1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglass. Julie, 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 1: what do you think when you hear novelty junkie? Like, 5 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: what does that entail? What's the division? Um? I think 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: about the dude who who came up with like this 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: squirrel jumping wingsuit and jumps regularly off cliffs. We'll see. 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: Now that's that's pretty cool. Like that's somebody that's like 9 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: in the novelty and they're out there and doing it right. Yeah, 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: they're getting done. Like the vision of novelty junkie, it 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: comes to me is actually, Um, there's a Portlandia sketch 12 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: the other day about where the the wife is going 13 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: to some sort of meeting in the evening and so 14 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: she has to get a babysitter for the husband so 15 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: that he doesn't sit around and watch random YouTube videos 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: all night, drink beer and then fall asleep in his 17 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: clothes with all the lights in the house on. Because 18 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: that's I mean the like things like YouTube, things like Wikipedia, 19 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: they allow one to really flex the novelty seeking muscle 20 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: in the brain to where it's like, you know, random 21 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: duck driving a car watching it, vomiting, competition waking. I 22 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: don't know, we just did a competitive eating related podcasts 23 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: like a vomiting on the brain. But you know it's 24 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: like one of both of these are examples if you 25 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: can just go from one subject in another, from one diverse, 26 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: tid dead or random weirdness to another without ever really 27 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 1: absorbing much of anything, sort of like an A D 28 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: D state, Right, Yeah, But I guess that is the 29 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: downside of it, right, because then a culture that we 30 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,559 Speaker 1: have right now, you know, um, we apparently consume about 31 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand words each day from various media, which, 32 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: according to Winnifred Gallagher and No Journalists says, that is 33 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: a walpping three increase measured invites over what we handled 34 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: back in nineteen Yeah, because I mean thinking back, like 35 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: even thinking back then when I was, when I was 36 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: a kid, Like if you wanted to learn new stuff, 37 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: like you're just sort of picking up new information or 38 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: fulfilling that novelty portion of your brain, Like you had 39 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: to go to library and you look around, you had 40 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: to look through your dad's, your your mom's books, and 41 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: you know old books and or encyclopedia. Like the encyclopedia 42 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: itself was always a great novelty seeking tool, but the 43 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: Internet really opens it up. You're just to keep a 44 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: few key strokes away from just an abyss of sometimes useless, 45 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: often useless information. Yeah, And I mean that's the thing 46 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: about neophilia or or seeking novelty really is that it 47 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: spurs us to try to explore and find new things, 48 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: which is really cool, but it can also feed into 49 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: ours restlessness or distraction. And by the way, did you 50 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: know that the word boring didn't even enter the dictionary 51 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: I think into like the nineteen hundreds, like it. That's 52 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: kind of fascinating, you mean, so it's like a twentieth 53 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: century luxury being able to board with anything right, right, 54 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,119 Speaker 1: because you know, otherwise there's there's work to do, there's 55 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: stuff to do, like what are you doing? How can 56 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: you possibly be bored? Right? But when you start automating things, 57 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you've got extra time on your hands, right, 58 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: or once you know you which from being an a 59 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: grarian society to an industrialized society, than you know, you're 60 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: not in the fields for twelve hours a day, um, 61 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: And then of course, I think that we're seeing the 62 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: extreme example of this right now in our day and age. Um, 63 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: and that's what we're talking about today is just kind 64 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: of getting behind this idea of what is the science 65 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: behind novelty? Why do we seek out new experiences? How 66 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: many of us are neophobes, neophiles, neophiliacs, You're crazy maniac 67 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: novelty runner aftersh And that's what we're going to talk 68 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: about and try to explore. So, yeah, let me get 69 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: back to this Winnifred Gallagher character. Besides me or journalist, 70 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: she also has written a couple of books, and she 71 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: argues that neophilia, this this desire for new experiences has 72 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: always been the quintessential human survival skill, whether adapting to 73 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: climate change or um, you know, some sort of new 74 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: geographical area, or coping with the latest digital toy. Yeah, 75 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: it's