WEBVTT - S03 Episode 10 Extra: This Message Will Self Construct

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<v Speaker 1>There's nothing better than feeling comfortable in your own shoes,

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<v Speaker 1>and that doesn't mean flopping down on the couch with

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<v Speaker 1>bunny slippers. Maybe you're a parent raising a little rock star,

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<v Speaker 1>or a tech nomad working from anywhere and jumping from

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<v Speaker 1>one thing to the next. Whoever you are, all Birds

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<v Speaker 1>wants you to be comfortable in your actual shoes too.

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<v Speaker 1>They're wool runners, pipers, and loungers are designed for a

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<v Speaker 1>level of coziness that makes you feel like you can

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<v Speaker 1>do anything. You might even forget you're wearing them, and

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<v Speaker 1>their shoes are so stylish they go perfectly without wear

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<v Speaker 1>in your shoes. Get to know the wool runners, pipers

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<v Speaker 1>and loungers at Alberts dot com. That's alll bi rds

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClain smith.

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<v Speaker 1>For the weeks in between episodes, we look at the

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<v Speaker 1>stories that, for one reason or other, didn't make it

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<v Speaker 1>into the show. In last week's episode, Here Is Always

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<v Speaker 1>Somewhere Else, we looked at the beguiling story of Shanty Devi,

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<v Speaker 1>a young girl from Delhi, India, who believed she had

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<v Speaker 1>once lived another life. Devi's claim was considered so convincing

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<v Speaker 1>it was investigated by a number of journalists and dignitaries,

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<v Speaker 1>many of whom were left in no doubt that it

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<v Speaker 1>was true. When researching his first book in the early

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixties, psychiatrist doctor Ian Stephenson, who dedicated much of

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<v Speaker 1>his life's work to investigating the possibility of re incarnation,

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<v Speaker 1>traveled to India for part of his study. In just

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<v Speaker 1>four weeks, he was said to have found twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>individuals with compelling claims of a past life. Critics of

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<v Speaker 1>the book argued that such an overabundance of Indian based

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<v Speaker 1>stories revealed the folly of his work. That so many

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<v Speaker 1>people would claim to be reincarnated, they argued, was evidence

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<v Speaker 1>of a clear cultural bias that readily accepted the apparent

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<v Speaker 1>phenomena as fact, Stevenson argued in response, it was precisely

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<v Speaker 1>because it was more widely accepted that possible incidences of

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<v Speaker 1>reincarnation were recorded, when those from other cultures would instead

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<v Speaker 1>dismiss the evidence as merely a coincidence or the result

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<v Speaker 1>of a subconscious absorption of information. Regardless of what you believe,

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<v Speaker 1>there is no doubt something fascinating at play at the

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<v Speaker 1>heart of all carnation stories, which is the notion of

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<v Speaker 1>what it is exactly that is apparently being reincarnated. For some,

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that Shanti Devi had once lived as a

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<v Speaker 1>young woman named Lugdi Bai has us trying to imagine

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<v Speaker 1>the experience for ourselves, dying one day only to re

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<v Speaker 1>emerge in the mind of a young child the next.

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<v Speaker 1>For those more familiar with the Hindu and Buddhist concept

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<v Speaker 1>of reincarnation, however, the process is not apparently that lugdu

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<v Speaker 1>Bai was reborn, but rather that a central, nameless essence,

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<v Speaker 1>once contained in the body of lug Du Bai but

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<v Speaker 1>very much distinct from what we might ordinarily consider to

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<v Speaker 1>be her, later re emerged in the body of Shanti Devi.

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<v Speaker 1>Either way, it is almost impossible to conceive of such

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<v Speaker 1>a thing without thinking of it in terms of the self.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of us, regardless if we believe in a soul

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<v Speaker 1>or not, will tend to uphold the importance of the self,

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<v Speaker 1>that thing which we feel makes us who we are,

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<v Speaker 1>individual and distinct from others. It might be surprising, therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>to learn that, despite how firm your sense of self

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<v Speaker 1>might be, that seemingly solid idea of you could well

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<v Speaker 1>be nothing but a useful fallacy. Are you always taking

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<v Speaker 1>care of your family? Do you often take care of

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<v Speaker 1>others and not yourself? Now it's time to take care

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<v Speaker 1>of yourself, to make time for you you deserve it.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell adoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to

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<v Speaker 1>help you get back to feeling your best to feeling

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<v Speaker 1>like yourself again. With telladoc, you can speak to a

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<v Speaker 1>licensed therapist by phone or video. Therapy appointments are available

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<v Speaker 1>seven days a week from seven a m. Nine pm

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<v Speaker 1>local time. If you feel overwhelmed sometimes, maybe you feel

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<v Speaker 1>stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely, or you might be

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<v Speaker 1>struggling with a personal or family issue, teledoc can help.

