Why We Do What We Do

Berserkers may or may not have been real people. There is evidence to suggest they did exist. But they were elite warriors who belonged to a tribal lifestyle and were often recruited for war. In battle, they would lead the charge with little or no armor or protection. Their blind rage resulted in something like psychological warfare by frightening their opponents with their extremeness. How did they accomplish this? Probably not with mushrooms as many would have you believe, but possibly with the assistance of some other mind-altering substance. A fascinating discussion into the history and lore of these ancient warriors.

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This continues and concludes our discussion on why people do the "stupid" things that they do. Again, mostly they don't. This was particularly challenging because we challenged ourselves to confront things that we (Shane and Abraham) think of as stupid. We also recommend a book and a TV series because... why not?

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Happy New Year! To keep this a fun and easy episode, we simply enumerated some things that people do that appear to be "stupid." In an exercise in perspective-taking, and informed by behavior science, we speculate about the motivations and rationale for why people do "stupid" things.

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Happy Holidays! We didn't mention the holidays when we recorded because I wasn't sure what the publishing schedule was going to be at the time that we recorded this. Anyway, we finish up our discussion about how psychedelics might be used in clinical settings and end on a note of optimism for where applications for this might go... if they are done correctly!

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We follow our conversation from the previous episode with a discussion more about how psychedelics work on our psychology through our language. This is where we will likely find utility for therapy. However, there are early warning signs that we are heading down a dangerous path...

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Psychedelics have an interesting history in medicinal uses. They have been used for good and for ill. This discussion is both optimistic and cautionary. If we rush into this without being careful, then we will only stoke the flames of fear and hatred from those who are adamantly opposed to drugs of any kind. There are likely some therapeutic benefits in psychedelics for mental health, so if we are going to do this well, we have to do it right, and we have to be scientific about it. Be hopeful and skeptical!

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Prions are misfolded proteins that mostly occur in the brain. Prions can cause other proteins to misfold, which rots the brain away and results in death. Sometimes prion diseases are genetic, but sometimes we get them from consuming foods that have prions in them. They are incurable but can take many years to show symptoms. Join us in our discussion about the biology, process, and outcomes of prion diseases.

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When a limb is lost or removed, most people report feeling a sensation of pain in the area where that body part used to be... even though it's gone! Long understood to be a part of the experience in humans, we now know much more about this strange phenomenon. For one thing, did you know that babies born without a limb might experience phantom limb pain in that missing limb? That and so many other interesting facts to questions that you didn't even know that you had, such as "where is the pain located in the missing body part, the whole thing, or only in part?" and "Does the pain flare up occasionally? Or is it constant? Or does it fade?" and so many more! Furthermore, there is one very simple and cheap treatment that works remarkably well for some people that involves tricking the mind into believing the limb is no longer gone! Listen in to find out more.

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Lead has been used as cosmetics, sweetener, a contraceptive, and a host of other things. We even discovered it was detrimental to our health, but ramped up consumption of this dangerous metal anyway. Lead was used in paint because it made it better, and tasted sweet, so kids licked it. It was also used in gasoline because it prevented engines from knocking... and then was expelled into the air where we all breathed it in. Beyond the history, we described how lead is able to infiltrate our brains by mimicking other helpful chemicals, and then rot the brains from the inside out. We accidentally allude to the idea of their being a giant conspiracy around lead, but correct ourselves at the end. Good times.

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Special guest, Stu Law, has studied humor and comedy as a hobby and somewhat more directly in his career. He has evaluated what makes us laugh and come to the conclusion that... well, you can find out by listening! But in short, comedy is evolving, contextual, and cultural. We become funny by watching and practicing. Stu will recap some of his favorite moments in comedy and some of his favorite jokes.

Remember that you can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at [email protected], through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.

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