February 13, 2012

Aware Am I?

52 minutes

Humans are pleasure-seekers – from food to sex to fine art. But do we know why we crave what we do? Discover the surprising motivation behind our desires. Also, why our hedonistic cousins, the bonobos, may hold the secret to world peace.

Plus, self-awareness in monkeys: can they really pass the mirror test? Can bacteria, for that matter? Nope! But since you are, cell for cell, more microbe than human, you’ll want to know just how cognitively aware these critters are.

Guests:

Paul Bloom - Psychologist at Yale University and author of How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like

Julie Neiworth - Psychologist, Carleton College

Vanessa Woods - Research scientist at Duke University and author of Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo. Find out more about helping bonobos.

Jim Shapiro - Bacterial geneticist, University of Chicago

First aired November 1, 2010.

Descripción en español

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By Big Picture Science

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