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<v Speaker 1>Teledoc is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they

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<v Speaker 1>podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com slash

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<v Speaker 1>Unexplained podcast. On thirteenth September eighteen forty eight, construction workers

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<v Speaker 1>just south of the town of Cavendish in Vermont, USA.

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<v Speaker 1>We're busy blasting through rock to make way for a

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<v Speaker 1>new railroad. It had just gone four thirty pm when

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five year old foreman Phineas Gage began preparing for

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<v Speaker 1>the next blast. It was a fairly rudimentary but highly

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous procedure that involved first boring a deep and narrow

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<v Speaker 1>hole into the rock before filling it part way with

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<v Speaker 1>explosive powder. The mix would then be topped off with

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<v Speaker 1>sand and all compacted down with a three and a

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<v Speaker 1>half foot long iron rod. Gage was just packing the

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<v Speaker 1>explosives when, having been distracted by a coworker, he accidentally

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<v Speaker 1>scraped the rock as he brought the iron rod down

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<v Speaker 1>onto the powder. In an instant, sparks flying off the

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<v Speaker 1>rod ignited the powder and caused a catastrophic explosion. The rod,

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<v Speaker 1>one and a quarter inches in diameter, was rocketed into

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<v Speaker 1>the air straight into Phineas's face, penetrating just under the

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<v Speaker 1>cheek bone. It dismantled the left eye socket before shooting

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<v Speaker 1>through the left side of his brain and out through

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<v Speaker 1>the top of his head. Gage, in turn, was thrown

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<v Speaker 1>to the floor, where he lay on his back convulsive,

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<v Speaker 1>his left eye bulging out of its socket as the

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<v Speaker 1>blood poured freely from the giant, gaping hole in his head.

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<v Speaker 1>His co workers rushed to help, but naturally feared the worst,

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<v Speaker 1>so it was with great surprise when moments later Gage

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<v Speaker 1>began to talk. Realizing he was still alive, the men

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<v Speaker 1>dragged him to the nearest ox cart, sat him on

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<v Speaker 1>his back, and had him taken to Cavendish Town, three

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<v Speaker 1>quarters of a mile away. When they arrived at the

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<v Speaker 1>town's hotel, Phineas walked out of the cart himself and

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<v Speaker 1>was even able to walk up the stairs to a

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<v Speaker 1>nursing room, where he waited patiently for the arrival of

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor. When physician Edward Williams arrived twenty minutes later,

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<v Speaker 1>he was shocked and horrified by what he found. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>most surprising, however, was that not only did Phineas recognize him,

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<v Speaker 1>but that he seemed completely self aware, uttering the famously

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<v Speaker 1>understated line, doctor, here is business enough for you. As

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<v Speaker 1>Gage recounted the details of the accident, Williams watched incredulous

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<v Speaker 1>as what was left of his brain pulsated from within

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<v Speaker 1>his skull. Moments later, Gage got up to vomit, causing

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<v Speaker 1>half a tea cupful of his brain to fall on

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<v Speaker 1>to the floor. Soon after, they were joined by doctor

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<v Speaker 1>John Harlowe, who, together with Williams, worked fast to clear

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<v Speaker 1>the extensive wound, pulling large fragments of bone and brain

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<v Speaker 1>from out of Gage's skull. After only staunching the flow

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<v Speaker 1>of blood, Harlowe made a final examination for more bone,

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<v Speaker 1>finding that he was able to place the entirety of

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<v Speaker 1>his index finger through the three and a half inch

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<v Speaker 1>hole without meeting any resistance. The next few weeks proved

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<v Speaker 1>to be a fraught period of convalescence, as the wound

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<v Speaker 1>became infected and Gage drifted in and out of delirium

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<v Speaker 1>and consciousness, but by the twentieth of October, with the

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<v Speaker 1>infection having cleared up, Gage was able to get himself

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<v Speaker 1>in and out of bed. Within weeks, he was taking

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<v Speaker 1>walks into town, and on November twenty fifth, only ten

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<v Speaker 1>weeks after the accident, he was permitted to return to

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<v Speaker 1>his parents' home in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Incredibly, despite losing

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<v Speaker 1>a significant part of his left frontal lobe, Gage's memory

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<v Speaker 1>seemed completely unaffected by the injury, and by eighteen fifty,

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<v Speaker 1>according to Henry Biggelow, professor of surgery at Harvard University,

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<v Speaker 1>he appeared to be quite recovered in faculties of body