like you're marching over a hill. Suddenly there's a 76 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: slightly different environment going on. You're like to do this. 77 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: Let's see what's edible, Let's see what's poisonous. Let's see 78 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: what animals I can domesticate, Which ones I I need 79 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: to kill with a rock, Let's do it. I'm all 80 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: up for new experiences when other people might peek over 81 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: that hill and they're like, I don't know about this 82 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: new environment. I'm just gonna creep back here and need 83 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: more of those grasshoppers. Right, you might be a neopho, 84 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: and you might have a different genetic disposition to explore 85 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: new things and infect In the article What's New Exuberance 86 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: for novelty has Benefits by John Tierney on The New 87 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: York Times, they actually talked about this migration gene. Yeah, 88 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,479 Speaker 1: so this is the migration gene. This is a DNA 89 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: mutation that occurred roughly fifty thousand years ago. It's believed 90 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: as the humans we're leaving Africa, and these mutations are 91 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: actually the most prevalent in the in the most far 92 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: flung population so done, like Indian tribes in South America 93 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: that are descended from neophiliacs across the Bearing Straits. Understandably, 94 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: you see the strongest occurrence of these genes and the 95 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: people who traveled the farthest right, right. And the coolest 96 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: thing about this is that the genetic variations affect the 97 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: brains regulation of dopamine. And I feel like we've been 98 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: talking about Yeah, Yeah, The New York Transmitter that gives 99 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: us that kind of high that you know that the 100 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: ding ding reward. Right. So the variations, these variations have 101 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: been linked to more um, well it should say, faster 102 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: reaction times and individuals that possess them attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, right, 103 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: which we've seen a lot, or it seems like that's 104 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: been in the news a lot in the last decade 105 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: or so, and a higher penchant for novelty seeking and 106 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: risk taking. So it's like fascinating that so much of 107 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: this ties back to our DNA or our migratory patterns 108 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: that you know, you could come into this world and 109 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: be a bit hardwired for these experiences, maybe your neophobe 110 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: and you know you're not comfortable with new experiences and 111 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: you want to, you know, retract a little bit. You 112 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: can imagine individuals in that situation being more inclined to 113 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: stick around in their existing area and sort of fine 114 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: tune their exploitation of that environment, sort of like, well, 115 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: let's I'm I'm really not into going over that hill 116 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: and checking out what's going over there. I'm going to 117 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: figure out how to farm better here, or how to 118 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: better manage the animals I need to catch to survive 119 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: that kind of thing exactly. UM. And you know, maybe 120 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: these are the agrarians um of of history. Uh. And 121 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: of course it's not as simple as it just sort 122 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: of dills down to you having a you know, varying 123 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 1: to in this gene. There are other factors that play 124 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: environmental um. In fact, they were talking about in this 125 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 1: article uh from the New York Times about novelty perhaps 126 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: even um being the key to happiness, and a lot 127 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: of that again has to do with what sort of 128 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: environmental factors are present, not just what genes you possess, right, 129 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: only know, that's one of the whole reasons for like 130 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: most people are a lot of people. I mean, there's 131 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: sort of different versions of people going on vacation. Some 132 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: people like to go back to a familiar spot that 133 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: they have this investment and that's a place they go 134 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: every year and it's full of memories. Other people they 135 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: like something new, They want to they want to be 136 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: blown away by a new environment. Uh, new sides, new sounds. 137 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: I feel like my wife and I are definitely more 138 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: in that category. Worry. UM. I mean there are places 139 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: we have memories attached to as well, but there's nothing 140 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: like going to like a new city, a new place 141 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: and exploring it, and I mean it really your perception 142 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: of time changes in those environments, like because everything is novel, 143 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: everything is new. It's like your kid again because when 144 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: your kid, everything is everything is novel, and uh, you know, 145 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: in time slows down and everything's bright, Well you think 146 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: differently about your role. I mean to me, travel and 147 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: and having new experiences forever changes you as a person, right, yeah, right, 148 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: And that's what I love about. In fact, I took 149 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: the uh, the little quiz that New York Times article 150 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: has again, it's called what's new Exuberance for novelty has benefits? 