Friday, September 3, 2010

Radiolab - Choice

Choice




I have recently discovered a thought provoking radio program called Radiolab by WNYC radio. In Season 5 of their programming, they had a very interesting podcast about Choice. It is hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, both two very entertaining speakers. They constantly debate and compete against each other. Both narrate stories and interview many different experts.

The episode begins with the introduction of the over abundance of choice with Barry Schwartz. He describes the modern day problem, which is a world where everything is available. The possibilities can be terrifying for people, because of the thought of making a bad choice. Throughout the programming they describe some very interesting experiments. And choices become more interesting when you dig into the brain.

Typically, a normal person can hold 7 plus or minus 2 things in short term or working memory. The more you try memorize the more taxing it is on the brain. There is some strong correlation between the number of things you're holding in short term memory and emotional driven decisions. The short term memory uses the rational part of the brain and the emotional part of the brain takes over if that becomes taxed. So a emotionless person would become a perfectly rational person right?

Well... There are instances of a person who lost his emotional capacity. Listen to the podcast to hear the interesting tale. We do need our emotions and it helps drive our daily decisions. It appears that emotional part of the brain collates experiences and builds this short hand decision response. These are your gut feelings and the fragments of our wisdom.

Check out the podcast and try and find out who's really in charge of your decisions.

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