Dr. Gad Saad

That's why my first book, Parasitic Mind, was about what happens to our cognitive system when it is zombified. And then the next book is what happens to our emotional system when it becomes zombified. If our cognitive system is zombified and then our emotional system is zombified, here we go to the abyss of infinite lunacy.

It's a prime example. It is front and central in my next book, in my book, Salah Empathy. Let me draw an analogy for you, Charlie, from evolutionary psychology. The number one predictor of child abuse in a home, I don't know if you've ever heard me mention this. If you haven't, can I ask you to guess without putting you on the spot?

It's a prime example. It is front and central in my next book, in my book, Salah Empathy. Let me draw an analogy for you, Charlie, from evolutionary psychology. The number one predictor of child abuse in a home, I don't know if you've ever heard me mention this. If you haven't, can I ask you to guess without putting you on the spot?

Can you guess what is the number one predictor of child abuse in a home?

Can you guess what is the number one predictor of child abuse in a home?

No, not quite. If there is a step parent in the house, there is a hundredfold- Meaning what religion they have, but yes. So go ahead, but just to be clear. No, I got you, I got you. Yeah, you know, I got it. So if there is a step parent in the house, there's a hundredfold increase of there being a child abuse in that home.

No, not quite. If there is a step parent in the house, there is a hundredfold- Meaning what religion they have, but yes. So go ahead, but just to be clear. No, I got you, I got you. Yeah, you know, I got it. So if there is a step parent in the house, there's a hundredfold increase of there being a child abuse in that home.

Now, me saying that, which is an absolute incontrovertible fact, doesn't take away from the fact that most step-parents are perfectly lovely and are not abusers, right? Both those statements hold true.

Now, me saying that, which is an absolute incontrovertible fact, doesn't take away from the fact that most step-parents are perfectly lovely and are not abusers, right? Both those statements hold true.

What happens in the British grooming gangs is the minute that you say that there is an epidemiological reality whereby Pakistani Muslims are the primary perpetrators of those crimes, then someone comes along and says, yes, but my uncle Ahmed is a lovely guy and he would never rape a child, right? That is that suicidal empathy reflex, which is,

What happens in the British grooming gangs is the minute that you say that there is an epidemiological reality whereby Pakistani Muslims are the primary perpetrators of those crimes, then someone comes along and says, yes, but my uncle Ahmed is a lovely guy and he would never rape a child, right? That is that suicidal empathy reflex, which is,

Upon hearing something that might marginalize the noble Muslims, please shut that information down. So yes, that is a perfect example of suicidal empathy.

Upon hearing something that might marginalize the noble Muslims, please shut that information down. So yes, that is a perfect example of suicidal empathy.

Well-regulated empathy, right? So let me give you another example that I think will drive that point home. OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, is a psychiatric dysfunction, right? I will spend eight hours washing my hands and scalding hot water until my skin falls off, and then I don't get to work, and then I get fired. It's a dysfunction.

Well-regulated empathy, right? So let me give you another example that I think will drive that point home. OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, is a psychiatric dysfunction, right? I will spend eight hours washing my hands and scalding hot water until my skin falls off, and then I don't get to work, and then I get fired. It's a dysfunction.

But the root of OCD is rooted in an actually adaptive evolutionarily sensible mechanism, which is... It makes evolutionary sense for us to scan the environment for potential threats.

But the root of OCD is rooted in an actually adaptive evolutionarily sensible mechanism, which is... It makes evolutionary sense for us to scan the environment for potential threats.

So if you and I meet, Charlie, and I notice that a second ago you sneezed into your hand and then you put out your hand to shake mine, I might wince at the possibility of shaking your hand precisely because I might get your cold or your bronchitis or whatever it is, right? And therefore it makes evolutionary sense for me to be scanning the world for environmental threats.

So if you and I meet, Charlie, and I notice that a second ago you sneezed into your hand and then you put out your hand to shake mine, I might wince at the possibility of shaking your hand precisely because I might get your cold or your bronchitis or whatever it is, right? And therefore it makes evolutionary sense for me to be scanning the world for environmental threats.

The problem becomes when that warning flag misfires, it becomes hyperactive. So I check that the back door is closed, but then I'm stuck there for the next four hours checking that the door is closed. Well, this is the same idea with empathy. Yes, be empathetic, but not orgiastically so, right? Like life is about regulation. It's about how