151 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: And it turns out that I am a neophiliac. Huh. 152 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: You know. I started taking the same quiz, but then 153 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: someone something this YouTube video this go for right the 154 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: three wheeler, and it was amazing. All right, well let's 155 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: talk about that. Let's talk about this this idea that 156 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: neophiliacs or people who are neophiles, you know a little 157 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: bit to a lesser degree but still seeking out new experiences, 158 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: are their brains are bifurcated with all this different data 159 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: and harness it in a way that you can actually 160 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: make something of this yeah, it's estimated that you you 161 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: really need a trio of traits to really to to 162 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: to be the guy in the squirrel suit of skydiving, 163 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: as opposed to the guy who's falling asleep watching a 164 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: bunch of different YouTube videos. The individuals in this perdious study, 165 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 1: they scored high in noveli seeking as well as in 166 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: persistence and trelp and self transcendence. So persistence, of course 167 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: is the is sticking to it. Some some people are 168 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: may be disinclined to take up new hobbies because you 169 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: try it and you suck at it. Like that's pretty 170 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,079 Speaker 1: much how a lot of things go. It's rare that 171 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: we find some new skill or some new you know, 172 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,839 Speaker 1: artistic endeavor that we the first time we try it, 173 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 1: we got it. I mean a it's not very rewarding 174 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,439 Speaker 1: if there's no room for growth, right. Part of the 175 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: reward is seeing your improvement. But you gotta have some 176 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,439 Speaker 1: persistence to stick with it. You gotta be willing to 177 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: suck at something for a certain amount of time before 178 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: you are good at it and before it's maybe ultimately 179 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: more rewarding. Persistent like in our there are two opening examples. 180 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: The guy with the squirrel suit. That dude had a vision, 181 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: but he had to have a certain amount of persistence 182 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:08,319 Speaker 1: to see it through. Like he couldn't just play like 183 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: what am I doing this weekend? I'm making a squirrel 184 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:11,839 Speaker 1: suit and I'm gonna jump off of a mountain and 185 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do that successfully my first try. Yeah, it's 186 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: not that's not gonna happen. Whereas the the individual watching 187 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,319 Speaker 1: the YouTube videos, he might say, watch a video of 188 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: Australian rules football and be like, WHOA, that's weird. I 189 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: didn't know there was Australian rules football and that's the 190 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: end of it. Where he had more persistence, he might 191 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: be like, well, I'm gonna really look into this. I'm 192 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: gonna maybe, you know, get into watching Australian roles football. 193 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: Maybe I'm going to start a league. You know. There 194 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:39,200 Speaker 1: would be this this higher level of engagement with the topic. Yeah, 195 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: and there would be this other thing called self transcendence, 196 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about that right after this break. All right, 197 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: we're back. We're ready to self transcend letting right now. Okay, 198 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,079 Speaker 1: that's not the same thing as it. Yeah, okay, so 199 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: self transcendence. We know about this in terms of let's 200 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: say that the flow state. This is something that um, 201 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: you're doing that you're really invested in, but you're also 202 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: getting a lot of reward out of you. That's again 203 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,199 Speaker 1: what helps with the pursual and the persistence is that 204 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 1: you're achieving this state of flow, this self transcendence. Yeah, 205 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:18,600 Speaker 1: like it's it's it's not like I'm going to work 206 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: on painting these miniatures and I'm gonna get really good 207 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: at it. I'm gonna get really good. You know, you're 208 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,559 Speaker 1: not thinking like that, you get you're losing yourself in 209 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: the process of doing it. Like the again, the guy 210 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: making the squirrel suit, he is into the process of 211 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: doing it to the point where he's not thinking about 212 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: this is a results oriented adventure, right right, So, I 213 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: mean it's the short term payoff with a long term right. 