 Have you ever had a mechanic tell you that your brakes are at four millimeters and you don't even know if that's good or bad? Or have you ever been trying to explain something to a child and it just won't sink in? Some of this is based on something called the curse of knowledge. And that's something I don't think Coffee Break takes into consideration when he's talking about pop science. In this video, we're gonna be discussing the need for pop science, how long form science is bias, and how not even scientists agree on everything. What is up, everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul, where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And if you're new to my channel, what I try to do is take a look at different topics going on in the YouTube community or pop culture and try to see what we can learn from them. And I like to discuss things like psychology, philosophy, science is a good one as well, and really just try to get our wheels turning a little bit. So if you're into that stuff, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And don't forget, follow me over on Instagram and Twitter at the Rewired Soul. And another reason you should follow me is because many of you know this, every video that we do, 20% of the ad revenue goes towards some sort of charity or nonprofit. And I try to tie it in with the topic of the video. So anyways, I posted this over on Instagram as well as Twitter earlier. And with this one, since we're talking about science and education, I wanted to hear from all of you. Like, do you know of any organizations that are dedicated to education or even helping teachers and things like that? Like, let me know over on Instagram or Twitter, leave me a comment and yeah, I will announce who we're gonna be donating 20% of the ad revenue to, all right? Because education is a big, big, big thing. And I also think it's important that teachers are taken care of as well. And like, I don't know, I think that's something all of us can get behind like treat teachers better. You know what I'm saying? So in the coffee break video, he dives into the topic of pop science and he discusses it from different angles. And obviously a channel like Coffee Break, he's doing a little bit of pop science, but he also discussed how it's a little bit more nuanced, there's things that are being left out and all of that. But the first topic that I wanna discuss is something called the Curse of Knowledge, all right? I just finished this awesome book called Made to Stick and it's about how some ideas stick. It's a really interesting book, it's written by two brothers. And anyways, like it discusses why some like certain urban legends or just misinformation, like fake news sticks with people, right? Even oftentimes after that information is corrected. But anyways, part of it too is how to get your own ideas to stick with people and they discuss the curse of knowledge. So one of the things is when Coffee Break discusses how they kind of pop science will kind of like dumb down things, maybe leave things out or he even points to people like Neil deGrasse Tyson who is very good and charismatic and tries to make science an everyday conversation, like things are being left out. But anyways, the Curse of Knowledge is something that many of us struggle with when we're very knowledgeable in an area, right? Like this is something that you might have dealt with but imagine if Neil deGrasse Tyson was talking to all of us like we were scientists, you know what I mean? Like my question is, how do you get people interested in something without, you know, I think Coffee Break actually mentioned this without like going off to college and getting a degree in it. Like how do you get people interested in this stuff? This is something that I'm constantly thinking about. Like you guys are well aware of the formula of my channel. Like I try to discuss, you know, more complex topics but I tie it in with YouTube culture, pop culture, you know, and things like that. Like I try to talk about psychology and philosophy. These are things that I feel are very important when not everybody is gonna go through and you know, go take these courses or read books and learn about like the latest research and all that type of stuff. So I'm always trying to say, okay, how do I convey this to the average person, right? But this is something that you have experienced as well. I have experienced with this too. A great example of this is like, I used to be a service advisor for six years. If you don't know what a service advisor is at a car dealership when you buy a brand new car and you bring it in, the guy that you yell at because your brand new car is broken, that was me. All right, but we also did like maintenance repairs and stuff like that on a wide range of vehicles. But anyways, part of that job was explaining what's wrong with a car to people who don't understand cars, right? So there are things that are gonna be left out. There are things that we're not gonna go in great detail about. You know what I mean? So like I was saying in the intro, like, do you know four millimeters of brakes is good or bad? Like how much does it start with and all that kind of stuff. So there are things that we have to do to communicate that to people who aren't experts in that field. And we all have our own expertise. Like you start talking to me about like certain things with like the stock market and stuff like that. I have no idea what you're talking about. So I need you to dumb it down for me. But I also think about how my son is 10 years old and part of, you know, part of raising a child is how do you teach this to somebody who has, you know, no experience with this situation yet? You see what I mean? And it's kind of fun. You know, it's kind of fun teaching others and trying to figure those things out. But that's why I kind of disagree with Coffee Break that this is necessarily a bad