: don't know, but they think that it basically takes um 61 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: it removes heavy metals from your bloodstream. From that area 62 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: and that they they also think that it has to 63 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: do with there's a adrene of chrome, do you remember that? 64 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: From Fear and low thing in Las Vegas. So that 65 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: stuff is real, and your brain produces as a byproduct 66 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: of some of his normal processes, and we would all 67 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: be totally psychotic apparently from the stuff if it wasn't 68 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: for neuromelanin. They think basically getting rid of it. So 69 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: we depend on that color. Yeah, that pigment, at least 70 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: not for coloring in this case, but some other stuff. Yeah, 71 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: I couldn't. The reason we think gray besides people calling 72 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: it gray matters because usually when we see a brain 73 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: it's floating in a jar, then it has been turned 74 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: gray from the formaldehyde and stuff. But I couldn't find 75 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: any kind of picture of like an active brain with 76 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: all these colors. I guess it's impossible unless they just, 77 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: you know, peel your skull off and take a picture 78 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: real quick. Yeah, I'm sure that was exist. What couldn't 79 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: I find a picture? I don't know. I mean, yeah, 80 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: they do brain surgery, you know, with the healthy living brain. 81 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: Didn't work super hard though, that's the secret. So there 82 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: there you go. Red black, white and gray your brain, 83 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: all right. Number two, listening to Mozart makes you smarter. Yeah, 84 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: this one I thought was did too, because Baby Einstein 85 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: if you've never heard of that, that is, parents are 86 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: living this stuff, big, big, multimillion dollar industry of packaging 87 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: classical music and poetry and stuff like that to a 88 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: not just to your baby and toddler and growing child, 89 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: but for your fetus as well. Even. Yeah, the Mozart 90 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: effect is what it's called, UM, and it's gonna be smarter. 91 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,040 Speaker 1: Apparently the Mozart effect is trademarked by a guy named 92 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: Dan Campbell. Basically, UM puts together Mozart and CDs and 93 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: books and stuff like that. Um. The thing is is 94 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: this Mozart effect was It was first noted in the fifties, 95 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: I think by an ear nose and throat doctor named 96 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: Albert Tomattus, and he said that he made it. He 97 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: said that UM, the his patients who were struggling with 98 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: speech and audit auditory disorders UM showed improvement when they 99 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: listened to Mozart specifically. And then in the nineties somebody 100 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: else apparently conducted a test at the University of California, 101 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: Irvine that showed that people's IQ scores improved after listening 102 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: to Mozart, and then the Mozart effects was born. Well, 103 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: so based on these studies, I would think that it 104 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: does make you smarter. So is that true? Apparently not 105 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: necessarily no, because these are all myths. Yeah, that that 106 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 1: that you see Irvine study in particular was kind of 107 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 1: taken out of context. I get the impression, and um, 108 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: they were saying, well, we never said it makes you smarter. 109 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: We just said that it improved people's ability on the 110 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: specific temporal spatial test. Yeah, this one specific thing. We 111 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: didn't say it makes you smarter. That's the popular media 112 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: that did that. So things got a little twisted around 113 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: over time, and since then they have not been able 114 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: to duplicate these results from that original test. So it 115 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: turns out it probably won't hurt you any right, but 116 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: listening to classical music is not going to actually make 117 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: you smarter. But they have found that, um, learning to 118 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: play music, you can do a lot of stuff. Um, 119 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: it improves concentration, self constant competence, coordination. Really yeah uh 120 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: and you mentioned people playing Mozart to get the Mozart 121 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: effect for their fetuses. Yeah, Um, have you ever heard 122 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: the one that you get a new wrinkle in your 123 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: brain every time you learn something. I knew that wasn't true. 124 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: It sounds a little bit like an angel gets his 125 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: wings every time. All totally, Uh, that is not true. 126 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: But there are some cool little factoids in here. Uh, 127 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: one of which is that by the time you reach 128 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: forty weeks old, you have the same brain. It will 129 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: get larger, of course, but you have all the same 130 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: little folds and crevices called jerry and sulci um, all 131 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: folded up together. And the reason it's folded up together 132 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: is because our brain is large and the skull isn't, 133 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: so it needed to scrunch itself in there as we evolved. 