- 2 days ago
Prepare to be amazed and enlightened as we unravel the mysteries behind our brain's deceptive tendencies.
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00:00Despite all our differences, we share one thing in common.
00:04That's right, we all feel alive and actively perceive the present in this very moment.
00:11But here's the catch, my friends.
00:12This feeling of right now is in fact a little delayed.
00:16It takes about half a second for our brains to translate information into our consciences.
00:21If you think about it, technically, the future is already done for,
00:26but we're just not realizing this in due course.
00:28And that's not all.
00:30Our different senses pick up information each at their own pace,
00:34which means our brains have to drag some of them to give us a seamless sense of the present.
00:39It's like our brains are trying to stitch together a Frankenstein monster of sensory information in real time
00:46and make it look pretty.
00:48But here's where things get really wild.
00:51Researchers have found that they can mess with this perception.
00:54When that standard delay is removed, our brains get confused,
00:58and it gives us the impression that the effect happened before the action that triggered it.
01:03It's like you'd perceive the doorbell sound, but before you'd actually push the button.
01:08Weird, right?
01:09Why are our brains so easily fooled?
01:12Well, it's because our conscious minds have a lot of work to do.
01:16We have to translate the world around us, think about what might happen in the near future,
01:21and figure out what to do next.
01:24All of that takes time, which is not great when you're facing fast-moving danger.
01:29Imagine a dangerous wild animal jumps out at you.
01:32If you have to consciously think about how to react, you're done for.
01:39Luckily, our brains have emergency response kits that kick in when we need them most.
01:45The startle reflex is the fastest response triggered by a noise or sudden movement.
01:50Within 5 milliseconds, a lot of muscles are triggered into reacting,
01:55and you're already on the move before you know it.
01:58If we have a few more milliseconds, our brains can act in a more interesting way.
02:04The amygdala, our brain's first stop shop for processing emotions,
02:08takes about 12 milliseconds to process a threat.
02:11It's not super sophisticated, but it can easily detect danger.
02:16In fact, some of our best actions are done without conscious decision-making.
02:21Anything we do in less than half a second,
02:24like hitting a ball or catching someone's glance, is done automatically.
02:28So, while our conscious minds are great for long-term strategy,
02:32some of our best actions are accomplished without it.
02:37But let's get down to the real question.
02:39Thoughts can vary.
02:40Sure, we all know that because we've lived it.
02:43Making a difficult career or parenting choice
02:46takes a lot more thinking than choosing what to top your ice cream with.
02:50But did you ever wonder what the speed of thought is?
02:54I mean, do we need a Ferrari to keep up with our brains,
02:58or can we simply stick to a bicycle?
03:00Well, some scientists have tackled this tricky question
03:04by measuring how quickly we become aware of the information we gather through our senses.
03:09Apparently, we can detect stimuli that last as little as 50 milliseconds.
03:14That's about 1 20th of a second, in case you're counting.
03:20Now, if we're talking about sensing and responding,
03:23let's use the sprinter reacting to the starting noise as a benchmark.
03:27That's lightning fast, taking only about 150 milliseconds.
03:32However, the speed of our nerve pathways can put a damper on our speedy thoughts.
03:38Back in the day, scientists estimated that it took 115 feet per second
03:43for information to travel down our nerves.
03:46But, thanks to modern research,
03:48we now know that some well-insulated nerves
03:51can move at up to a whopping 394 feet per second.
03:55That's comparable to a bunch of the world's fastest cars in the world,
03:59like an Ashton Martin or a McLaren.
04:02When you put it that way, the speed of thought is pretty quick.
04:06But don't worry, you don't have to train like an Olympian to keep up with your own brain.
04:11You might have even stopped to think about how many thoughts you have in a day.
04:15That question counts as a thought too, you know.
04:18Spoiler alert, it's more than you think.
04:21From the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep,
04:24and maybe even after that,
04:26your brain is constantly churning out thoughts.
04:28Some of these thoughts might be simple,
04:31like, I need to do laundry, or I should call my mom.
04:35Others might be more complex,
04:37like, what's the meaning of life, or how do we love.
