1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey you wasn't it Stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: your Mind? My name is Robert Lamb. Hey, my name 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: is Julie Douglas. Julie, have you ever gone on a 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: silent retreat? Now? It's one of those things I really 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: really want to do and I really really don't want 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:25,759 Speaker 1: to do. They can explain what this is for people 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: who are who are unfamiliar with the term. Um. It's 9 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: usually you'll you'll find it kind of like a Buddhist 10 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: retreat in which you go and it's usually like a 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: woodsy environment and you and your other retreaters sit in 12 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: absolute silence, usually in meditation. But the point is is 13 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: whether or not you're eating, walking, meditating, silence prevails. Okay, 14 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: so it for like ten days, why not just go 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: by yourself on a trip somewhere and then you can 16 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: have as much silence as you want, because apparently the 17 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: deafening silence is so maddening that a lot of people 18 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: struggle with it the first couple of days, and that 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: even in that contained environment. So can you imagine just 20 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: trying to do this on your own and you're like, hey, 21 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: I'll just go to San Francisco and have my own 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: silent retreat. You're going to break out of that. You're 23 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: gonna belly up to the bar and be like, I can't, 24 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: I gotta talk to someone. So you need the communal 25 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: support to remain silent, to drown out the maddening thoughts. 26 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: You know, this reminds me of The Leftovers. I don't 27 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: know if you've been watching this or read the book 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: upon which was based, but there's not ready there's there's 29 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 1: a cult in the in the in the book, and 30 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: in the and in the TV show, and they remain silent. 31 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: They also wear white and they smoke all the time. 32 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,559 Speaker 1: I'm not finished with the first season, so I don't 33 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: know what their deal is yet completely, but but it's 34 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: but certainly it's something to keep in mind as we 35 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: go through this episode. That'd be something, you know, a 36 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: smoking Buddhist silent retreat. Yeah, I mean, certainly you have monasteries. 37 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: There's a long tradition of of nks taking a vow 38 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: of silence in the Western tradition, So so you have 39 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: the idea that there is something to be found, something 40 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: holy about silence, something therapeutic about silence. Is a is 41 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: a very old concept but also something very uncomfortable about silence. 42 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: And we all have had that before. We have experienced 43 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: that awkward moment and conversation. And apparently this is actually 44 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: like a thing that people have tried to fit into 45 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 1: a phenomenon, right, this idea that if you are in 46 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: a group, that a hush will fall over the room 47 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: after about twenty minutes or so, yeah, twenty minutes after 48 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: the hour. Even is is this specific version of this 49 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: which was news to me, the idea that you're hanging 50 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: out with a bunch of people, it's going to suddenly 51 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: be uh, you know, one twenty and everyone's going to 52 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: go silent. And there's some crazy ideas for why this 53 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: crazy thing could possibly be happening. And you know, this 54 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: interesting thing about that is I bet that everybody listening 55 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: has experienced that. You know, you've been in a group situation, 56 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: everybody's talking, chatting, and then then that hush falls over. 57 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: But you probably have never set yourself, ah, it's twenty 58 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: minutes after the hour. It must be because one of 59 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: two crazy superstitions. Yes, now that the first one is 60 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: the one that I'm I'm more into, And that's the 61 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: idea that. Okay, first of all, buy into the idea 62 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: that there are angels in the world, Okay, supernatural beings 63 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: that do God's will, or perhaps don't do God's will 64 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: because they fall from grace and live in hell. Now 65 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: it depends on which version of the story you go with, 66 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: but there are angels. Maybe we can't see them, maybe 67 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: we can. And they like to sing. And when they sing, 68 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: their otherworldly voices are so beautiful, even if we're only 69 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: hearing them with the with the the subconscious mind, it 70 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: just forces us to be silent. It just it just 71 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: chills us to silence. What I love about this is 72 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: that apparently they start their heavenly do wopping like twenty 73 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: minutes after the hour, and that's why we would instinctively 74 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: falls silence that we could hear. Are the clocks in 75 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: heaven like twenty men? It's slower than they're singing at 76 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: the top of the hour, or do they they They're 77 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: they're being patient, you know, waiting for us to be 78 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: quiet so they can sing, and then they give up 79 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: and they're like, all right, let's just start the show, right. 