214 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 1: And I was even thinking about this novelty and genius 215 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: because we've talked about this before. In fact, when we 216 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: were covering I believe it was the podcast on Einstein's brain. Right, Well, 217 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: thanks the brain of a genius. It's not just a 218 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:55,560 Speaker 1: purely anatomical exercise because you're gonna have a genius level brain, 219 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: but it's only being used to watch YouTube videos. Right. 220 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: But the and we talked about this to this this uh, 221 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: this idea that the brain is not a static thing. 222 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: There's something called neural plasticity, which means that your brain 223 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: can change throughout your lifetime. And one of the key 224 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: ingredients in changing your brain for the better at least 225 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,959 Speaker 1: is having new experiences. And when we talked about genius 226 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: in the podcast about Einstein, we talked about how some 227 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: people actually are more genetically predisposed to be open to 228 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: new experiences, and that certainly helps. But anytime you have 229 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: a new experience, um, you know, even like if you're 230 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 1: right handed and you brush your teeth with your left hand, 231 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: or you juggle and you're not a juggler, you're creating 232 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:39,839 Speaker 1: new white cells, these glial cells, and you want to 233 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: do you want to throw in a juggling shown you. 234 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: I'm just thinking about, like like should we all do that? 235 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: Should we all go home this evening or you know, 236 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: the next scheduled brushing in our day, we should use 237 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: an opposite hand just to yeah, because this is the 238 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: glial cells, these white cells which are created from new experiences. 239 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: These are the things that help strengthen our helps think faster, 240 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 1: connect more ideas, new ideas, UM, and again neuroplasticity. We 241 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: can continue to change our brain as we age. Um. 242 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: Does it help if we have more experiences before the 243 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: age of twenty Yeah, yeah, because the bulk of your 244 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 1: brain is going to be established by age twenty UM. 245 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: So it's great for kids to have as many new 246 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: experiences and new skills as possible. But that doesn't mean 247 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: that we're stuck with the same clump of three pounds, 248 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: you know. For the restaurants, it's it's certainly what you have. 249 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:30,719 Speaker 1: Like going to museums is important when you're when you're 250 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:35,319 Speaker 1: growing up, traveling to whatever extent is manageable, it just 251 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: helps change you. Like I think I look back on 252 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: like you said, I feel like any travel, any worthwhile 253 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: trip changes who you are. You don't just go to 254 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: somewhere like like a Thailand or a Coasta, Rica or whatever. 255 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: You don't you don't just go to and come back. 256 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,559 Speaker 1: You you go to and you come back with a 257 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: little of it in you, you know. Yeah. Yeah, because 258 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,959 Speaker 1: and I'm not just talking about lower intestinal infections. Yeah, 259 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: I would just say or the Thaigh red Bull that 260 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,719 Speaker 1: you speak so fondly of, Yeah, that was good. But 261 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: and like, I look back on trips that I took 262 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: before the age of twenty and I feel like they 263 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: definitely had an influence on decisions I made later. And however, 264 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,199 Speaker 1: the world following Yeah, and again, in a very basic level, 265 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,439 Speaker 1: there's those white uh you know, breen cells being created, 266 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: and it's just lovely to think that all these things 267 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: are happening behind the scenes and all you have to 268 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: do is brush your teeth with a non dominant hand 269 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: and when you master that, moved to your feet. Brushing 270 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:28,959 Speaker 1: with your feet. Yeah, sure, why not? So it kind 271 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 1: of both new affiliate downstad it boils down like a 272 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: lot of things in human nature, you kind of want 273 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: a moderation of it, like too much neophilia. You end 274 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: up just being this YouTube junkie who maybe doesn't even 275 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,079 Speaker 1: leave the house because he's not willing to actually or 276 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 1: she is not willing to actually invest in this novelty seeking. 