#291

Місяць тому

Today I'll start with a gentle reminder that our upcoming book "Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living" is available for preorder. It is written by me, Mo Gawdat and my wonderful co-author Alice Law and we hope it will truly make an impact in getting a million people out of Stress.
To help us learn more about Stress, in this episode of Slo Mo, I am honored to welcome Robert Sapolsky, a luminary in the field of neuroscience and a master storyteller of human behavior. A truly remarkable human being. Like a deep and engaging dialogue between friends, Robert shares his journey through the intricate maze of the human brain, discussing the marvels of biology that underpin our emotions, actions, and the essence of what makes us human.
Beyond his groundbreaking research on stress, Robert explores his passion for teaching, his profound insights into the intersection of biology and behavior, and his unyielding curiosity about the human condition. This episode is a celebration of intellectual exploration, the wonders of scientific discovery, and the profound impact of sharing knowledge to illuminate the mysteries of our existence.
Listen as we discuss:
- The upcoming release of Unstressable
- The Biology of Stress
- How our Compassion sometimes contributes to our Stress
- How humans are a species of Contradictions
- How Contextual is Stress
- The Evolution of our Tribal mentality
- Dopamine
- Free Will
- The Positive impact we can make
For more insights and inspiration from Robert Sapolsky, dive into his lectures and books (his most recent: a.co/d/iZTAUed), and follow his work at the forefront of neuroscience and behavior. To stay in touch with Robert, you can follow his academic contributions and public engagements, or subscribe to his Instagram page.
UKposts: @mogawdatofficial
Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
X: @mgawdat
Website: @
Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy

КОМЕНТАРІ: 87

@LaurelASmith1 17 днів тому

After Vietnam they did PTSD assessments on men in the infantry and found that 70% did not have PTSD. What was common among the 30% was early childhood trauma. Imprinting.

@JonelleDickowVillar 17 днів тому

@LaurelASmith1 Do you have a reference for this study? Very interesting findings.

@lindaelarde2692 28 днів тому

So fascinating how our brains are conditioned to categorize and assign meaning to symbols. Ghandi was a British educated lawyer who wore British style suits in his professional life, but when he changed to wearing a traditional dhoti, he became "other" to the tribe hed aligned with for his education and professional life. He immediately changed member affiliation to a different tribe with world changin results...sports team cap phenomenon in another guise. Amazing!

@janicedowson7793 29 днів тому

Wonderful, I could listen to Dr. Sapolsky all day. Brilliant.

@stephaniecok3484 27 днів тому

He is my dopamine lol

@observerone6727 Місяць тому

We don't cause what causes what happens to us. And obviously what happens, happens; the universe cannot do otherwise, and your mind is part of the universe (final truths are like this). We shouldn't confuse being aware that something happened with that we were the single complete cause (with absolutely no other forces involved) of what happened. All of existence is simply flowing causal forces - this ultimate truth doesn't change the possibility of pursuing a good life.

@Tjcp292 Місяць тому

So…I chose to go to a place to make friends. The man who is now my husband of 32 years was there. Those were predetermined? I could’ve chosen to go to a different place, or not to go at all. So is it like some religious people believe in predestination?

@lindaelarde2692 28 днів тому

I see an alignment of this lens on free will with the work of neuroscientist, Lisa Feldman Barrett's constucted emotion paradigm. Id love to here Dr Sapolsky and Dr. Feldman Barrett dicuss these concepts...that would be fascinating!

@user-ej5gx7ph7q Місяць тому

Humans have culture, we make up our world. A hippo never wonders about the harvest, human depend on what we imagine and the behavior our imagination inspires. Of course we are concerned about cultural dynamics that are detrimental to our thriving, others surviving or people over there starving. A zebra simply goes back to eating grass

@fireballfitness170 18 днів тому

I listen to doctor to Sapolsky in a lot of podcasts but you managed to pull this knowledge out of him with your question. Thanks. 1:00:11 to 1:03:43

@derrekord 23 дні тому

This was incredible. And thank you for introducing me to Robert. I just got some of his books!

@derrekord 20 днів тому

Also I will be watching this again + look forward to the next visit :) I could listen to yall talk for hours (but with breaks to process)

@julieverhagen3746 Місяць тому

You /Ali changed my life!!!! 0h I follow you NEwhere!! Ty~

@ninja2388 20 днів тому

Initial resistance - then curiosity and decision to know more! Thank you so much

@mlowe7245 Місяць тому

It's one thing to talk about this. but another to really experience it!!

