Why We’re Wired to Imitate Others & How to Have a Great Conversation
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Which vegetables are healthier when cooked?
I'll bet you think, I bet most people think, that eating raw vegetables is healthier than eating cooked vegetables. And while that may be true some of the time, it's not always true. Some vegetables are actually better for you when you cook them. Carrots, for example. Boiling carrots until they're tender boosts their concentration of carotenoids, it's a cancer-fighting compound, by 14%. However, frying carrots has the opposite effect. Mushrooms. A cup of cooked mushrooms has about twice as much potassium, niacin, zinc, and magnesium than a cup of raw mushrooms. Spinach. Spinach is packed with nutrients, but you will absorb more of the calcium and iron if you cook it first. Asparagus. One study found that cooking asparagus raises the level of six key nutrients, including antioxidants, by 16%. And tomatoes. Whether they are baked, fried, or turned into spaghetti sauce, heat increases the levels of lycopene, which has been linked to lower rates of cancer and heart disease. And that is something you should know. I'm sure you like to think of yourself as an independent person.
You do things because you choose to do them. No one's telling you what to do most of the time. Generally, you do what you do because it is what you choose to do. Humans have big brains. We think independently. We're wired to blaze our own trail. Well, not always. Here's an example of what I mean.
Why are humans wired to imitate others?
You go into a restaurant with a group of people and the waiter finally gets to you and says, What do you want? And you say, I'll have what she's having. Well, why not get something you want? The fact is we look to others and we follow their lead a lot more than we think. It's what explains the spread of culture, fashion, language, ideas, and behavior. We do what we see other people do. And here to explore this topic and explain why it's important to understand is R. Alexander Bentley. He's a professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, and he's co-author of a book called I'll Have What She's Having, Mapping Social Behavior. Hi, Alexander. Welcome to Something You Should Know. Great to be here, Mike.
So before we get too far into the details here, why is this important and what's the big aha here?
The main thing is that for a hundred years or even more, we've always assumed that humans are fundamentally rational creatures, that they weigh up costs and benefits and then they make a decision based on that.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Which vegetables are healthier when cooked?
1:45–3:27
2
Why are humans wired to imitate others?
3:27–4:37
3
How does social learning influence our choices?
4:37–8:45
4
What is the role of experts in decision-making?
8:45–15:03
5
How does speed of change affect imitating behavior?
15:03–23:46
6
What makes a great conversation?
23:46–50:32
Speakers
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