134 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: And I think if you unfolded all that, the brain 135 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: would be the size of a tennis court. No, no, 136 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: that's the intestines a pillowcase. Okay, that's still pretty Yeah, 137 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: it's huge. Um, and that's why we're so smart. Um, 138 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: which kind of leads us to another. Um. Another myth 139 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: all right, that humans have the biggest brain, which is 140 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: not the case, which makes sense to me. I thought 141 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: this one was pretty cool. Actually, Um, A lot of 142 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: people walking around I think that because we're so smart, 143 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: we must have the biggest brain. But if you if 144 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: you think about it, no, a whale is going to 145 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: have a bigger brain than a human brain. That's true 146 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: because whales are enormous. Our brains about three pounds a whale. 147 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: Sperm whales about what's seventeen pounds, Yeah, which is a 148 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: huge brain. So why aren't sperm whales running the planet? 149 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: The reason why, It doesn't really matter the size of 150 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: the brain. It's the size of the brain to the 151 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: rest of the body. That ratio is what matters. Yeah, 152 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: I thought that was super interesting. They used dolphins as 153 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: an example because the dolphin's brain is about the same 154 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: size of a humans brain. Dolphins are super smart, But 155 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: an average dolphin weighs about three fifty pounds. Uh, I 156 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: don't know. Does it say how much the average adultways, 157 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,679 Speaker 1: it's not three. I would say, depending on whether it's 158 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,719 Speaker 1: male or female, anywhere between a hundred to two hundred pounds, 159 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: whether or not average somewhere in there. Sorry. Uh. And 160 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 1: then they also go on to name some other animals, 161 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 1: which was just sort of cute to think about. A 162 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,199 Speaker 1: beagle's brain is two point five ounces. Cute, little beagle 163 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: and a sparrow has a brain that weighs less than 164 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: half an ounce. That's adorable. So again though it's the 165 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: it's the brain size to body size ratio, and humans 166 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: it's one to fifty UM. Most other mammals it's one 167 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: to one eight UM, and then in birds it's one 168 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: to two twenty typically. Yeah, but we do have humans 169 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: compared to mammals, we have the largest cerebral cortex, which 170 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: is really where like that's the money section. It's also 171 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 1: the newest part of our brain. It's on the outermost surface, um, 172 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: and that's where all the higher functions are carried out. 173 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 1: And that's what really separates us. That's why we run 174 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: the planet. Otherwise just be orangutans. Um. What about subliminal 175 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: messages and we learn from those? Uh, that is a falsehood, sir. 176 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: I guess that's the spoiler. All these are false but 177 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: their myths. Yeah, they're myths. Um. But back in the 178 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, there was a marketing executive, a researcher named 179 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: James Vickery who, uh did you know everyone always heard 180 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: you know, you go to the movies and they splash 181 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: up Coca cola and popcorn. I thought that was a myth. 182 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: I did too, but that was true. They did that 183 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty seven. Yeah, there's a there's a still 184 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: in this article from the movie and over Kim's face 185 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: it says hungry eat popcorns and it's from a frame 186 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 1: of the movie. So that's one three thousandth of a second. 187 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: And um, Vickery said, you know what, Uh, sales increased 188 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,959 Speaker 1: in the theater by eighteen percent for popcorn I'm sorry 189 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,520 Speaker 1: for drinks, and by fifty seven percent for popcorn thanks 190 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: to these messages. Yeah, and everybody said, okay, well, we're 191 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: very interested in basically psychologically manipulating everybody into buying our products. 192 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: So they started putting that stuff in jingles and in 193 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: UM movies and television, and UM, they found pretty quickly 194 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: that it actually doesn't have an effect yet. Well, they 195 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: banned it first of all, the FEC band in nine, 196 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: because they did think it worked at the time. UM. 197 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: But then later on it turns out that James Vickery 198 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 1: just lied about the results, not true at all. He's like, hey, 199 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: I was a sales guy, not a scientist, but you 200 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: expect uh so yeah, like you said, the FEC band 201 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: subliminal advertising in general, which was a good move because 202 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: if it did work, that's not okay. No, but a 203 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: lot of people still think that it's still around and 204 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,120 Speaker 1: then it actually does work, Yes, but it is not true. 205 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: And they even tested this in Canada evidently on TV. 206 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,440 Speaker 1: They flashed the message call now during a broadcast, and 207 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: I guess nobody called. Maybe they didn't give a number. 