thing because it's bringing people in to bigger conversations that they may not have been a part of already. So another point that Coffee Break brings up is that pop science leaves out nuance and counter arguments. And something that I want to discuss and I've been meaning to discuss this on my channel for a long time, like science is bias. Like there is a lot of bias in science, not all science is bias, but this is why they have peer reviewed studies. But a great example of, you know, not presenting counter arguments is this right here. This is long form. This is a neuroscientist named Mark Lewis. And this is talking about the science of addiction. And in order to argue his point, he does not share the positive research that surrounds 12 step programs. And he kind of concludes this entire talk by talking about how transcranial magnetic stimulation is the best way to go. And I agree, a lot of research backs up transcranial magnetic stimulation, but he leaves out how much does it cost? Who has access to this, right? Like when you think of drug addiction, do you think of somebody who can afford transcranial magnetic stimulation? But here's the thing, like much like everybody else, Mark Lewis is a human being who is going to have his own bias, he's gonna have his own views and opinions. And even in this hour long talk about the science of addiction, he's going to do everything to build up his own argument and defend it. He's not gonna present a bunch of ideas that would go against what he wants to convey to the audience. I think Sam Harris also brings up a great point about when it comes to bias in science. Like Sam Harris's main argument, as somebody who's like this very outspoken atheist, is he argues that scientists cannot be objective and religious at the same time. Because on the path to truth, where scientists are always trying to find, there's going to be certain places where their religious beliefs come into play, which might skew their research. And lastly, we need to talk about like, scientists don't always agree on everything. So Coffee Break discusses how there's things left out and Malcolm Gladwell when he was getting backlash about his marijuana article and everything like that. Like we also need to understand that like science doesn't always agree with each other, right? Like I've seen people argue from everything from addiction and psychology to like global warming and economics. Like people who are professionals, well educated in that field, they have arguments and debates. So I don't really think it's fair to say, you know, pop science, like when they're sharing their opinion or views on something that it's wrong because some people disagree with them. Like there are groups of scientists who disagree with each other. Hell, if we're being honest, there are scientists who disagree with global warming. Think about that for a second. But I also think one of the biggest misconceptions out there is that, you know, science is always this pure thing, right? Like some of you watch channels like Coffee Break or you come to my channel to learn about things, right? Because you know how some of these are actually being twisted based on ulterior motives. A great story that I just heard about in one of my books was this story about these Harvard scientists, all right? There was three Harvard scientists who were secretly paid by the sugar industry to write papers saying that sugar was not the problem. Fats were the problem. And this scientific, quote unquote, scientific evidence shifted the way a lot of people were eating. It led to a lot of the obesity crisis in the United States like a few decades ago, okay? It didn't come out until years later that the sugar industry paid the scientists, all right? So think about that for a second. And if you think that I just like cherry picked this, this story about these Harvard scientists, I think one of the best examples is the current opioid epidemic, all right? Currently, huge corporations like Purdue Pharma and Johnson and Johnson are paying billions and billions of dollars for falsely advertising the effects and side effects of opioids, right? But aside from that, there are doctors going to jail left and right for becoming pill mills, right? Like this is something that hits very close to home for me because I'm a recovering drug addict. Now, I'm not saying that all scientists or all doctors are incorrect, but sometimes we need people like Malcolm Gladwell or we need people like Johann Hari to come in and discuss these things, right? So what's the solution to this? In my opinion, the solution is to be an independent thinker, right? Just take in information with a grain of salt and I think like from my experience what I've learned about the best thinkers out there, they actively search for opinions that disagree with them, all right? Like that's the best thing that we could do because so many of us, we just keep looking for things that agree with our opinions and how are we ever gonna learn or grow if all we're doing is honing in on things that already confirm our beliefs? You know what I mean? But anyways, I do feel that pop science is a necessity because it helps take these complex issues and kind of turn them into something that's a little bit more palatable, all right? But anyways, that's all I got for this video. Don't forget down in the comments below, let me know of a good organization that we can donate some money to, all right? That deals with education and all that stuff, okay? But anyways, that's all I got for this video. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're new, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And a huge, huge thank you to everybody who supports the channel over on Patreon as well as everybody who supports the channel buying books, and merch, and all that kind of good stuff. I appreciate you. All right, thanks again for watching. I'll see you next time.