@lindaelarde2692 28 днів тому

Love this discussion. It reminded me of a brilliant quote attributed to Mark Twain...."I have been through some terrible things in my life. Some of which actually happened." Clearly, Zebra brains don't do that! 😂

@lukeclaydon6670 Місяць тому

Great

@IdentificaunNarcisista Місяць тому

I love ur channel

@bradsillasen1972 Місяць тому

A wise man once said, "see it, don't be it" ...could the awareness and conscious processing of our thoughts and impulses also be determined, i.e.; beyond our control?

@24tommyst 16 днів тому

I disagree with Sapolsky on free will because of the following: - We can never do REAL experiments determining if free will is real - Therefore, we can never know if it is real - Therefore, if we have free will and assume it's not real, we might really be fucking up and excusing bad behavior as "meh, it's just pre determined" We should assume it's real to a degree that is somewhat rational, I think.

@sjoerd1239 16 днів тому

That is irrational because you have no idea what the degree is or should be. Something that does not exist cannot be measured. However, there is heaps of objective evidence for determinism. If determinism, then no free will. If you "fuck up" and there is no free will, then there are still consequences.

@24tommyst 7 днів тому

@@sjoerd1239 Ya, no shit, the degree is judged by intuition...you know...the thing we use every day successfully. What is a democracy and what isn't, what is love and what isn't, etc, etc. That's better than what you're doing by taking a MASSIVE leap from A to Z.

@sjoerd1239 7 днів тому

@@24tommyst That thing you use daily has a bad record of mistreating others. Believing in determinism is not a massive leap.. Science is based on determinism.

@Appleloucious Місяць тому

One Love! Always forward, never ever backward!! ☀️☀️☀️ 💚💛❤️ 🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼

@shiannful Місяць тому

What an amazing conversation will definitely listen to this one again, in my observations I think maybe it’s the 🧬 genes and the hand you’re dealt with which play a more significant role in how you are, wow the adrenaline and the anticipation before it that is eye opening, loved this conversation 😊❤

@richardh8082 2 дні тому

I'd like to see a discussion with the handful of people who downvoted this video. Just curious

@katarinam2434 23 дні тому

God!!!!

@stephaniecok3484 27 днів тому

My only caveat is dogs have extreme anxiety to stress that hasn’t happened, this maybe either learned by environmental trauma or genetically selected for by selective breeding. Dogs can’t read books feel upset to the very fact that others are stressed. Chimps.. rats I think they’ve shown stress or anxiety.. but I know from growing up with dogs and finding them fascinating that they have real fear of perspective stressors that may not even be real.

@sjoerd1239 16 днів тому

Dogs can also display empathy (including for beings they have not previously met). I think the main thing is that the difference between humans and other animals is vast.

@katarinam2434 23 дні тому

This interview points me to God!!!

@sjoerd1239 16 днів тому

God explains nothing.

@georgeherren606 Місяць тому

I'm always confused by Sapolsky. So we don't have free will, but we do have the ability to act on knowledge learned. But how do we learn this knowledge if not by choice? If I have no free will, the knowledge presented to me was predetermined. Consequently, what knowledge I choose to act on will be predetermined as well? Like, he's saying I don't have a choice in where the ship goes, but I can steer the ship in a certain direction, but that sounds contradictory in itself. I'm open to further explanation here.

@alint09 Місяць тому

Imagine you are a dog tied by a leash to a wagon. The wagon is going to go where it goes (predetermined). If you refuse to run with the wagon, you’ll be dragged. Predetermination goes all the way back to stoicism- though they did not accept that there was no free will. They were reluctant if no free will but in any case things being inevitable.

@georgeherren606 Місяць тому

@@alint09 Thank you, that clarifies things a bit. What will happen, will happen. But I get to choose what sights to see, and what fire hydrants to pee on along the journey, before the wagon gets to the predetermined destination. fair enough i guess. I don't think I like the term "free will" being used to describe this though.

@alint09 Місяць тому

@@georgeherren606 You’re welcome. I think you’re also correct to call it contradictory. It’s a paradox. How can determination and free will coexist? For me, it’s not so much the having that answer but more so the real world application, leading me to a deeper understanding and compassion for why people do the things they do.

@TMK1450 Місяць тому

😮. Yes, the topic is simple but very complicated. Learning is a change but from your environment. You don’t change but you are changed. The confabulation the brain does is not very helpful for understanding how the brain works… 😮

@georgeherren606 Місяць тому

@@alint09 that's my issue as well. I don't think free will and determinism can coexist. I'm glad it helps build compassion in others. May be an inflammatory and misleading way to achieve that though.

