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Ep 26  |  Peter Whybrow

Peter Whybrow: “When More is Not Enough”

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Peter Whybrow The Great Simplification

On this episode we meet with psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author Peter Whybrow.

Whybrow gives us an overview of why humans tend to consume excessively in resource-abundant societies. Why is it difficult for humans to change our ways?

Additionally, Whybrow  shares pathways for humans to move toward having a well-tuned brain.

About Peter Whybrow

Peter C. Whybrow, M.D. is Director Emeritus of the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Judson Braun Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, and author of The Well-Tuned Brain: Neuroscience and the Life Well-Lived.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

00:42 – Peter’s works + info

03:15A Mood Apart

03:34The Dot-Com Bubble

03:50Dopamine

04:04American Mania: When More is Not Enough

04:27The Well Tuned Brain

08:111800s Irish migration 

08:58Migrant gene DRD4-7R* Allele and correlation with the pursuit of novelty

10:31Dennis Meadows and TGS Episode

11:32Reflective vs reflexive thought

14:12Evolutionary Psychology

14:44Discount rate

15:05 Evolutionary creation of the parts of the brain

16:15Adam Smith – The Wealth of Nations

16:25Humans are social creatures

17:30Feedback loops

18:07Adam Smith – The Theory of Moral Sentiments

20:19Loss aversion

21:27We are just as smart now as we were in the ice age

22:23People are addicted to “more”

22:45We are polluting the planet

23:45The neurology of chemical addiction can also apply to things like gambling and shopping

24:40The proximate vs the ultimate

25:32We have no social constraints anymore

28:19We try to compete for status with our peers

30:15Why it’s so difficult for us to constrain ourselves

31:15The importance of trust and empathy for human societies and self-constraint

33:25The importance of oil to plastic

34:11Rats and cocaine experiment

35:41 The problem with infinite economic growth

36:10 Waste from electric cars

37:35Evolutionary benefits of habits

38:10The mechanism of habits can be used to create addiction/bad habits

39:38 Issues with current U.S. education system

42:09The frontal lobes and decision making

42:28Perception-action cycle

48:17John Gowdy TGS Episode

51:01 Teaching social behavior in schools

52:13Finland education system + Book recommended by Peter Whybrow

54:40The US wealth gap – 50% of the population makes less than a living wage

56:05How much of our consumption stems from comparison to others?

57:28Analysis of the slums in post-world war London

1:04:20 Social media can’t substitute for face-to-face interactions

1:06:54Humans shape each other’s behaviors

1:10:01The US is one of the only democratic countries in the world with just two parties


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