80 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: Is there a heavenly course of angels for each time zone? 81 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: How is this working. Yeah, and I never I don't 82 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: know when I think of the angels, I mean, when 83 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: do they have time to sing? They have a lot 84 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: of death instruction to lay out on mankind. It seems 85 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: like it's a pretty busy work schedule. Why are there 86 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: enough angels just to stand around in sting. I like 87 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: to imagine it's the cherubic um, like fat baby angels 88 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: that are doing this. Oh well, okay, I can imagine 89 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: that that the bones that are in stein Mart. You know, 90 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: they're like a wooden cut out with their hands underneath 91 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: their their chins because the original cherubs and uh and 92 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: when you really go back into the mythology, they're terrifying. 93 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: They're they're beastual human hybrids that that are there to 94 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: lay waste. So and but who's to say they don't 95 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: have a nice singing voice. I'm talking about the cute 96 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: version here. Now, another superstition here is that because Abraham 97 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: Lincoln was killed at seven twenty pm, that we again, 98 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: somehow instinctively will commemorate the death of Lincoln at twenty 99 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: past the hour, which this one has all sorts of 100 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: wholely logic in it. And if you if I had 101 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: not heard this yesterday. If I had not read about 102 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 1: this online yesterday, I would think you were making this 103 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: up right now, because this is even crazier to me 104 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: than the angel idea. Because for the angel idea to work, Okay, 105 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: I have to I have to accept that there are angels. 106 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 1: I have to buy into the supernatural and admit that 107 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 1: their supernatural beings out there that are singing and causing 108 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: people to go silent, and they're beying some sort of 109 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: crazy schedule. Okay, I can buy into that on some level. 110 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: I can buy into that. But to say that Abraham 111 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: Lincoln's death resonated so strongly in human culture that it 112 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: causes everyone to fall silent twenty minutes after the hour 113 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: every hour apparently, And and then you have to ask questions, well, 114 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: then does it is it only in the in the 115 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,919 Speaker 1: United States? What happens if you were pro slavery? You 116 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: know what happens if you're just you just don't have 117 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: a good understanding of history. Or is it something so 118 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: powerful that it moves forward and backward in time. Well, 119 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 1: that that was the thing I was going to say. 120 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: In a linear way like that also supposes that before 121 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: Lincoln died there was no group hush, right, Like there 122 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: was just a continuum of conversation and no one ever paused. 123 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: But we were coming up with a different theory here earlier, 124 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: and I guess you could call it the theory, yes, 125 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: because that's another twenty minute after um trope that comes up, right, 126 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: is the time to to consume cannabis? Right, And so 127 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: the idea there maybe is that after the consumption, it 128 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: takes about twenty minutes for the wall of stone ery 129 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: to set in, in which the group hush becomes apparent. 130 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: So people are actually lighting up at four as opposed 131 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: to four. They lit up at four, and at four 132 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: twenty is when the crushing silence of stonerism set in. Okay, 133 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: all right, I could see that that possibly being so 134 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: as you think it could be the cause of the phenomenon, 135 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: because another read would be that it stems from the phenomenon, 136 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: like suddenly everybody's quiet, and so out of that social 137 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: anxiety they light up. You know, these are just amusing, 138 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: These are mid morning musings over coffee. Probably the better 139 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 1: explanation is that it's just a natural arc to our narratives, 140 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: and maybe twenty minutes into a conversation we've kind of 141 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: plumb the depths of a joke or a topic. Um. 142 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: There is another explanation, however, that is called the protection postulate. Yeah, 143 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: and this one is pretty good. This one is significantly 144 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: less crazy though also, uh, you know, not completely proven out, 145 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: but this is the idea that you know, again, take 146 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: who're going to travel back in time to primordial age. 147 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: We're out there around the fire, around the fire, yeah, 148 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,679 Speaker 1: and we're talking about our day at work, killing animals 149 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: and foraging for food and uh, and then a hush 150 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: falls over us because we have to stop and listen 151 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: to for the the sound of approaching predators coming to 152 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: eat us at our fire, or the the or approaching 153 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: rival tribes people coming to slay us in the night. 