@raginald7mars408 Місяць тому

...as a German Bio Chemist Ph D Sa Polski is a re incarnated Gil Ga Mesh a meso Potamian King nothing disturbs his eternal Mind ever we Pedestrians are Sheeple on the Farm...

@sjoerd1239 16 днів тому

What is the most expensive thing? A human life. What is the cheapest thing? Another human life. I do not find the human capacity to stress over things that are not immediately happening as bizarre, like Sapolsky. One would want to avoid the situation or cope with the situation in the future. The situation could have serious life consequences, including how others treat you. It matters if it is likely to happen in the future. If the stress disappeared immediately after the event, then that would not help dealing with it. What if it cannot be dealt with? To some extent, dealing well with stress requires accepting life, come what may, and brushing it off. One does not want to be cold either. That requires different things from different people, different people face different situations, and not all people have the same capabilities. Putting up with “useless” stress might be unavoidable and how much must be put up with depends on who the person is. How people interact socially is a very big factor; meaning that general behaviour can be the cause of other’s misery, even if unintended.

@lotaayson9645 Місяць тому

@RESPECT " EARN " KNOWING " WHO YOU BECOME" needs no Explanation " RARE " as long FLY on the wall *** hidden Meaning " YOU KNOW"

@mikepoor6397 Місяць тому

Why were we given brains by our creator if there are no free thoughts?

@taylorhildrum3878 Місяць тому

You assume we have a creator, and what makes you think we don’t have free thoughts? Freedom to have thoughts and free will are different concepts.

@mikepoor6397 Місяць тому

@@taylorhildrum3878 If life is scripted/predetermined than there wouldn’t be any “free thoughts”

@ShonSpeaks Місяць тому

Do thoughts actually come from the brain? Do we really know that or do we just believe that?

@dfinma Місяць тому

@@mikepoor6397 The notion of lack-of-free-will is uncomfortable to conceptualize and embrace. It doesn't mean you don't think thoughts or make choices -- or at least you _think_ you make choices 😝-- and it doesn't mean life is scripted. Sapolsky explains the biology of it here: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/sJiglpmhaYFq12g.html A compelling example is the data about prisoners being granted parole. The longer it was after a meal, the more likely the judge would deny parole. I forget the numbers exactly but early in the morning or shortly after lunch a prisioner would be parolled something like 60% of the time and just before lunch or the end of the day it would close to 0%. Free will says that the judge's mood, how much sleep they got the night before, degree of hunger, whether or not s/he had a fight with their spouse/kids or got a parking ticket would have no affect on the judgement but the fact that these factors _do_ have influence on behavior means you're not really driving the bus. The discussion in this podcast about the brain scan results tells the same story -- Mother Nature is driving the bus.

@taylorhildrum3878 Місяць тому

@@mikepoor6397 We are in most cases free to have thoughts, but our thoughts are pre determined. You don’t choose the thoughts that you have but your still free to have thoughts. In most scenarios, we’re not in a position where we are prevented from having thoughts.

@sjoerd1239 16 днів тому

About free will, Gawdat does not appear to be looking at the objective evidence (he intuitively wants to believe in free will). The objective evidence supports determinism. With determinism there is no free will.

@mykibalzy 7 днів тому

It's almost semantical. Gawdat gets to the point where he understands that the atoms collide randomly, However, he states, "I make the "CHOISE" to do the next thing. Sapolsky then suggested Gawdat to go and spread his profound insights. Sapolsky doesn't seem to characterize his suggestion to Gawdat as a CHOICE, then what is it?

@sjoerd1239 7 днів тому

@mykibalzy Firstly, randomness does not allow for free will. It is not a choice made freely. It is determined, like the action of a multifunction robot is determined. Gawdot has just heard an option that might cause him to do so.

@mykibalzy 7 днів тому

@sjoerd1239 Do you think that Gadwat will take Sapolsky's suggestion to live a life inspired by his profound moment with his daughter?

@sjoerd1239 7 днів тому

@mykibalzy I think that Gawdat's action will be determined by all that he has become, from what proceeded, for any moment that he acts. On what will you base your thoughts on what Gawdat will do?

@mykibalzy 7 днів тому

@sjoerd1239 I'm not sure he might not change at all or if Gadwat followed Sapolsky's suggestion, it would more than likely entail some kind of behavior modification to moderate his old work habits. Possibly engaging in some kind of therapy or self-help. He'll have to think about which strategy will work best for him and pursue one

@abooaw4588 16 днів тому

Yeap another comment ! Hope people who believe or worship are listening to this episode and understand why religions hack our brains through flags or territories.