[intro music] [typing noises]
[rocket blasting-off sound]
Sometimes the simplest questions have the most amazing answers.
And if that rewarded you, great-
[bunch of people talking at once]
When we go online, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. It’s like a really fun cocktail party, only
everyone’s trying to get your attention at the same time.
In a world full of distractions, how do we figure out what to pay attention to?
I know I’m not the only one who sometimes feels like-
[people yelling] [explosion noise]
I mean, you have to wonder, are our brains really ready to deal with… all of… this?!
Sherry Turkle says that these little boxes have created a world where we are alone, together.
People are wired ALL the time, texting while they’re driving, or walking, while they
Internet. Did you notice the gorilla earlier? Well…
there wasn’t one, but you might be one of the 8 million people who watched THIS video,
the famous experiment showing that our attention is selective.
While our minds are busy focusing on one specific thing like a bouncing ball, they can miss
something as obvious as a person strolling by in a gorilla suit.
And we can be completely blind to what we aren’t paying attention to, but not so fast!
Selective attention can be a very good thing too! I mean, think about it. When you focus
your attention on me right now, that barking dog next door and the traffic outside doesn’t
go away, you just stop noticing them. Imagine if you couldn’t filter out the tsunami
of information, assaulting your five senses every minute of every day. You’d lose your
MIND! Right here, between your ears, you possess
the world’s most powerful information processing device. It’s three pounds of brilliantly
evolved neurons. Your brain is able to perform small miracles
like calculus, playing the violin, or performing surgery on itself!
The idea that we only use 10% of our brains is just… wrong. We use a 100%! It’s just
that we aren’t aware of all that our brains are actually doing! Like filtering out all
of life’s extra information! I asked a couple of friends to help me show you just how good
your brain is at doing all that thinking without thinking.
[Hank and Mike talking at once] If you were looking at the center of the screen,
you probably don’t have any idea what you just watched. This is a little brain trick
called the cocktail party effect. At a party, you know how you can zoom in on
one conversation in the midst of dozens? It turns out you just have to know where to look.
Try it again, only this time, keep your eyes on just ONE of them.
[Chatter starts up with Hank and Mike]
I’m betting it worked a little better that time. Well, feel free to rewind and try it
again; I’ll just wait right here.
[cricket chirping noises]
Now, if we could see the activity inside your brain while you pay attention to Hank and
Mike, regions of your brain involved in hearing would be responding to both voices, but the
parts of your brain that decode language would only be responding to ONE.
Our brains are true wonders of evolution. When it comes to focusing on what’s important,
our outer ear, this funny shaped thing, is actually shaped in a way that amplifies the
frequencies of human speech! It helps our brains pluck out what’s important.
You know what? Even in this age of information overload, I think our brain has proven itself
to be pretty freakin’ awesome when it comes to choosing what to listen to, AND what to
ignore. I mean, more and more people today are being
diagnosed with attention disorders because they have less than perfect ability to focus
on one task for long periods of time, but this is the digital future, and focused doesn’t
necessarily equate to efficiency. I mean, today’s average worker changes tasks every
three minutes! This is why Howard Rheingold calls attention
our new fundamental literacy. Our attention spans have certain limits, but they also have
so much potential! What if some of the people were labeling with
attention disorders, really just have different strategies for dealing with all this information?
They might be paying attention in new ways! Sure, sometimes we can be blinded by our attention,
but other times, the ability to focus and filter can be our best friend.
Here’s the thing. Our brains are not set in stone, and like
the technology that we’re adapting to, we will continue to evolve. Our minds still have
some tricks in store for us because, above all, that’s what our brain is best at.
Adapting. Which is also why you shouldn’t feel bad
about subscribing and watching all of our videos.
Thanks a lot for watching, and we’ll see you next time.