04:40Believe it or not,
04:42a study conducted in 2020 found out that an average person
04:46has over 6,000 thoughts per day.
04:49That's a lot of thinking.
04:50The study used brain scans to track when new thoughts began
04:54while participants were either resting or watching a movie.
05:01But not all thoughts are created equal.
05:03Some thoughts can make us feel happy and excited,
05:06while others can bring us down and cause us to worry.
05:09For most people, those negative thoughts can be hard to shake.
05:13Also, did you know that your personality can affect how many thoughts you have?
05:18People who are a bit more on the jittery side
05:20tend to have more thoughts than those who are calmer.
05:22But don't worry, having a noisy brain doesn't automatically mean there's something wrong with you.
05:28Sometimes, our brains can even produce intrusive thoughts that are disturbing or upsetting.
05:34While it's natural to have these kinds of thoughts occasionally,
05:37if they're happening frequently and disrupting your daily routine,
05:40it might be worth talking to a professional.
05:44So, where do all these thoughts come from?
05:47Your brain's nerve cells or neurons are responsible for communicating with other cells
05:51by generating neurotransmitters.
05:54This sets off a chain reaction of firing neurons, which then creates thoughts.
05:59But what if you want to change your thoughts?
06:02It's possible!
06:03Techniques like mindfulness and working with a trained specialist
06:07can help you address unwanted thoughts and give you a more relaxed state of mind.
06:12Our brains are somewhat similar to the muscles that help us move around.
06:16We can train it to make our lives better.
06:18To an extent, that is.
06:20At the end of the day, it's not the number of thoughts that matters,
06:23but how they affect you and what comes out of them.
06:29Speaking of weird stuff brains can do,
06:31some mind-blowing news just hit the scientific community.
06:35Researchers have discovered some weird brainwaves in octopuses.
06:39Yes, you heard that right.
06:41These eight armed wonders feature a type of brainwave
06:44we've never stumbled upon in the animal kingdom.
06:47Now, before you go imagining little octopuses
06:50wearing tiny shower caps with electrodes sticking out,
06:53let me tell you how this discovery was made.
06:57Scientists surgically attached electrodes to octopuses' brains
07:00and were able to get a glimpse into their thought processes.
07:04The amazing project captured the first-ever brain recordings of octopuses
07:09that can move around as they please,
07:11and the results are mind-bending.
07:14The researchers discovered that some of the brainwave patterns
07:17are much like some found in the human memory center.
07:21This suggests that convergent evolution may be at play here.
07:25What does convergent evolution mean, you might ask?
07:28It's when two different animals end up having the same trait,
07:32even though they don't share a recent common ancestor.
07:36Another similar example of convergent evolution
07:38is that of dolphins and bats.
07:41They both use sound to figure out where they are,
07:43but their environment couldn't be more different.
07:48Octopuses have been considered fascinating
07:50by scientists and non-scientists alike.
07:53From their remarkable memories
07:55to their ability to camouflage themselves,
07:57these creatures are nothing short of incredible.
08:00They've been known to use objects to solve problems,
08:03and they even dream.
08:05Yeah, you heard that right.
08:07The color ripples that we can see across their skin as they sleep
08:10can show us that they may be dreaming too.
08:13However, octopuses are notoriously difficult to study.
08:16They can touch every part of their body with those long arms,
08:20which means they may have no problem
08:23removing whatever tracking objects
08:24scientists might have placed on them.
08:27Hey, look, we all have our natural smells,
08:29but we tend to hide behind the latest advances in chemistry.
08:33But sometimes we might notice
08:35that someone didn't bother hiding them
08:37or didn't hide them well enough.
08:39So everyone around unwillingly has to inhale their odors.
08:43And what if this reeking person is you?
08:46Well, that stinks.
08:48Yep, we all do smell sometimes,
08:50even without realizing it.
08:52This is what scientists call olfactory fatigue.
08:55And actually, it's a pretty good thing.
08:58I mean, it's way better than it might seem.
09:00When we have to smell something similar very often,
09:04our senses sort of get tired of that.