154 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: You know what, I think there may be something to that. 155 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: I have to say. I think there's something to an 156 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: arc of a conversation. And I think there's something to 157 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: a group falling silent as a sort of instinctive measure 158 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: to gauge what's going on outside that environment, because because 159 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: you know, we've all had those conversations that are so good, 160 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: you're just completely wrapped up in it, and you're gonna 161 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: kind of reach the height where you have to fall 162 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: down again. You have to realize that I'm just I'm 163 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: standing here in the room and who's kind of awkward 164 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: actually because they don't really know this person and I 165 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: was just really drilling into them with my whole diet 166 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: tribe of about the Ring movies or something. Yeah, and 167 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: now they're crouched in a corner and the silence has 168 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: fallen over the room. I love that though. I love 169 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: when the silence falls and everybody's kind of like nervously 170 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: titters and there's that one person who's like, whoa ye, 171 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: gotten quiet, and then they call off the awkward silence. 172 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,440 Speaker 1: In any case, all the silence leaves us, uh with 173 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: something that feels, you know, very intimate, but sometimes very isolating. 174 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: It's like this bubble that surrounds us. And so we're 175 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: going to talk about this today, this idea that within 176 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: silence there's a merit to it and then there's also 177 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: kind of, um, a demerit I guess you could say 178 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: to it. Yeah. It kind of calls back to our 179 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: episode A Splendid Isolation that we did back in the day, 180 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: where we talked about how a little isolation is great, 181 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: a lot of isolation not so great, you can have 182 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: the same as the and we encounter a similar situation 183 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: with silence. So let's start off by discussing the merits 184 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: of silence, the benefits of silence, blissful silence. Well, and 185 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: we see this a lot in terms of education, people 186 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: exploring the idea of silence and reflection um as tools 187 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 1: in the classroom. And if you look at Helen E. 188 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: Lee's work, she's a research fellow in educational theory at 189 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: University of Stirling. She posits that classrooms silence really helps 190 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: college students to consider, retain, and reflect on her lectures. 191 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: And she actually brings an egg timer into the classroom 192 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: with her and sets it for three minute intervals twice 193 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: during the class. And I thought about that. I was like, 194 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: you know, that is actually, I think a very helpful 195 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: concept because anyone who's ever been in a lecture, any 196 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: sort of situation, well there's a ton of information coming 197 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: at them. You can't help your but you know, listen 198 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,560 Speaker 1: to your brain, try to react to that information, draw 199 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: conclusions and connections. But if you're just trying to keep 200 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: up with the material itself, it's hard to really let 201 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 1: all of that coalesce. And indeed, I mean just thinking 202 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: back to say, some of the World Science Festival panels 203 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,959 Speaker 1: that that we've attended. You know that you're you're being 204 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: hit with so many great concepts in different ways of 205 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: looking at history or the scientific world, and you just 206 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: need to stop and digest it. But instead you're moving on, 207 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: You're rolling under the next come and you just like, 208 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: I really hope that I got my notes down on 209 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: that one and I can check all this later. Yeah, 210 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: Philip our Golden, he's a researcher. He says, parents and 211 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 1: teachers tell kids a hundred times a day to pay attention, 212 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 1: but we never teach them how. And so what some 213 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: of these schools have been doing is they've been drawing 214 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: on the work of John cabot Zen, who is a 215 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: molecular biologist who pioneered the secular use of mindfulness at 216 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 1: the University of Massachusetts UH, initially to help medical patients 217 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: cope with chronic pain and anxiety and depression. So what 218 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: you see is his mindfulness work beginning to be used 219 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 1: in K through twelve schools here in the United States. 