208 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: There's this right, I feel like I need to call somebody, 209 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: but I don't get it. I wondered though, like if 210 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: if they were studying the wrong thing, like call now 211 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: makes sense, but what if it has to be much 212 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: more explicit, like hungry eat popcorn? You can't eat popcorn? 213 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 1: Like maybe that would make you grab a bite of 214 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: popcorn fit we're in your lap. Maybe it has to 215 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: be more direct, like hungry, go buy popcorn at the 216 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: front concession stand now, you know, because then your brain 217 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,440 Speaker 1: would obey that command rather than a roundabout command that's 218 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: the result of something you have to do, telling you 219 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: to go do that thing. Maybe that would work. So 220 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: you're leaving the door open for this for further testing. 221 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: I could see it subliminal below the lineman or lemon, 222 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: which is the threshold of our conscious awareness. Yeah, it 223 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: looks like Lineman when by itself, that's what's in sprit. 224 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,040 Speaker 1: But if he said subliminal, then somebody would just on 225 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: two upside the head, you know. Yeah, where are we now? 226 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,960 Speaker 1: We are on the idea that brain damage is always permanent. 227 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: I didn't know that this was a thing. I didn't 228 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: know that people said that. Sure, I never heard that. Well, 229 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: I think the point of it is is you know 230 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: that the brain can't repair itself once it's damaged, And 231 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: that's absolutely not true. It's not true. The brain is 232 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: extremely resilient. It's it's so much so that there's this 233 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: thing called plasticity, um, which is it kind of ties 234 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: into that idea that you get a new wrinkle when 235 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: you learn something that's not true. But your brain can 236 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: rewire itself. That's how you learn and unlearned behaviors through 237 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: brain plasticity. Yes, so I guess there are some truth 238 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,079 Speaker 1: in that. Neurons, once they are damaged, they cannot grow back, right, 239 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: but thanks to plasticity, that will make new neural connections 240 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: in sometimes surprising ways, which is why if you've had 241 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 1: a stroke and damage part of your brain, you can 242 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: relearn to speak alps if you've lost that ability by 243 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: forging these new connections. There's a girl out there, um 244 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: who has only one hemisphere of her brain. That's it 245 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: that way. I don't remember she was born that way 246 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: or if it was the result of surgery or damage 247 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: or something, but she's got half of a brain. Her 248 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: brain has just one hemisphere, and she has binocular vision. 249 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: She can see out of both eyes, which they had 250 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: no idea how that was going on. And they finally 251 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: went in and looked, I guess using an m R 252 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: I and they found that her optic nerve that should 253 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: be connected to the missing hemisphere had basically grown, had 254 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: grown to go patch in another part of her brain 255 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: on the other side, and it basically hijacked this other 256 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: part of her brain and was using it for sight. 257 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:46,040 Speaker 1: That is unbelievable. That's the brain. I wonder what you 258 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: lose though, I wonder if it forges a connection and 259 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: at the expense of another, you know what I'm saying, Yeah, like, 260 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: could she be like, man, I can see through both eyes, 261 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: but I can't tie my shoot any longer. Yeah, maybe, yeah, 262 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: it's possible, But I mean the brain would would say, well, 263 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: it's better you can see somebody else can tie your shoes. 264 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: Well that makes me wonder, though, I wonder if there 265 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: is an order to it all, like if the brain 266 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: knows what's more important. Yes, there is. As a matter 267 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: of fact, this ties into that idea that you only 268 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: use ten percent of your brain. Wow, all right, let's 269 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 1: hear it. Well that's not true, by the way, right, 270 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: And actually that one has a pretty interesting origin, doesn't it. Yeah, 271 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: they're not quite sure where it came from. Um, it 272 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: seems like it's always been around though, the notion that 273 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: you only use ten percent of your brain. But um, 274 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: they think it may have come from American psychologist William 275 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: James in the early nineteen hundreds when he said the 276 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: average person rarely achieves but a small portion of his 277 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: or her potential. And that was just sort of twisted 278 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: into ten percent of your brain is used. And people, 279 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: you know, you see people taking advantage of this notion 280 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: all the time with self help books like Tap into 281 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: the Other and it's just bunk, right, And this is 282 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: where it ties in. It is in that all regions, 283 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 1: all physical regions of your brain are being used. But 284 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: there's a theory that's around for savantism. Explain savantism, which 285 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: I want to do someday, we need to write the 286 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: article on it. But so fascinating. There's a theory right 287 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: now that savanta is um is from the result of 288 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: like brain damage. What what savantism is the result of 289 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: the brain's tyranny of the frontal lobe is what it's called. 