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<v Speaker 1>and mind. According to Phineas's friends, however, something fundamental had

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<v Speaker 1>been lost. Though there has been much speculation as to

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<v Speaker 1>how exactly the injury affected Gage. According to Bigelow, it

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<v Speaker 1>had turned the apparently wants composed and benevolent man into

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<v Speaker 1>something far more fitful and irreverent, who was now prone

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<v Speaker 1>to indulging in the grossest profanity. Friends apparently found him

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<v Speaker 1>so radically changed that they no longer considered him to

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<v Speaker 1>be Phineas Gage. We can only speculate as to how

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<v Speaker 1>much Gage himself thought he had changed from the man

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<v Speaker 1>he was prior to the accident, or if he was

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<v Speaker 1>even aware of having changed. At all. But certainly, if

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<v Speaker 1>we were to swap the fundamental characteristics we hold most

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<v Speaker 1>true to ourselves with completely opposite characteristics, there are few

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<v Speaker 1>who wouldn't consider their sense of self to be radically changed.

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<v Speaker 1>Such an analysis, however, might say far more about what

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<v Speaker 1>we believe personal identity to be than it does about

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<v Speaker 1>the truth of who any of us actually are. According

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<v Speaker 1>to philosopher Daniel Dennett, the fact we have any sense

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<v Speaker 1>of self at all is merely a useful fiction, a

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<v Speaker 1>notion best understood by considering the self a center of

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<v Speaker 1>narrative gravity, just as an object's center of gravity might

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<v Speaker 1>be thought of as a physical property, It is nonetheless

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<v Speaker 1>an abstraction. Though we might be able to calculate its location,

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<v Speaker 1>there is no tangible reality to it at all. As such,

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<v Speaker 1>we find in a similar way, the self is not

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<v Speaker 1>a solid single thing, but rather a number of separate

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<v Speaker 1>neurological functions that the brain attempts to order around what

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<v Speaker 1>is effectively an illusory narrative center. That many of these

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<v Speaker 1>functions are enacted before we have even become aware of

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<v Speaker 1>them confirms this process as something that is completely beyond

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<v Speaker 1>our control. As the psychologist Susan Blackmore notes, any subsequent

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<v Speaker 1>notion of self arises only when we look for it,

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<v Speaker 1>driven by the arbitrary conviction that we should reduce our

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<v Speaker 1>various experiences into a singular entity, and the illusion of

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<v Speaker 1>continuity created by the linear sequencing of memory memories, which

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<v Speaker 1>incidentally are likely to be only a loose rendering of

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<v Speaker 1>the complete truth of what it is that you think

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<v Speaker 1>you are remembering. As Dennett also notes, in theory and

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<v Speaker 1>possibly in practice if we consider, for example, the legitimacy

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<v Speaker 1>of multi personality disorders, such a notion suggests there is

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<v Speaker 1>no reason why our sense of self couldn't be multiple selves,

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<v Speaker 1>or even divided into fractions of selves to be shared

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<v Speaker 1>out with others. Nor would there be anything to prohibit

0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:35.160
<v Speaker 1>two or even infinite, seemingly separate selves converging into one

0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:40.360
<v Speaker 1>singular identity. And if you find all of that a

0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:43.839
<v Speaker 1>little disconcerting, you might at least take comfort in the

0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.600
<v Speaker 1>notion that if there really is no fixed you, then

0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:51.760
<v Speaker 1>every passing moment is but another blank canvas on which

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<v Speaker 1>to imagine who it is you are going to be next.

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<v Speaker 1>If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and would like to

0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.560
<v Speaker 1>help support us, you can now go to Unexplained Podcast

0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:11.560
<v Speaker 1>dot com. Forward Slash support. All donations, no matter how

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<v Speaker 1>large or small, are massively appreciate. All elements of Unexplained

0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.960
<v Speaker 1>are produced by me, Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and

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<v Speaker 1>rate the show on night Tunes. Feel free to get

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories

0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.760
<v Speaker 1>you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation

0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:33.160
<v Speaker 1>of your own you'd like to share. You can reach

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<v Speaker 1>us online at Unexplained podcast dot com or on Twitter

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<v Speaker 1>at Unexplained pod Now. It's time to take care of yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>To make time for you, Tell a doc gives you

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<v Speaker 1>access to a licensed therapist to help you get back

0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.760
<v Speaker 1>to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by

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<v Speaker 1>phone or video any time between seven am to nine

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<v Speaker 1>pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is

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<v Speaker 1>available through most insurance or employers. Download the app or

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<v Speaker 1>visit teledoc dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast Today to

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<v Speaker 1>get started. That's t e ladoc dot com Slash Unexplained

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast