Episode 53 — Decisions Your Brain Makes Behind Your Back

[JulyDiaz 2797]

Hollywood never fails to remind us that we only use 10% of our brains. That statistic is bullshit, but it's true that around 90% of the activity in our brains is completely unconscious. We make most of our decisions without even knowing it. Our brains are constantly making decisions for us before we even know it, and it's our conscious mind that fills in the rest of the details, crafting this decision into a narrative. That's how a guy like Dennis Rodman could know where every ball was going to go as soon as it left a player's hand -- it's also how most racism happens, and the reason why "when the judge ate last" is the best predictor of how he'll rule.

 

This week on the podcast, Cracked editors Jack O'Brien and Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) discuss the conscious and unconscious sides of human decision-making, how they're tied together, and the unexpected biases they produce. They'll also talk with writer and improvisational comedian Ali Farahnakian to learn how these theories can be applied to comedy.

 

Listen now to get some solid advice on improvisational humor -- and to learn why your political preferences might be less the result of your own decisions than of how your brain is hardwired.

[VinsanityV22 500]

~8m in...

 

Okay, pause it. Mr. Pargin has intentionally given me something I must look up, for I do not believe this exists. And I feel like I'm letting you down because of it - "our listeners will know what it's called", he says. I need to see this prison warden octupus man thing who has a penis for every tentacle, and this centaur where the front half is a sexy naked woman and the back half is also a sexy naked woman. Though I fear my brain will explode upon seeing this sight, I HAVE to know wtf he's talking about

 

And I thought I knew anime pretty well too :'(

[justinforabit 15]

Jason just said, and I'm paraphrasing off of memory but, "I referenced this information once in an article, and I'm not sure if it's even true, but most people are something something something." This podcast is very interesting and likeable but I often feel that there's a lack of research beyond " I read an article once and it said...". It would be wonderful of you could run some of your own scientific tests to illustrate your points. and I get that the assumptions presented by this podcast are broad and difficult to prove but "our data shows..." Sounds more cowabunga.

 

This post of full of errors.