220 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: And the idea is that those kids have a little 221 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: bit of time um to focus on what they call 222 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: a design element, which is solitude and reflection. And even 223 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: my kid in kindergarten does this in her classroom. But 224 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: you'll see it at different levels as you go up 225 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: through the grades. The degree to which some of these 226 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 1: kids will actually engage in mindfulness. Now, it's worth noting 227 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: when we look at mindfulness and meditation some of the 228 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: core health benefits that have been proven out in studies 229 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: to the lowest blood pressure and it lessons agitation, which 230 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: which even though that those are concepts that definitely have 231 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: a role in the treatment of ailments, they also have 232 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: a key role in education and reaching students, particularly students 233 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: who may be themselves agitated. Yeah, and um, this is 234 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: we've kind of touched on this before, that students aren't 235 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: getting educated in how to live their lives per se. 236 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: That's largely left up to guardians and parents. Um, so 237 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: you can't really treat a kid's depression, but you can't 238 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: give them a couple of tools to work through that anxiety, 239 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,440 Speaker 1: say in school, and be able to focus themselves better 240 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: on schoolwork. There's something called the Mindful Life Projects, a 241 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,680 Speaker 1: nonprofit that's based out of Richmond, California, and it teaches 242 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: mindfulness in yoga and therapeutic art and hip hop performing 243 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: arts to elementary students in underserved schools and communities, and 244 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 1: all the schools have seen drops in detention and referrals. 245 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: But in one school, eighteen kids eighteen accounted for eighty 246 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 1: two per cent of the suspensions, and at the beginning 247 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: of their mindfulness training, those kids were suspended sixty two 248 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 1: times in the first trimester. Now after three trimesters of 249 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 1: this mindful practice, that rate had dropped to twenty. Which 250 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: think about these kids, Um, they obviously are acting out, 251 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 1: they're they're exhibiting certain behaviors because they are agitated, because 252 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: there are some root problems going on. To know that 253 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: exty two times down to twenty was the drop and 254 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: just having these moments of silence and reflection is really 255 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: powerful stuff. And that's just this really tiny corner of 256 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: this pocket of the educational world. Yeah, I mean, certainly 257 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: when you start thinking about I mean really all all 258 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: ages of children, but especially middle school, high school, there's 259 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: so much angst. You know, there's so much to to 260 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: distract yourself with in the in the even when you're 261 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: in the classroom. That being able to just stop everything 262 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: and still everything and then kind of teach in the aftermath, 263 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: in the wake of that silence, that that would be 264 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,280 Speaker 1: incredibly beneficial. Yeah, and we've talked about how behavior has 265 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: this kind of group contagion quality to it. So if 266 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 1: if that's the sort of thing that you're doing in 267 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: the classroom, that and everybody is stilling themselves, then you 268 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: began to see that positive ripple effect. Now here's another 269 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: study that that consent to the use of silence in 270 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: the classroom and fronment. And this just comes down to, uh, 271 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: not so much the noise inside the mind mind, but 272 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: the noise outside the head and even outside the school. UH. 273 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: Two thousand five study from the University of London aimed 274 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 1: to understand the psychological impact that noise might have, and 275 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: in this experiment, researcher studied children in eighty nine schools. Now, 276 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: some of these schools were located next to airports, while 277 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: others were not. Chill. They found that children exposed to 278 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: high levels of aircraft noise had much poorer reading skills 279 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: than children in quieter neighborhoods. UH and the researchers use 280 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: the term cognitive fatigue to describe why reading skills might 281 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: suffer in children living in noisy environments. So in these conditions, 282 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: their long term memory is interrupted and they simply stopped 283 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: paying attention. So we see the importance again not only 284 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: the of some inner silence, some inner peace, so you 285 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: can actually digest the information coming at you can actually 286 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: shut out some of the angst and take it in. 287 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: But also, you know, we're we're organisms that exists in 288 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: a world of sensory bombardment. And if you can cut 289 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: out some of that bombardment, if you can cut out 290 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: some of the environmental noise coming at you from trains 291 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: and planes and whatever, then then that can have an effect. 292 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: You can take just a little bit off of the 293 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: cognitive load so that you can handle some more of 294 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: the concepts. And that's kind of interesting because you can 295 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 1: then apply that to what Felicity Miller, who is a 296 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: senior lecturer in Science, Communication and Imperial College, says when 297 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: it comes to people in the sciences and their intellectual progress, 298 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: Because what she's saying is that there is a big 299 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: initiative to enforce interaction. Yes, and we've talked about this too, 300 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: and open office spaces trend all over really yeah, and 301 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: you're just gonna spark and you're just gonna collaborate all 302 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: the time, and the genius will arrive. It comes from 303 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: a good place because we thought we've also talked about 304 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: the importance of interaction, the importance of collaboration. How the 305 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: coffee houses of old were, you know, a place that 306 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: sparked innovation because for drinking coffee and sharing ideas together. 