277 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: They're not they're not actually getting any kind of transcendent 278 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: experience out of it. And then you have the other 279 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: individual who is not leaving the room because they don't 280 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: want the new experiences, right, They're they're afraid of encountering 281 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: them to log Yeah, neophiliax UM. In the past have 282 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,960 Speaker 1: been tagged as as um as being a bit flighty 283 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:10,520 Speaker 1: or impulsive or irritable um. And then neophobes again not 284 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: wanting to leave the house um, which is the extreme, extreme, 285 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: extreme example. But again, all of this is changeable, and 286 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: it depends on the experiences that you have throughout life. 287 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: A good example is Eleanor Roosevelt. I mean, she was 288 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: certainly a neophobe in her early life, but through her 289 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: experiences sort of switched over to neophilia UM. So it's 290 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: not again, it's just like the brain. It's it's not 291 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: a static thing, um, just like your personality is not 292 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: static and very much informed by your brain. And I 293 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: was even thinking about the podcast that we did about 294 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: how to Change your Brain the Hard Way John Gage, 295 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: who had um, you know, steel rod go through his 296 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: head and was his personality was completely changed. And of 297 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: course we don't need to all put steel rods in 298 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,119 Speaker 1: our head to significantly change our world views or personality. 299 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: That it is interesting to think about all the little 300 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: different ways in life that we can change the way 301 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: we think. All right, So UM, on that note, let's 302 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: see what the neophiles out there and the listening audience 303 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: had to say, let's call over the robot. All right, 304 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: here's here's a little email from a listener by the 305 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: name of Don Don Wrightson and says, Robert and Julie, 306 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: thank you for the great podcast. My inner geek is 307 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: very happy. I just listened to your monogamy shamogamy podcast, 308 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: and I have to say I can never resist a 309 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: George Michael reference. However, as the queen of pop culture references, 310 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: I must insist that it was the I Want Your 311 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: Sex video that featured George Michael scrawling the world monogamy 312 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: on his lover's back and red lipstick. Of course, thanks 313 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: for being a part of what is now a fun commute. 314 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: Don So yeah, I think we who were thinking it 315 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 1: was is it freedom but not un totally makes sense 316 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: that it was I Want Your Sex. We have to 317 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: give George Michael a little apology there for tonal consistencycause 318 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: it turns out I Want Your Sex. Well no, I 319 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe there's still a weirdness there, but at 320 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: any rate, it makes a little more sense with I 321 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: don't know. We we clearly need to go back on 322 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: our George Michael catalog and revisit. All right, there's another one. 323 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: This one is from Sean in Ottawa, Canada. Hi, long 324 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: time listener, first time writer, persistent procrastinator. I did have 325 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: one comment on your Gay Animals podcast. You repeated the 326 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: danger of anthropomorphizing animals, which I feel does us a 327 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: greater disservice in the end, which is failing to biomorphize humans. Uh. 328 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: The very fact that research into animal sexuality can help 329 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: shed light on human sexuality points to the fact that 330 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: try as we might to think ourselves separate from the 331 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: rest of nature, we most certainly are not. There maybe 332 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: qualities and motivations that guide human behavior that simply don't 333 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: exist or correlate outside of our culture, but not when 334 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: it comes to the birds and the bees. We are 335 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: all animals in the end. Some are more complex, some 336 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: more social, some more adaptable. Anthromomorphize away and in doing 337 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: so keep biomorphizing us. Huh. I thought that was really interesting. 338 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: We I apologize. I don't remember the person who put 339 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 1: on our Facebook page a comment about the same episode, 340 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: but he was sort of talking the taking the opposite 341 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: tact would which would be that we are not We 342 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: can't create ourselves with animals because then we're you know, 343 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:22,120 Speaker 1: condoning incest or rape or other things. UM, so I don't. 344 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,719 Speaker 1: This is all really interesting conversation that came from this. Um, 345 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 1: both sides of the perspective. I always like to get 346 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: different when we get emails about different sides of it, 347 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,920 Speaker 1: because it makes me feel like everybody is really for 348 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,159 Speaker 1: coming in on the conversation and considering all parts of it. 349 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: Stimulating the brain tanks for sure. UM. We also heard 350 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 1: from a listener by the name of h Ta Ta 351 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: right soon and says, do you Robert and Julie, I 352 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,119 Speaker 1: sent this email last week, only to listen to one 353 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: of the more recent podcasts this morning and discovering that 354 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: your email has changed. And again we should mention this 355 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: at the end of the podcast too, but we are 356 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: now blow the mind at Discovery dot com right Um, anyway, 357 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: should continues. I just finished listening to the Santa Claus 358 