09:06So to be alert when it comes to catching new smells,
09:10they simply give up on detecting and sending signals
09:13about old smells we're perfectly familiar with.
09:16Therefore, sometimes you don't realize
09:18that your armpits sort of start reeking
09:21just to be able to recognize
09:22that something else out there reeks.
09:24Our brains perceive smells as signals.
09:27If something smells good,
09:29it's a sign we've got to approach this object.
09:31Like, haha, those yummy cinnamon rolls.
09:34Likewise, we get the signals
09:36that we mustn't approach something that stinks,
09:39like this large garbage bin.
09:41It reeks, there might be rats,
09:43and there are sure to be a bazillion of nasty germs.
09:46We detect smell and we choose to stay away from it.
09:49But for olfactory fatigue,
09:51we wouldn't have been able to detect
09:53some dangerous objects this fast.
09:55Also, this phenomenon explains
09:58why you sometimes just do not smell your own perfume.
10:01Like you spent a couple of hours choosing it
10:03and paid a hundred bucks and all for nothing.
10:06Well, if you don't smell your perfume,
10:09it means you made a good choice.
10:11Olfactory fatigue chimed in
10:13just because your brain doesn't perceive
10:16this very fragrance as something dangerous.
10:18Vice versa, if you wear some cologne
10:21and you can clearly sense it,
10:23that's a true sign you two aren't a great match.
10:26After all, perfume is just a part of your image
10:28and it's mostly used to make an impression
10:31on everyone else around you.
10:33You gotta feel good wearing it.
10:34Imagine you're wearing shoes
10:36that you can feel on your feet.
10:38I bet it means this pair isn't comfy at all.
10:41Well, same with perfumes.
10:43In case it matches you, you don't smell it.
10:45In other words, we can call it olfactory adaptation.
10:50But it's not only your nose that can mislead you.
10:53Your eyes can lie to you too.
10:55You've probably seen these TikToks
10:57where the sound is the same,
10:59but there are two words on the screen
11:00and you'll end up hearing the exact word you're reading.
11:04Thing is, our vision is the most dominant
11:06of all of our senses.
11:08And it can create many illusions,
11:10including sound ones.
11:12The trick from TikTok videos has a scientific name.
11:15It's the McGurk effect.
11:17And the funniest part about it
11:18is that even if you fully understand what's going on,
11:21you just can't adjust your ears
11:23and hear the right sound.
11:25Another trick that our brain can do
11:27is erasing objects,
11:29also known as motion-induced blindness.
11:32This one particularly concerns drivers.
11:34Thing is, we receive too much information from the world.
11:38So our not-that-big brain
11:40gets quite tired of analyzing what we see.
11:43So the brain chooses to weed out
11:45the unnecessary stuff
11:46we unconsciously perceive every day.
11:49Now look at this optical illusion.
11:51Now stare at the flashing green dot
11:53right in the center for about 10 seconds.
12:02You see?
12:03You stop seeing the yellow dots on the periphery.
12:06However, the blue grid is still here
12:08and you can see it.
12:10At some point,
12:11your brain stops paying attention to the yellow dots
12:14because they're not moving
12:15and it considers them to be of a minor importance.
12:19Same with monotonous highways.
12:21Some things may seem stationary,
12:22but it's only because you're moving.
12:25So every time you drive,
12:27try to focus as much as possible.
12:29By the way,
12:30it gets even worse for pilots
12:32as flying is pretty monotonous.
12:34There are only clouds and the ground.
12:36So they're taught to scan the horizon all the time
12:39and they're not supposed to stare at something
12:41for more than just a few seconds.
12:44Next illusion,
12:45and this time,
12:46these are our eyes once again that mislead us.
12:50You see,
12:50they're kind of in charge of how we perceive the taste of food.
12:54And it goes much further than simple,
12:56ooh,
12:56that looks mouth-watering.
12:58And I'm not going to eat it
12:59because it looks gross.
13:01There have been multiple experiments with focus groups
13:03trying to figure out
13:05how the color of the plates and cups
13:06and food itself
13:07might affect the perception of taste.