307 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 1: But you can't take that to the extreme and say, 308 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,399 Speaker 1: all right, we're gonna do that everywhere. Every office is 309 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: going to be a coffee house of ideas, every classroom, 310 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,200 Speaker 1: every laboratory. You know, you just can't it. One size 311 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: is not fit all. Yeah, And that's what Mailer is saying, 312 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 1: especially in the academic setting. And she says, hey, you 313 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: have to have some sort of silence and solitude to 314 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: really make all of those ideas coalesced into something meaningful. 315 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,719 Speaker 1: And to make her point, she says, hey, look at 316 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: Sir Isaac Newton. She said that he was a proponent 317 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: of isolated working, shutting himself away in his rooms, publishing reluctantly, 318 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: and restricting his audience to only those he thought capable 319 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: of appreciating his work. You know, he also had cat 320 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: doors so the cats could come in and out without 321 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: this disrupting him will flaps another reason why he was 322 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: a genius. And uh. She says that you know, if 323 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,120 Speaker 1: you look at physicists today, they don't quite have that 324 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: level of solid two in silence, and that they do 325 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: best by striking a balance between silence and communication. And 326 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: she gives a couple of other examples. Wrener Heisenberg, she says, 327 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: retreated to the island of legal Land to escape hay 328 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: fever and the constant chatter of his colleague and mentor, 329 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: Neils Boor, who knew that that the quantum theorist with 330 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,680 Speaker 1: such chatter box. And she's not to be confused with 331 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,119 Speaker 1: Lego Land, of course, the horrible place to go and 332 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: try and work. Yes, Heligo Land isn't not Lego Land. Um. 333 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: She says that it was here that Heisenberg was able 334 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: to reflect on these discussions that he had with bar 335 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:40,119 Speaker 1: and laid down the basic foundation of quantum mechanics. And 336 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 1: another great example, Peter Higgs has claimed that he would 337 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 1: not have been able to complete his Noble prize winning 338 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: work in this current research environment. Uh. You know, he 339 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:53,399 Speaker 1: insists that the peace and quiet that he had in 340 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: the sixties, Uh, in order to to actually tackle his 341 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:00,479 Speaker 1: work he just would not be able to have today. 342 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: So that's interesting to think of as well. And so 343 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: the idea is that if all we're doing is engaging 344 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: and engaging and engaging, which is really easy for us 345 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: to do in this day and age, particularly with social media, um, 346 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: then we're missing a key part of reflecting on our 347 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: experiences and then the formation of new ideas with those 348 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,679 Speaker 1: novel associations. That we have to have that silence in 349 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,360 Speaker 1: that time. And you could argue that, hey, you can, 350 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: My brain doesn't when I sleep. Yeah, but as we 351 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: have talked about before, we're like probably less efficient at 352 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: sleep now in this day and age and we ever 353 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,719 Speaker 1: have been before. Yeah. Yeah, if you're falling back on 354 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:40,440 Speaker 1: sleep alone for your information processing, then you're really welking 355 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: a fine line. You're gonna fall. All right, we're back. 356 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: We're talking about silence and the role of silence blaze 357 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: in our lives in our world. So far, we've talked 358 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,399 Speaker 1: about the importance of silence when it comes to u 359 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: quieting inner turmoil, quieting outer turmoil, its effects on our 360 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: ability to learn in school, our ability to get things 361 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: done at work, to tackle new concepts, and turn them 362 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: around and and ultimately work on an inventive new concepts. 363 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: But there's a different kind of silence that people experience, 364 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,359 Speaker 1: and and it's more in a social situation, but it 365 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: can actually color um our experiences and cultural experiences. In fact, 366 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: it can color history. And what I'm talking about is 367 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: the spiral of silence. This is an interesting theory that 368 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: comes to us from German political science. Elizabeth Noel Newman 369 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: UH developus in nineteen seventy four, and basically the idea 370 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: here is that people have the tendency to remain silent 371 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: when they feel that their views are in opposition to 372 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,679 Speaker 1: the majority of view on a subject. And it's very interesting, 373 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: of course that this comes out of Germany in nineteen 374 