Russell A. Poldrack

And you're right that most of the habits that we have in the world, when I'm going to lock the door as I leave the house, I don't feel a craving to do that. But what we know is that it's actually the same machinery in our brains that creates the habit of locking your door when you leave and the habit of needing to go have another cigarette.

The main difference is that if you think about what are the things in the world that cause these kinds of habits we're talking about, the ones where we kind of feel compelled to do something, they're mostly driven by these features of the modern world that weren't there when we were evolving millions of years ago. The world has these really powerful. stimuli that impinge on our brains.

The main difference is that if you think about what are the things in the world that cause these kinds of habits we're talking about, the ones where we kind of feel compelled to do something, they're mostly driven by these features of the modern world that weren't there when we were evolving millions of years ago. The world has these really powerful. stimuli that impinge on our brains.

The main difference is that if you think about what are the things in the world that cause these kinds of habits we're talking about, the ones where we kind of feel compelled to do something, they're mostly driven by these features of the modern world that weren't there when we were evolving millions of years ago. The world has these really powerful. stimuli that impinge on our brains.

And the chemicals that we ingest are the big ones. So think about why is it that you have to have the cigarette? Well, it's because every time you have a cigarette, the nicotine goes into your bloodstream and it goes and affects some neurons in your brain. And those ultimately cause changes that strengthen that habit. It's happening through the same machinery that generates all the other habits.

And the chemicals that we ingest are the big ones. So think about why is it that you have to have the cigarette? Well, it's because every time you have a cigarette, the nicotine goes into your bloodstream and it goes and affects some neurons in your brain. And those ultimately cause changes that strengthen that habit. It's happening through the same machinery that generates all the other habits.

And the chemicals that we ingest are the big ones. So think about why is it that you have to have the cigarette? Well, it's because every time you have a cigarette, the nicotine goes into your bloodstream and it goes and affects some neurons in your brain. And those ultimately cause changes that strengthen that habit. It's happening through the same machinery that generates all the other habits.

It's such a much more powerful driver of brain activity than anything we ever kind of ran. If you think about what were the things people were eating You know, back when we were, you know, sort of hunter gatherers, they weren't they weren't as tasty as, you know, potato chips or candy bars. Right.

It's such a much more powerful driver of brain activity than anything we ever kind of ran. If you think about what were the things people were eating You know, back when we were, you know, sort of hunter gatherers, they weren't they weren't as tasty as, you know, potato chips or candy bars. Right.

It's such a much more powerful driver of brain activity than anything we ever kind of ran. If you think about what were the things people were eating You know, back when we were, you know, sort of hunter gatherers, they weren't they weren't as tasty as, you know, potato chips or candy bars. Right.

They were like, you know, you might find a little berry or maybe you go like, you know, kill an animal and eat some bone marrow or something like that. We now have these stimuli that affect our brain and in just a fundamentally different way than the things that we evolved with. And that's often what kind of drives these sorts of habits.

They were like, you know, you might find a little berry or maybe you go like, you know, kill an animal and eat some bone marrow or something like that. We now have these stimuli that affect our brain and in just a fundamentally different way than the things that we evolved with. And that's often what kind of drives these sorts of habits.

They were like, you know, you might find a little berry or maybe you go like, you know, kill an animal and eat some bone marrow or something like that. We now have these stimuli that affect our brain and in just a fundamentally different way than the things that we evolved with. And that's often what kind of drives these sorts of habits.

I think in general, it's true that if you take exercising, the way to get yourself to exercise regularly in the long term is to make it part of a routine. And a routine is kind of like a habit where you don't One way to think about it is you don't have to think about whether you're going to the gym or you don't want to have to think about whether to go to the gym today.

I think in general, it's true that if you take exercising, the way to get yourself to exercise regularly in the long term is to make it part of a routine. And a routine is kind of like a habit where you don't One way to think about it is you don't have to think about whether you're going to the gym or you don't want to have to think about whether to go to the gym today.

I think in general, it's true that if you take exercising, the way to get yourself to exercise regularly in the long term is to make it part of a routine. And a routine is kind of like a habit where you don't One way to think about it is you don't have to think about whether you're going to the gym or you don't want to have to think about whether to go to the gym today.

You want to just have that be what you do. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I go to the gym and I don't want to have to get up every morning and decide whether I'm going. I just know that that's what I do on Tuesday and Thursday. And if you have that sort of routine in place, then it becomes kind of self-sustaining, right?

You want to just have that be what you do. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I go to the gym and I don't want to have to get up every morning and decide whether I'm going. I just know that that's what I do on Tuesday and Thursday. And if you have that sort of routine in place, then it becomes kind of self-sustaining, right?

You want to just have that be what you do. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I go to the gym and I don't want to have to get up every morning and decide whether I'm going. I just know that that's what I do on Tuesday and Thursday. And if you have that sort of routine in place, then it becomes kind of self-sustaining, right?

Whereas if you kind of pick and choose every morning, well, I go to the gym today, and if I am, will I go at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. ?