13:09For example,
13:11a study proved that drinks of cold colors
13:13like blue and green
13:14were seen as the most thirst-quenching beverages.
13:18At the same time,
13:19if a beverage is of warm color,
13:21like red or yellow,
13:22it seems to quench people's thirst worse.
13:26Another experiment showed
13:27that people rated hot chocolate
13:28as having more chocolate flavor
13:30when it was served in a cream-colored cup
13:33or an orange one.
13:34And just a piece of advice,
13:36next time you want to munch on some strawberries,
13:38serve them on a white plate
13:40as they're going to taste sweeter to you.
13:42Stay away from black plates
13:44unless you want to ruin the taste of the berries.
13:48Now, when it comes to tasting food,
13:50there aren't only your eyes to trick you,
13:52but your ears, too.
13:54The scientists even found
13:56the perfect music volume
13:57to serve food in restaurants.
13:59It should be between 62 and 67 decibels.
14:03Not less, not more.
14:04This is the level
14:05at which our human conversations are held.
14:08In case there's the right music volume,
14:10the food served will seem nicer to customers.
14:13Then, why is it that I
14:15always end up in loud restaurants
14:16where I can't hear someone two feet away?
14:19Pardon my rant.
14:22The illusion I'm about to tell you
14:24may sound crazy,
14:26but it's true.
14:27Sometimes, we can actually forget
14:29where our limbs are.
14:30It happens when our sense of touch
14:32deceives us.
14:34This phenomenon is also famous
14:36under the name
14:37rubber hand illusion.
14:38Let's see how it works.
14:40It consists of placing
14:41one of the arms of a person
14:43out of sight,
14:43and a rubber hand is placed
14:45in front of the person
14:46so they can see it.
14:48And then,
14:49the experimenter touches
14:50the person's fingers,
14:51and at the same time,
14:53they repeat the same touches
14:54on the rubber arm.
14:56It doesn't really matter
14:57how to touch.
14:58The key point
14:59is the synchronicity.
15:01For instance,
15:02the filmed experiment
15:03sometimes shows strokes
15:04with a brush,
15:05but you can simply
15:06use your fingers.
15:07The experimenter
15:08must touch both the real
15:09and the rubber hands
15:11at the exact same time
15:12for a couple of minutes.
15:13After that,
15:14the person whose arm
15:16was used,
15:16not the experimenter,
15:18must close their eyes
15:19and show with their free arm
15:21their second arm.
15:22The studies show
15:23that the person
15:24tends to point
15:24at the rubber arm
15:25with eyes closed,
15:27subconsciously recognizing
15:28it as their own.
15:32And sometimes,
15:32there are things
15:33we see,
15:34but they aren't real.
15:36Like this pencil
15:37in the glass of water.
15:38It seems sort of
15:39broken to us,
15:40but in reality,
15:41it's nothing but
15:42a refraction
15:43that causes our eyes
15:44to see a distorted image.
15:46Now,
15:47look at these two objects.
15:48Here's a teddy bear
15:49and a metal bar.
15:51What do you think
15:51is colder?
15:53Sure thing,
15:53we all want to say
15:54the metal bar.
15:55And even if we were
15:56to touch these two objects,
15:58we would feel
15:59that the metal bar
16:00is colder.
16:01Even if it's an experiment
16:02and they both
16:03have the same temperature.
16:05Thing is,
16:06the bar feels colder
16:07because metal
16:08is a thermal conductor.
16:09It just manages
16:10to drop the temperature
16:11of your hand
16:12faster than a teddy bear.
16:14Teddy bear,
16:15vice versa,
16:15is a thermal insulator
16:17and maintains temperature.
16:18So,
16:19your brain
16:19kind of got tricked
16:20and it responded
16:21to the temperature
16:22of your hand
16:23and not the temperature
16:24of the metal bar.
16:25Wow.
16:26Seems like our brain
16:27is a big fat liar
16:29and it makes our senses
16:30lie to us too.
16:31But you know,
16:32these are simply
16:34white fibs
16:34that help us
16:35live better.
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