David Eagleman

I don't know. Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, magicians have been for centuries very good at this. It's so easy to get the audience's attention to go here and there. They do all kinds of things like they never move their hand in a straight line. They move in a curved arc. And for whatever reason, you just can't resist having your attention follow that.

Yeah. And whatever they're doing where they are moving their hand, what they do is they set things up so that you're a little suspicious maybe of what they're doing with their left hand. So you're thinking, I'm a smart audience member. I'm going to keep an eye on the left hand. And while they're doing that, while you're watching, they're doing the right hand is do whatever they want.

Yeah. And whatever they're doing where they are moving their hand, what they do is they set things up so that you're a little suspicious maybe of what they're doing with their left hand. So you're thinking, I'm a smart audience member. I'm going to keep an eye on the left hand. And while they're doing that, while you're watching, they're doing the right hand is do whatever they want.

Yeah. And whatever they're doing where they are moving their hand, what they do is they set things up so that you're a little suspicious maybe of what they're doing with their left hand. So you're thinking, I'm a smart audience member. I'm going to keep an eye on the left hand. And while they're doing that, while you're watching, they're doing the right hand is do whatever they want.

And it's total inattentional blindness to the right hand.

And it's total inattentional blindness to the right hand.

And it's total inattentional blindness to the right hand.

Yeah. So this is something I've been very interested in for a very long time is about... how as a species, we're so cooperative. The reason we've built our whole civilization as well as we have is because we're so good at linking arms and making stuff happen. But we evolved in small groups. And so we are very prone to saying, this is my in-group and those people over there, they're my out-group.

Yeah. So this is something I've been very interested in for a very long time is about... how as a species, we're so cooperative. The reason we've built our whole civilization as well as we have is because we're so good at linking arms and making stuff happen. But we evolved in small groups. And so we are very prone to saying, this is my in-group and those people over there, they're my out-group.

Yeah. So this is something I've been very interested in for a very long time is about... how as a species, we're so cooperative. The reason we've built our whole civilization as well as we have is because we're so good at linking arms and making stuff happen. But we evolved in small groups. And so we are very prone to saying, this is my in-group and those people over there, they're my out-group.

And it turns out there's been lots of studies like that from my lab, many other labs showing that we just have less empathy for people in our outgroups. We just don't care about them as much as in if they get hurt or something. So here's a study that I ran in the lab some years ago.

And it turns out there's been lots of studies like that from my lab, many other labs showing that we just have less empathy for people in our outgroups. We just don't care about them as much as in if they get hurt or something. So here's a study that I ran in the lab some years ago.

And it turns out there's been lots of studies like that from my lab, many other labs showing that we just have less empathy for people in our outgroups. We just don't care about them as much as in if they get hurt or something. So here's a study that I ran in the lab some years ago.

We put you in the brain scanner, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, and you see six hands on the screen, six hands that all pretty much look alike. And the computer goes around and picks one of the hands. And then you see that hand either get touched with a Q-tip or stabbed with a syringe needle. And yeah, exactly. Watching it was getting stabbed with a syringe needle. Is it real?

We put you in the brain scanner, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, and you see six hands on the screen, six hands that all pretty much look alike. And the computer goes around and picks one of the hands. And then you see that hand either get touched with a Q-tip or stabbed with a syringe needle. And yeah, exactly. Watching it was getting stabbed with a syringe needle. Is it real?

We put you in the brain scanner, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, and you see six hands on the screen, six hands that all pretty much look alike. And the computer goes around and picks one of the hands. And then you see that hand either get touched with a Q-tip or stabbed with a syringe needle. And yeah, exactly. Watching it was getting stabbed with a syringe needle. Is it real?

The way we filmed it is we made a syringe needle that contracts. So as you're pushing, the needle's actually going back up.

The way we filmed it is we made a syringe needle that contracts. So as you're pushing, the needle's actually going back up.

The way we filmed it is we made a syringe needle that contracts. So as you're pushing, the needle's actually going back up.

Yeah, but it looks quite horrifying. And so what we do then is the way we analyze that kind of data is we compare the two cases. And in the case where the hand is getting stabbed, you have all this area come online, this network of areas, I should say, that we summarize as the pain matrix. And that's what happens if you get hurt.