What happens when your brain is deprived of stimulation? What effect does being cut off from interaction with the outside world have on a person? What effect does it have on me, when I am locked in a windowless, soundproof isolation chamber for three days? In this episode of Mind Field, I take both an objective and a very intimate look at Isolation.
We are all unique individuals. We follow the beat of our own drum. We wouldn’t throw our own beliefs out the window just to fit in...or would we? In this episode of Mind Field, I demonstrate the strong, human urge to conform, and just how far people will go to fall in with the crowd.
We humans love to build, create, and organize. So why do we also love to destroy things? Can violently breaking stuff really help to calm us down, or does it just make us more angry? In this episode of Mind Field, I take a hard look at our urge to destroy.
So you say you love your computer or smartphone...but can it love you back? As we become more dependent on technology, and our technology becomes more lifelike, where does the line between human and computer lie? And what happens when our relationships become romantic? In this episode of Mind Field, I look into Artificial Intelligence.
We may value having Freedom of Choice, but are we actually happier when we have limited choices...or even no choice at all? Do we truly have control over our decisions, or are they really predetermined by other forces? My fellow YouTubers and I have our minds read by a “box” that reveals who - or what - is really calling the shots.
How much of the sensations we feel is determined by our physical bodies? Maybe our minds play a bigger role than we know. I’ll see if people can be tricked into feeling intense physical pain, even though it’s all in their heads. I’ll also look at a machine that makes it possible for you to tickle yourself, and I’ll show you a weird physical illusion you can do at home.
How much do we communicate through facial expressions? Are our expressions affected by our moods, or is it the other way around? And what happens to your ability to relate to others when your facial muscles are frozen by Botox? In this episode of Mind Field, I take a look at what’s In Your Face.
What makes you, you? If even the most basic parts of you, like your memories or your past, can be forgotten or manipulated, how can you know ever really know who “you” are? In this episode of Mind Field I look at how well Do You Know Yourself?
Would you reroute a train to run over one person to prevent it from running over five others? In the classic “Trolley Problem” survey, most people say they would. But I wanted to test what people would actually do in a real-life situation. In the world’s first realistic simulation of this controversial moral dilemma, unsuspecting subjects will be forced to make what they believe is a life-or-death decision.
I get candid with Grayson Brulte, autonomous vehicle expert, as we discuss the potential ethical issues associated with driverless cars.
Do psychedelic drugs really bring about self-healing and personal enlightenment? New research says they may. In this episode, I travel to the Amazonian jungle of Peru to experience the mind-expanding effects of the psychedelic brew Ayahuasca. I’m joined by Imperial College London’s Head of Psychedelic Research, Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, who measures the impact of Ayahuasca on my brain.
Watch as a Peruvian Shaman performs his icaro—or healing chant—in its entirety, from my Ayahuasca ceremony.
With just seven days until my Ayahuasca ceremony, I fill out a recommended personality survey—which becomes a little revealing.
I explore how psychedelics can improve mental health in my interview with cancer survivor Gail Thomas, as we discuss her experience in a study involving psilocybin--or mushrooms.
Is there a way to experience the effects of psychedelic drugs without having to ingest anything? Watch as I test out a few of these unconventional audio and visual files to see if their claims are true.
Psychology. Neuroscience. Drugs. All can be tools of interrogation. In this episode, an expert shows me how to coerce unsuspecting subjects into signing false confessions; a police psychologist questions me about my personal life after I am injected with a truth serum; and I match wits against a new brainwave-reading lie-detection method developed at Northwestern University.
Expert Melissa Russano elicits a false confession from one of our test subjects in this fascinating, uncut session.
I sit down with Jeffrey Deskovic, a real-life victim of a false confession conviction.
Technology isn’t just changing our lives. It’s literally changing our brains -- and maybe for the better. In this episode, I’m a human lab rat in a groundbreaking study at UC Irvine, where scientists test how playing 3D video games affects my spatial memory. Will 10 days of gaming improve my ability to physically navigate a giant, 60-foot maze? And will an fMRI machine detect any physical changes to my brain?
Check out this extended cut of my challenging experience as a human lab rat in a giant, 60-foot real-world maze.
What makes a hero? Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, now runs seminars to teach everyday people how to be heroes. But can heroism be learned? I put his unsuspecting students into a fake crisis situation to see if they would act heroically. Also, I asked employees to help me run a seemingly dangerous experiment, to see if they would blow the whistle to stop me.
I interview Shirley Dygert, a first time skydiver, and her tandem skydiving instructor, Dave Hartsock, about a treacherous skydive they both miraculously survived.
In San Diego, real-life superheroes walk the streets as part of the Xtreme Justice League. I chat with Mr. Xtreme, one of the league’s most visible members, to discuss what it means to be a hero in today’s society.
Exactly how do placebos work? Researchers believe that, through the power of suggestion, placebos may unleash the power of our own subconscious minds to cure ourselves. I was honored to participate in McGill University’s groundbreaking study of an accessory-assisted placebo. Could a fake, non-functioning “Sham Brain Scanner” enable children with ADHD and other neurological conditions to alleviate their own symptoms?
Check out the final stage of our power of suggestion test, where we try to convince our subjects that a brain scanner can implant a number in their minds.
I go deeper into accessory-assisted placebos by discussing sham acupuncture—and getting stuck with a few needles in the process.
I attempt to discuss placebos, but my furry co-star keeps stealing the scene.
