Charan Ranganath

And so that scrolling is going to be more potent because, as you pointed out, the algorithms are all designed to suck up our attention. So psychologist Herb Simon came up with this beautiful term called the attention economy, right? Mm-hmm. And so the idea is that the more information that you have in front of you, the more impoverished you are in terms of your attention.

And so that scrolling is going to be more potent because, as you pointed out, the algorithms are all designed to suck up our attention. So psychologist Herb Simon came up with this beautiful term called the attention economy, right? Mm-hmm. And so the idea is that the more information that you have in front of you, the more impoverished you are in terms of your attention.

So there's no such thing as free speech because it's like you have a limited supply of attention. So everything has a cost. And so the more information you have in front of you, the harder it is to pay attention to what's important. And that's where I think the older adults really lose some of their functioning because basically –

So there's no such thing as free speech because it's like you have a limited supply of attention. So everything has a cost. And so the more information you have in front of you, the harder it is to pay attention to what's important. And that's where I think the older adults really lose some of their functioning because basically –

So there's no such thing as free speech because it's like you have a limited supply of attention. So everything has a cost. And so the more information you have in front of you, the harder it is to pay attention to what's important. And that's where I think the older adults really lose some of their functioning because basically –

I talk about in the book, and it's not a perfect analogy, is neurons are functioning kind of like a democracy in the sense that, you know, real democracies involve these political coalitions or alliances, right?

I talk about in the book, and it's not a perfect analogy, is neurons are functioning kind of like a democracy in the sense that, you know, real democracies involve these political coalitions or alliances, right?

I talk about in the book, and it's not a perfect analogy, is neurons are functioning kind of like a democracy in the sense that, you know, real democracies involve these political coalitions or alliances, right?

I mean, people talk about the right and the left, but that's dumb because it's like there's always just alliances between people who like different things, and they just form these convenient alliances with each other. But let's just imagine neurons kind of do this in the brain, right? And so you have...

I mean, people talk about the right and the left, but that's dumb because it's like there's always just alliances between people who like different things, and they just form these convenient alliances with each other. But let's just imagine neurons kind of do this in the brain, right? And so you have...

I mean, people talk about the right and the left, but that's dumb because it's like there's always just alliances between people who like different things, and they just form these convenient alliances with each other. But let's just imagine neurons kind of do this in the brain, right? And so you have...

in theory, to be able to pay attention to something, some coalition of neurons has to be firing a lot that is corresponding to the thing that you're trying to pay attention to. But if something is salient, bright, shiny, loud, it's just grabbing your attention.

in theory, to be able to pay attention to something, some coalition of neurons has to be firing a lot that is corresponding to the thing that you're trying to pay attention to. But if something is salient, bright, shiny, loud, it's just grabbing your attention.

in theory, to be able to pay attention to something, some coalition of neurons has to be firing a lot that is corresponding to the thing that you're trying to pay attention to. But if something is salient, bright, shiny, loud, it's just grabbing your attention.

What's going to happen is that those neurons start to shout down the neurons that are trying to keep you on what's not shiny, but it's important, right? And so what happens is with the prefrontal cortex, you can bias that competition. That's the term that people have used in literature.

What's going to happen is that those neurons start to shout down the neurons that are trying to keep you on what's not shiny, but it's important, right? And so what happens is with the prefrontal cortex, you can bias that competition. That's the term that people have used in literature.

What's going to happen is that those neurons start to shout down the neurons that are trying to keep you on what's not shiny, but it's important, right? And so what happens is with the prefrontal cortex, you can bias that competition. That's the term that people have used in literature.

That allows you... So what people have found, for instance, just a really cool finding again is you can find in the visual cortex neurons that fire when you're seeing something red. Neurons that fire when you see something blue, let's say, right? I'm kind of distorting the picture, but you get the idea.

That allows you... So what people have found, for instance, just a really cool finding again is you can find in the visual cortex neurons that fire when you're seeing something red. Neurons that fire when you see something blue, let's say, right? I'm kind of distorting the picture, but you get the idea.

That allows you... So what people have found, for instance, just a really cool finding again is you can find in the visual cortex neurons that fire when you're seeing something red. Neurons that fire when you see something blue, let's say, right? I'm kind of distorting the picture, but you get the idea.