Why Everything We Do Matters & The Importance of Big Tech Oversight - SYSK Choice
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If you like something you should know, you're probably a curious person who enjoys learning about the world. And if you're looking for more places to learn, you should know about a podcast from TED called How to Be a Better Human. The host, Chris Duffy, was recently a guest here talking about why he loves laughter and how you can find more of it in your everyday life. On How to Be a Better Human, Chris interviews scientists, experts, and TED speakers about fascinating practical topics from... How your dog experiences the world, to how to stop doom scrolling, to how to find a deeper sense of belonging. You can find How to Be a Better Human wherever you listen to podcasts. Today on Something You Should Know, being touched or massaged feels good, but does it have real benefits?
Then the tiniest, flukiest events can drastically alter the course of your life, and that could be a good thing.
I understand that the world is constantly in flux, that there are small things that can make a big difference and so on. Maybe I'll experiment 5 to 15% more in my life. There's a lot of studies that show this makes happier people, and it also makes for more resilient solutions.
Also, can fast food cause allergies? And big tech? They collect a lot of information about you, and some important people are demanding change.
What about if we just collected the information that's necessary to conduct the transaction that doesn't include your location and the last eight sites that you went to? But that's what gets collected.
All this today on Something You Should Know.
Something you should know. Fascinating intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers.
Hi, and welcome to Something You Should Know. Most listeners know this, but in case you're not aware, we publish three episodes a week, Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. And they are published in the middle of the night, so when you wake up in the morning, they're right there. I mention it only because I would hate for you to miss an episode. Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. First up today, we all know that being touched can feel good, but does touch have an actual biological effect? Well, it sure seems to. Research on the effects of massage show that massage has a positive impact on anxiety and depression. But what about simple, supportive touch between friends and family? Yes, that seems to help too.
Studies, including one done at Brigham Young University, have shown that touch calms our nervous center and slows down our heartbeat. Human touch also lowers blood pressure as well as cortisol, our stress hormone. It also triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone known for promoting emotional bonding with other people. Studies using brain scans have found that the brain quiets down in response to stress when a person's hand is held. The effect is greatest when the hand is being held by a loved one, but it still works even with a stranger. It is hard to argue with the positive power of human touch. And that is something you should know. So there is this idea that everything can affect anything, and anything can affect everything.
And ultimately, how your life goes is not as much in your control as you might like to think. Whether you eat cereal or an egg for breakfast could drastically change the outcome of your life. I don't know how, but it could.
What are the biological benefits of human touch?
If you stayed in bed five minutes longer, your life could be very different than if you hadn't. If you put your left sock on before your right sock, that could change everything. There's a lot more to this, and here to explain it a lot better than me is Brian Klass. Brian is an associate professor in global politics at University College in London, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, and author of the book Fluke, Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters. Hey, Brian, welcome to Something You Should Know. Thanks for having me on the show. So explain what I started talking about here, how everything can affect everything.
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