Scientists can’t dissect living people’s brains to study their function. But by examining the behavior of people whose brains are atypical (due to stroke, injury, or being born that way), we can learn a lot about all our brains. In this episode, I travel to London to meet a blind, autistic savant with astonishing musical abilities, and I volunteer to have my own brain’s function temporarily disrupted at UCLA’s Neuromodulation Lab.
Let’s do a little test. I’ll play two tones and you see if you’re one of the few people who can notice a difference between them.
Derek Paravicini, a blind, autistic pianist and musical savant, sits down with me at the keyboard and shows off his incredible range of musical styles.
Jazz pianist Dave O’Brien and his student Derek Paravicini play an impressive piano duet for me.
Our nervous system is fundamentally electric. We move our arm by sending a signal to the muscles that control it. That means we can bypass our brains and use electricity to control our bodies, or use our minds to control other bodies. In this episode, I explore how we can use electricity and our brains to control cockroaches, move other people’s limbs, restore motion to people who are paralyzed, and even read people’s minds.
Humans are the only Earthlings with complex language. But at what cost was that ability acquired? In this episode, I visit Tetsuro Matsuzawa to learn about his influential cognitive tradeoff hypothesis.
With the help of Cecile Sarabian, Dr. Andrew MacIntosh and some fake poop, Michael observes levels of disgust among Japanese Macaques.
Kyoto University Ph.D. candidate Jie Gao shares her research involving Chimpanzees and the schoolyard game “Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
Michael and Dr. Terrence Deacon discuss the connection between language and the physical brain.
How are our moral decisions influenced by factors we’re not aware of? A phenomenon known as Moral Licensing claims that when we do something good, we often subconsciously allow ourselves to then do something bad. In this episode, I take a look at whether those who donate money to charity become more likely to let a kid take the blame for a crime they know they committed.
We edited the fake Los Angeles parks PSA from our Moral Licensing demonstration!
Michael wrestles with two moral dilemmas in VR, designed by researchers Dr. Erick Ramirez and Dr. Scott LaBarge.
There are 100 billion individual neurons in the human brain. Working together, they allow us to make sense of, and move through, the world around us. Scientists have built replicas of the human brain with computers, but no one has ever successfully made a brain out of humans. On this episode, I’ll travel back to my hometown of Stilwell, Kansas, and turn it into a working brain!
Normal people can become monsters, given the right situation. That’s the standard narrative of the Stanford Prison Experiment, one of the most famous psychological experiments of all time. But what if the cause of its participants’ cruel behavior wasn’t what we’ve always been told?
If I could live forever, should I? How does being reminded of our own mortality affect us psychologically? In this episode I speak with mortician and death positivity activist Caitlin Doughty and visit a cryonics facility trying to extend human life indefinitely. Will I take them up on their offer, or will I choose to die?
If we send messages to outer space, what should they say? And how should they be written? Should we even attempt to make contact with whatever (or whoever) might be out there at all?
How can a lie become true? In this episode, Dr. Aaron Blaisdell and I create a game show that is actually a giant “human Skinner Box” to observe the formation of superstitious beliefs. And Dr. Samuel Veissière helps me design and perform a placebo reverse exorcism, harnessing the power of belief in both science and religion to convince normal people that a spirit has possessed their bodies.
Does mind reading freak you out? I knew you’d say that. On this episode, I’ll explore the science behind real-life mind reading. I’ll visit a researcher who will attempt to reconstruct images from my memory, and travel to Japan to meet with a scientist who is - for the first time ever – predicting the content of peoples’ dreams.
Everyone is scared of something ... but what's the SCARIEST thing? Is it even possible to answer such a question? In this special Michael explores the dark recesses of the mind to learn how fears are born and whether there exists a grand, unifying terror.
Research Physiatrist Marcie Bockbrader talks to me about a brain-computer interface project that is helping a paralyzed man move his arm.
I interview principal research statistician David Friedenberg about his role in analyzing all the data collected in a project aimed at helping a paralyzed man move again.
Michael uses a series of coin flips and a large group of people to demonstrate the “wisdom of the crowd.”
Michael recruits local Vsauce fans for his Brain experiment, and fields questions in a Q&A setting.
Michael shares memories with his mom, who has saved everything from his childhood - from report cards to his space camp jacket.
Michael takes Dr. Chris Eliasmith on a tour through his high school, including his forensics team’s wall of fame.
Michael conducts his own version of the famous “jelly bean jar” experiment and reveals the statistical significance of the results.
Michael learns the true story behind Stanford Prison Experiment guard Dave Eshleman’s “John Wayne” moniker.
Michael learns more about Ben Blum’s cousin Alex and his personal transformation after participating in an armed bank robbery
Michael meets with Caitlin Doughty and learns about a death-positive culture in Indonesia, where relatives keep their dead loved ones in their homes.
Michael meets with psychologists Dr. Jeff Greenberg and Dr. Sheldon Solomon to discuss how death affects our world views.
Michael visits Alcor life extension and learns about the first person to ever be frozen using cryonics.
Michael visits Alcor life extension and learns about the family behind – and preserved by – cryonics.
Michael discusses the philosophy of death, and its changing definition, with Dr. Max More, CEO of Alcor life extension.
Michael and Dr. Douglas Vakoch discuss Barnard’s Star, the closest star to our solar system, within the context of sending messages into space.
Michael and Dr. Steven Vance discuss the famous “Golden Record”, which was sent aboard NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
I asked a group of colleagues who worked with me on the series to sit down at Vsauce HQ and watch through three entire episodes. We go behind the scenes, elaborate on topics in the episodes, and dig in to what impact working on Mind Field has had on their current research.