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: seventy four, you know, definitely coming in in the wake 375 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: of the Second World War, in the wake of the 376 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,439 Speaker 1: rise and fall of the Nazis, in the wake of 377 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: the Holocaust, where you have you know, individuals inside and 378 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: outside of of of the German people asking the question, know, 379 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: how how could this have happened? How does how does 380 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:20,360 Speaker 1: this extreme UH take on global affairs, and how does 381 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: this become the norm? How does all of this rise 382 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: to power? Right and and so this is in a 383 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: way an attempt to look at that, you know, just 384 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: to to say, well, you know, why why didn't people 385 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: speak out when when there were these extreme opinions in 386 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: their midst Why did they remain silent instead of saying, 387 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,959 Speaker 1: you know, that's actually a really dangerous idea. Yeah, and 388 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,480 Speaker 1: the the the extreme actions that in sued in This 389 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: is what Newman was predicating her model on. And the 390 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,399 Speaker 1: model is based on three premises. One that people have 391 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: a quasi statistical organ a kind of sixth cents or 392 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 1: the ability, I could say, the ability to read the 393 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: room to figure out what the prevailing in public opinion is. 394 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: Two that people have a fear of isolation and they 395 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: know what behaviors will increase their likelihood of being socially isolated. 396 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: And three, people are reticent to express their minority views 397 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 1: because of that fear of isolation. And she says that 398 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: the spiral is created or reinforced when someone in the 399 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 1: perceived opinion majority speaks out really confidently in support of 400 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 1: the majority opinion, and then of course those in the 401 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: minority kind of recede to the shadows. What I love 402 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: about this the theory is that we can pretty much 403 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: everybody can plug their own experiences into this, unless you're 404 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: one of those individuals that I can scarcely imagine who 405 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: is always in the majority. Uh you know who is 406 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 1: who's who has never had an opinion that differs from 407 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,200 Speaker 1: those around you. Um, for instance, you're you're hanging around 408 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: some people you don't really know, and uh, they're talking 409 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,719 Speaker 1: about a movie that you really like, except they hate it. 410 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: You may not feel comfortable saying, hey, actually I really 411 00:22:57,800 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: like that movie because of X, Y and Z, because 412 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: as you are, you're already uh um outnumbered by those 413 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: who dislike it. Yeah, And I'm sure everybody has been 414 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,640 Speaker 1: in a social situation situation before in which your minority 415 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,919 Speaker 1: view is how old and you don't necessarily want to 416 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,160 Speaker 1: speak out to the majority, even if you feel like 417 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: what the those opinions that they're expressing are terrible, you know, 418 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: because again there is this idea that the majority is there. 419 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,919 Speaker 1: You might be socially ostracized and you see this like 420 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: from say, you know, just your cultural taste to something 421 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: as terrible as the Holocaust. As Newman was trying to 422 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,640 Speaker 1: figure out, like how do these what sort of models 423 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: in place here to to keep people under wraps. And 424 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 1: so I think that's why this idea or theory is 425 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 1: so powerful, because it sure does show how people tend 426 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: to express themselves or not express themselves. And one of 427 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: the perceived weaknesses of this theory is that you have 428 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: minority views that are expressed like super exceedingly expressed by 429 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 1: some members of the group, which I guess you could 430 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 1: say would then become known to the group and then 431 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: that minority view would be expressed and cancel out this 432 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,120 Speaker 1: idea of the spiral of silence. So that's that's one 433 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: idea here that kind of goes against the model. Another 434 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: idea is that the Internet, the Great Internet, is leveling 435 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: the playing field. There's all these different pockets of um 436 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: opinions out there, and therefore they should all be expressed equally, right, 437 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: But no, that is not the case. So that is 438 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 1: sort of an outmoded idea of one of the criticisms 439 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: leveled at the spiral of silence, because it turns out 440 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 1: that the Internet is actually, at least in one study, 441 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,679 Speaker 1: mimicking the model for the spiral of silence. You know, 442 00:24:57,800 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: before we get into that, I also have to add 443 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,679 Speaker 1: it in my own experience when I find myself in 444 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:04,959 Speaker 1: a group that's you know, among people that are not 445 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:10,400 Speaker 1: my group. You know, Um, I'm often don't engage with them, 446 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,360 Speaker 1: like first, I feel like some other reasons as well, 