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: Machine and wanted to let you know about something in 359 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: graphic novel Land that is very on topic with the 360 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: Universal Creator Machine in trans Metropolitan by Warren Ellis, there 361 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,159 Speaker 1: are makers which create whatever you want you need in 362 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,640 Speaker 1: your home, mostly food, but some of them have been 363 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: modded to create weapons, humorous part of the plot involves 364 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: the makers getting hooked on drugs. Because they can synthesize anything, 365 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,159 Speaker 1: why not making toxicans for themselves. That has since been 366 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: stopped by some modifications by the producers of the maker. Additionally, 367 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: since everyone has them, there is a sort of hierarchy 368 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: of inputs. The official maker food. The source of the 369 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,159 Speaker 1: output is base block, something that is super dense and 370 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: has to be replaced every so often. However, the poor 371 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: who cannot afford these these blocks collect garbage from the 372 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 1: streets and feed the makers. Anything goes. If you have 373 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: a chance check trans Metropolitanality. It's pretty excellent about a 374 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: rogue journalist in a very technological future. Indeed, I've I 375 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: haven't read the entire series, but I did read the 376 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: first not In addition, like the first volume of trans Metropolitan, 377 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: it's pretty gonzo. Character Spider Jerusalem is kind of this 378 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: like futuristic uh Like, he starts off kind of like 379 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: this bearded Alan Moore character who's held up in this cabin, 380 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: but then he ends up returning to the city to 381 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 1: do his gonzo journalism. And of course he's kind of 382 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,600 Speaker 1: a futuristic Huntress Thompson character and all sorts of lackiness 383 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 1: occurs after that. I really need to pick him up again, 384 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: because I did enjoy the first one. I just never 385 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: got around a reading and against the others everything, I'm 386 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 1: here and I'm liking well cool. Um. So yeah, those 387 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 1: are some emails from listeners. We we have a whole 388 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,439 Speaker 1: folder of them here, and we never used to. There 389 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,159 Speaker 1: was a time when when we could individually like answer 390 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: every email that was sent to us, and then that 391 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: that hasn't only been the case recently, and and we 392 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 1: we do receive a lot of really cool emails that 393 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:53,879 Speaker 1: I wish we had time to read, but we kind 394 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: of have to pick and choose at the last minute, 395 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 1: sometimes based on lenk. But that being said, please do 396 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: communicate with us, because even if you don't respond, we 397 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: do read them all well, and it also informs you know, 398 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: the direction of the podcast and what we want to 399 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 1: cover and all that good stuff. Yea, because we'll say 400 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: things like, oh man, that that podcast on such such 401 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: that was, We've received a lot of comments on that. 402 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 1: That's clearly the kind of thing that listeners want to 403 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: listen to. So let's find something, you know in that 404 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: vein because it's for you this. Yeah, yeah, whereas stuff 405 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: like Stapler Science. We know nobody like you know, we've 406 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,440 Speaker 1: ever generally and nobody wants to listen to the Stapler podcast. 407 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: So probably not gonna do it unless you say differently, 408 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: unless it's like the coolest like futuristic Stapler that could 409 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: staple me to the ball without harming me right now, 410 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,360 Speaker 1: and then I could staple myself unstable myself. I don't 411 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: know why i'd want to do that, but yeah, that's 412 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,800 Speaker 1: just an idea, all right. So yes, you can get 413 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: in touch with us. You certainly can't. There's a little 414 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:50,440 Speaker 1: thing helped Facebook. It's kind of taken off, and you 415 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 1: can find us on there as a stuff to below 416 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: your mind and just search for us, follow us, give 417 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 1: us more power that way. And then there's another little 418 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,199 Speaker 1: thing called Twitter, and I'm there. You will find our 419 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: handle as blow the Mind, So just throw us a 420 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: message at blow the Mind follow us on there. We'll 421 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: throw you links to stuff about upcoming, current and past podcasts, 422 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: as well as blog entries and who knows, and if 423 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: you prefer, you can always get your rotary phone out 424 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: and you can email us at Blow the Mind at 425 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: discovery dot com. Be sure to check out our new 426 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join how Stuff Work 427 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: staff as we explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities 428 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: of tomorrow.