290 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: And basically the idea is that your frontal lobe decides 291 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: what's important, and it bosses around all the other regions 292 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: of your brain to carry out this very smooth, efficient 293 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: streamline process that basically it decides is the most important, 294 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: and in doing so, it cast to the side a 295 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: lot of other stuff, like the ability to make great art, 296 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: or the ability to count a bunch of matches that 297 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: just fell on the floor, whatever, And that savantasm is 298 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: the result of this executive function, this tyranny of the 299 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: frontal cortex being disrupted, so that maybe you aren't just 300 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 1: the most efficient shark in the tank any longer, and 301 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 1: you're not out there and like going, going, going, and 302 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 1: like trying to compete and beat everybody else. But there's 303 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: all these other things that are now free to just 304 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: kind of blossom, like artistic deep, amazing, artistic, interesting abilities. Yeah, 305 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: that's that's this theory point and we're just now learning 306 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: this stuff. But it suggests that maybe we do only 307 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,680 Speaker 1: use a portion of our abilities, not physical, like we're 308 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: using a dred percent of the physical parts of our brain, 309 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: but what we're using it for is that issue. Yeah, 310 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: you see what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, so there's definitely 311 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: something to that. Yeah. I trip out on the brain 312 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,919 Speaker 1: a lot, Like when I'm studying it for the podcast, 313 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,959 Speaker 1: I'll get sidetracked. Like this morning, I was reading this 314 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: article and I just had one of those little flights 315 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,719 Speaker 1: of fancy where it amazed me that I was looking 316 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: at these printed shapes on a pay paper that formed 317 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: words into sentences that I understood and had meaning. And 318 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,159 Speaker 1: I just was amazed by the brain. Just laying in 319 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: bed this morning, I was like, oh my god, Like 320 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 1: I'm reading these words that makes sense, and I'm speaking 321 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: words that have a symbol form on a paper, And 322 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,919 Speaker 1: I promise you I wasn't on LSD this morning, but 323 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: I just had one of those moments where it just 324 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: like totally amazed me that I was even able to read. 325 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: So the brain basically made you impressed with itself. Yes 326 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: it did. And while you mentioned ls do we I 327 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: guess we can say in passing apparently drugs do not 328 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: create holes in your brain. That is not true, um. 329 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: And there's a lot of uh back and forth over 330 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: how much damage drugs due to your brain at all, 331 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: how reparable that damage is. And there are studies going 332 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:51,960 Speaker 1: on on all all the all the time about long 333 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 1: term drug use and the results. One of them, interestingly 334 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:01,199 Speaker 1: found that they think that some long term use of 335 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: some drugs can cause structures in the brain to grow, 336 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: and that is why addicts may have a hard time 337 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,439 Speaker 1: kicking the habit, because they've grown a certain part of 338 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: their brain. I guess to Yeah, your limbic system is 339 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: strengthened through that. Very interesting and alcohol um does not 340 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 1: kill brain cells. It damages the dentrides that we've talked about, 341 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: and those are the ends of the neurons where the 342 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: connections are taking place. I guess right. So it makes 343 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: your neurons talk sideways to one another like the brain 344 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: cells are still there, but they just can't talk about yeah, 345 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:40,439 Speaker 1: pretty much. And there's something a neurological disorder called Wernikey 346 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 1: Corsicov syndrome, and that is uh can result in a 347 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,359 Speaker 1: loss of neurons in the brain. But that's basically what 348 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 1: I think of when I think someone has like pickled 349 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: themselves with alcohol. But that's kind of what's going on. 350 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:57,360 Speaker 1: It's actually not the alcohol that's killing brain cells. It's 351 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:03,040 Speaker 1: from it's from a uh A deficiency and thymine. That amazing. Yeah, 352 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,719 Speaker 1: So if if you have a thymine deficiency, you can 353 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,919 Speaker 1: get this war Nikki Corsicov syndrome and um, that's a 354 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: B vitamin. And if you are an alcoholic, you typically 355 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 1: aren't absorbing your your thymin like you would if you 356 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: weren't an alcoholic, which is why it's associated with alcoholism. 