447 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,399 Speaker 1: like and a lot of it comes down to, you know, 448 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,640 Speaker 1: me versus other. So it's like, I know that that 449 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,879 Speaker 1: you guys have a different opinion on things than me, 450 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: and I am not going to try and convince you 451 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: because you are the other and why would I. You know, 452 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 1: I know that I cannot convince you, and I don't 453 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: want to convince you because you're basically a different species 454 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,919 Speaker 1: than me. You know. It's kind of it's like if 455 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: I hear some people talking about how great football is. 456 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 1: I don't particularly like football, but why am I going 457 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: to even chime in on that conversation? What's what's my 458 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: possible agenda and contributing and creating some sort of artificial 459 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: argument over that. This is why common ground is so 460 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: incredibly important, this ability for for each of us to 461 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: find that common ground. So you like wrestling, Yeah, And 462 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: this is another example, like that's something that I often 463 00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 1: don't bring up. I generally don't think it up because 464 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,640 Speaker 1: we are going to look down on me and it's 465 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,120 Speaker 1: a it's a it's a long uh. I have a 466 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: hard time understanding myself why I like it so well, 467 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: But I guess my point is is that I think 468 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: in these conversations and the coming common ground, there there's 469 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: some crossover, and so there's these opportunities for humans to 470 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: understand one another, which is largely what we try to do, 471 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,119 Speaker 1: is to find that common ground. But when we don't, again, 472 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,440 Speaker 1: it's this idea that we're going to be socially ostracized. 473 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,359 Speaker 1: And a lot of us don't think much about that. Okay, 474 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: whatever many socially ostracized, but really think about I mean, 475 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: the ability of the human species to have existed for 476 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: as long as it has has largely been because of cooperation, 477 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:43,919 Speaker 1: all right. In cooperation means finding that common ground, but 478 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 1: also gauging what the group thinks and choosing your battles, 479 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,520 Speaker 1: you know, and and sometimes sometimes it is just a 480 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: matter of choosing your battles and saying, why would I 481 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: possibly bring up something at the dinner table that I'm 482 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: going to fight with my in laws about, you know 483 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 1: why that that would be silly? But then also they're 484 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: getting examples. Why would I bring it up if it 485 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: could get me ostracized or killed, you know, and certainly 486 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: there have been countless examples of that throughout history, when 487 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 1: someone has a differing religious opinion, differing sexual orientation or 488 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,880 Speaker 1: gender orientation, etcetera. And that's currently at work in our 489 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,440 Speaker 1: modern world as well. Right, that's not just the stuff 490 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: of days gone by. All Right, Let's look at this 491 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: Pew Research Center study. They wanted to see how hot 492 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,399 Speaker 1: button topics were being expressed on the Internet, specifically in 493 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,000 Speaker 1: social media. So they selected the topic of Edward Snowden 494 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 1: revealing mass surveillance by the n s A to look 495 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: at how opinions are being parsed. And the reports author said, quote, 496 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: we selected the issue because other surveys at the same 497 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,880 Speaker 1: time we're fielding this poll that we're fielding. This poll 498 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: showed that Americans were divided over whether the n s 499 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: A contractors leaks about surveillance were justified and whether the 500 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: surveillance policy itself was a good or bad idea. And 501 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: so the Pew Research Foundation found that one sort of 502 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 1: a percent of people said that the release of classified 503 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 1: information harmed public interests, by said it served public interests. 504 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,399 Speaker 1: So you have a topic basically here that everybody has 505 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 1: an opinion on So the Research Center's Internet Project found 506 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: that not only were the one thousand, eight hundred one 507 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 1: respondent's less willing to discuss the Snowden n s a 508 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,920 Speaker 1: story in social media than they were in person, face 509 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,679 Speaker 1: to face, but they also determined that average Facebook or 510 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:37,160 Speaker 1: Twitter users were especially less likely to voice their concerns 511 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: during real life interactions if they felt that their friends 512 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: or their followers would not support their viewpoint. So, again, 513 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: this is just one study and it's relatively small, it's 514 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 1: one topic. It would be really interesting to see this 515 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: in other areas like gun control or abortion or and 516 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 1: many other topics that are lightning around topics um. But 517 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: you do, at least in this instance, see that model 518 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: at play where people do not want to