Curiosity Weekly
Pain of Uncertainty, Nearsightedness, Doctors Join Forces
Aug 31, 2023
Participants are willing to endure pain for useless information, as shown in an experiment with monkeys. The podcast also explores the link between nearsightedness and education, as well as the potential consequences. Additionally, the benefits of connecting doctors through a social media app designed for collaboration are discussed, with improved diagnostic accuracy as a result.
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Quick takeaways
- Humans are willing to endure pain to eliminate uncertainty and gain useless information.
- Increased education and close-up work may contribute to the development of nearsightedness.
Deep dives
People willing to endure pain for useless information
In a recent experiment, psychologist Stefan Bode found that people were willing to endure physical pain just to learn information that was essentially useless. Between 2009 and 2015, experiments with Macaque Monkeys showed a similar trend, where they were willing to give up a portion of their reward to learn about future rewards, even if the knowledge had no impact on the actual rewards. This study suggests that humans have a natural desire to eliminate uncertainty and place a high value on information.
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