357 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: But it's not alcohol killing brain cells, right, And it's 358 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,120 Speaker 1: much easier for me just to say they've pickled themselves, 359 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: which is really sad. We're laughing, but it is. It 360 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: is super sad. Yes, it is. If you've ever met 361 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: anyone that was pickled, well, yeah, and here's a alcohol 362 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 1: Any addicts suffering as a result of their addiction is 363 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: extremely sad, it is. So that's all I got. How 364 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: many was that? Seven? Is eight or six and a 365 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: half something like that. Um, if you want to learn 366 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: the fate of the other remaining brain myths from this 367 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: top ten list. Type in brain myths in the search 368 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,880 Speaker 1: bart how stuff works dot com and it will bring 369 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: this article up. And actually we sort of have issue 370 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 1: with one of them we left off was the decapitation. 371 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: They said it was a myth. I guess I didn't 372 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: even read it, kind of but didn't we say it was? 373 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: They say, and they're like, yeah, it's gonna last for 374 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: a couple of seconds or whatever, like, which is what 375 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,919 Speaker 1: we said in the podcast. But for some reason they 376 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: made that seem like, but that's nothing right. But then 377 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: they said that it's an extremely painful way to die 378 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: because you are conscious. Afterwards, it was it was kind 379 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: of a cluster mixed messages. Yeah, all right, uh so 380 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: I said, such partians this time for a listener. Now, yes, 381 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this poop poopy time. We did our 382 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 1: our podcast on fecal transplants, and we've had all manner 383 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: of poopy emails coming in and I'm gonna share one 384 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,199 Speaker 1: from Jacob Carnes, U, Hi, Josh, Chuck and Jerry and 385 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: he spelled Jerry right. I just finished the Fecal Transplant 386 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: podcast and felt compelled to write in after you mentioned 387 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,159 Speaker 1: the Nora virus, which I was afflicted with about two 388 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 1: weeks ago. Didn't last long, just about twenty four hours, 389 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: but it hit instantly, like someone flipped the switch. I 390 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: will spare you the details, but it was nearly the 391 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: worst I've ever felt. The day after was nearly the 392 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: best I've ever felt, due to the euphoria of still 393 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:15,200 Speaker 1: being alive. But for the following week, my gut felt 394 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 1: like it just wasn't right. My hunch is that it 395 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: was really messed with the internal flora. He needs some 396 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: Kombucha's that. Oh it's this um. It's just like fermented 397 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:31,640 Speaker 1: basically like probiotic drink. Um. I guess it's Eastern. It's 398 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: really delicious. There's some very delicious kombucca drinks out there, 399 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,959 Speaker 1: and it's supposedly promotes um colonization in your gut. You're 400 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: drinking this stuff. I love it. Yeah, where you get it? 401 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: Whole Foods has his kind. It's called GTS and they 402 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 1: have a specific flavor called ginger a. That's just it's 403 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: so good. You have to check that out. Yeah all right. Uh. 404 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: He follows up to say, this is my favorite part. 405 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:57,480 Speaker 1: Like I said, I felt compelled to write after you 406 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: mentioned the Nora virus, but I felt obligated after you've 407 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: brought up the terror of your young selves experience when 408 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: you had the misfortune of using the bathroom after your 409 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:10,160 Speaker 1: father's remember that old man poop. When I was a child, 410 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: my father liked to enjoy a cigarette while doing his 411 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: business is very seventies, So when I heard the call 412 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:21,840 Speaker 1: uh shortly after him, I was subjected to the putrid 413 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:25,479 Speaker 1: number two smell mixed with the stale cigarette smoke, and 414 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:27,920 Speaker 1: to this day I have trouble separating the ladder from 415 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,360 Speaker 1: the former. As I grew up, the need to look 416 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 1: cool convinced me to try and take up the habit 417 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: of smoking to look cool on the toilet numerous times. Uh. 418 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: But my childhood association has at least helped me come 419 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: to my senses. So you never learned to smoke because 420 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: he associated with his dad's poop. That's good. Whatever works. 421 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: Thanks for another great podcast, guys, Jacob Carnes. Yeah, I 422 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: guess for all of you smoking out there, like take 423 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: it to the toilet. See what happens. I take a 424 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: big whiff of poop. Well, while you're smoking a cigarette 425 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: and they'll probably bring Q of your habit mixing, disgusted 426 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 1: with anything. Well, we'll break you have habits right, Um, 427 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 1: if you have a habit breaking tip, bad habit breaking tip, 428 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: we want to hear it because that's the demonstration of 429 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: brain plats. The city is you know Uh. You can 430 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: tweet to us at s y SK podcast. 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