be socially 519 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: ostracized even though they have an opinion on this. Yeah, 520 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: and then the media plays a huge ro on it. 521 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: There was another Pew study that looked at Gulf War 522 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,960 Speaker 1: and US support for that war, and they found that 523 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: those who watched television and perceived that the public supported 524 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: the war were more likely to support the war thenselves, um, 525 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: which which again plays into this idea that that if 526 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: you know even if we don't agree with something ourselves, 527 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 1: if we feel like the majority is directed that way, 528 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: then that cons the way our opinion as well. Now Snowdon, 529 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: I mean the thing about snow Snowdon, though, is that 530 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: I feel like it at the heart of that, you 531 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: do have a a difficult figure to get behind, you know, 532 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 1: and you have these you have these different polls, like 533 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,480 Speaker 1: this whole topic is is is is made more complicated 534 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 1: to just because you have such a such a polarizing 535 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: figure at the center of it. I mean, you have 536 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 1: the personality of the individual thrown in there, you have 537 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:06,719 Speaker 1: elements of of alleged treason, you have you have you 538 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,360 Speaker 1: have you know, criticisms of how he handled it, and 539 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 1: then but then you still have lots of damning evidence 540 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: about the use of domestic surveillance and another repelations. Yes, 541 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: Snowdon is a polarizing figure. And I'm not going to 542 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 1: say like Snowdon and Julian Massage or apples apples because 543 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:26,720 Speaker 1: they are not. But here you have another person who is, 544 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: you know, essentially leaking secrets of governments, who is a 545 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:36,400 Speaker 1: very enigmatic character and not polarizing, but polarizing in a 546 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: more of like a hero anti hero way as opposed 547 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: to Snowdon is more a little bit like people aren't 548 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: quite sure I think about his character, and so, um, 549 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: I think maybe you bring that up because that could 550 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: certainly color the results of how or why people want 551 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,120 Speaker 1: to express themselves about the topic. Right, Yeah, and in 552 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,959 Speaker 1: the labels we end up putting on those individuals. I mean, 553 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: we could go on and on just player comparing those 554 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: two figures that are both problematic in their own right. 555 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: But but what to do with all of this information? Well, 556 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: I think it's just to consider again the nature of 557 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: silence and what it's doing for us as human beings. 558 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: And um, I think that Susan Santag has a great 559 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 1: thought about it. Um. This is from her nineteen sixty 560 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 1: nine essay The Aesthetics of Silence. She's rights, silence remains 561 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:35,719 Speaker 1: inescapably a form of speech. So it's sort of one 562 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 1: of those things that, yeah, sometimes we feel like and 563 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: not expressing our opinion that we're removing ourselves from the situation. However, 564 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 1: it just means that we're allowing one voice to dampen another. 565 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: And as Newman tried to explore the ways in which 566 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,960 Speaker 1: actions spiral out of the spiral of silence. Indeed, and 567 00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:59,719 Speaker 1: you know, I wanna advise everyone day to keep this 568 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: thick in mind when you listen in to our next 569 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 1: um episode of Stuff to Build Your Mind, which we'll 570 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: get into the area of Nasty Stereo, where again we're 571 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,800 Speaker 1: dealing with how we behave within a community, how we 572 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 1: think within a community, and uh, it's like all things human, 573 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 1: it gets so so complex and strange. Indeed it does, 574 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 1: especially with yes, yeah, all right. You can find us 575 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: in a bunch of places, mainly Stuff to Blow your 576 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: Mind dot com. That's right, that's the mother ship. That's 577 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 1: where you will find every podcast episode. Occasionally we get 578 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,360 Speaker 1: an email or a Facebook message where someone says, hey, 579 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,719 Speaker 1: I was looking for this episode or uh, you know, 580 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 1: and it doesn't seem to be on iTunes. Well, all 581 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,840 Speaker 1: the episodes are at the website. So if you've ever 582 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: heard us mentioned of an old an old episode you're 583 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: just curious what we've covered over the years, that's where 584 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 1: you will find all of them. And you also find videos, 585 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 1: you'll find blog posts, and you'll find links out to 586 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 1: our various social media accounts. And if you have some 587 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,400 Speaker 1: thoughts about a spiral of silence or even the arrats 588 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,000 Speaker 1: of silence. You can send those thoughts via email to 589 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: blow the mind at how stuff works dot com. For 590 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,920 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics, visit how 591 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:17,720 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com.