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Why You Can't Keep a Secret
Keeping a secret is quite bad for you because it causes a lot of stress.
The interesting thing about the brain is that it doesn't have one central driver. Instead, the brain is made up of a lot of competing subpopulations that are trying to drive the ship. And so you are not one thing. You’re more like a neural parliament made up of different political parties. And this is why people can get mad at themselves and cajole themselves and contract with themselves. It’s because you’re made up of lots of things and they're all trying to be in control.
This leads us to an understanding of a lot of issues about human behavior. One of them that I thought was interesting as I was writing my book, Incognito, was thinking about what is a secret because there's no biological theory about what a secret is. And if you ask, "Well, could a toaster keep a secret or something like that?" it’s hard to imagine what that would even mean.
But we need to take on this team of rivals framework to understand what a secret is, which is that a part of your brain wants to tell something and another part of your brain doesn't want to because of the social consequences of it. That's what's required for a secret. You need multiple parts of the brain that are in competition with one another. If all these different parts want to tell the story, then it’s just a good story. And if none of the parts want to tell it, then it’s just something you don't do. It’s that tension that you get from different populations in the brain, that's what constitutes a secret.
It turns out it’s known from the psychology literature that keeping a secret’s quite bad for you because it causes a lot of stress, and people who are holding secrets, their stress hormone levels go up. They have more doctors visits and so on. And once they release something, then their health improves measurably.
So this allows us to start linking these high-level frameworks about the brain, about competing pieces and parts, to things we know from the psychology literature as we try to understand the relationship between them.
In Their Own Words is recorded in Big Think's studio.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
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Iron Age discoveries uncovered outside London, including a ‘murder’ victim
A man's skeleton, found facedown with his hands bound, was unearthed near an ancient ceremonial circle during a high speed rail excavation project.
04 August, 2020
Photo Credit: HS2
Culture & Religion
- A skeleton representing a man who was tossed face down into a ditch nearly 2,500 years ago with his hands bound in front of his hips was dug up during an excavation outside of London.
- The discovery was made during a high speed rail project that has been a bonanza for archaeology, as the area is home to more than 60 ancient sites along the planned route.
- An ornate grave of a high status individual from the Roman period and an ancient ceremonial circle were also discovered during the excavations.
<p>An ancient skeleton of a man dating back to the Iron Age was uncovered outside of London last month, and though archaeologists aren't certain what the cause of death was, clues point to a murder most foul. </p>
Foul play?
<p>A skeleton representing a man who was tossed face down into a ditch nearly 2,500 years ago with his hands bound in front of his hips was dug up during a high speed rail excavation.</p><p>The positioning of the remains have led archaeologists to suspect that the man may have been a victim of an ancient murder or execution. Though any bindings have since decomposed, his hands were positioned together and pinned under his pelvis. There was also no sign of a grave or coffin. </p><p>"He seems to have had his hands tied, and he was face-down in the bottom of the ditch," <a href="https://www.livescience.com/iron-age-murder-victim-england.html" target="_blank">said archaeologist Rachel Wood</a>, who led the excavation. "There are not many ways that you end up that way."</p><p>Currently, archaeologists are examining the skeleton to uncover more information about the circumstances of the man's death. Fragments of pottery found in the ditch may offer some clues as to exactly when the man died. </p><p>"If he was struck across the head with a heavy object, you could find a mark of that on the back of the skull," Wood said to <a href="https://www.livescience.com/iron-age-murder-victim-england.html" target="_blank">Live Science</a>. "If he was stabbed, you could find blade marks on the ribs. So we're hoping to find something like that, to tell us how he died."</p>Other discoveries at Wellwick Farm
<p>The grim discovery was made at Wellwick Farm near Wendover. That is about 15 miles north-west of the outskirts of London, where <a href="https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/hs2-green-corridor/" target="_blank">a tunnel</a> is going to be built as part of a HS2 high-speed rail project due to open between London and several northern cities sometime after 2028. The infrastructure project has been something of a bonanza for archaeology as the area is home to more than 60 ancient sites along the planned route that are now being excavated before construction begins. </p><p>The farm sits less than a mile away from the ancient highway <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/group/texttechnologies/cgi-bin/stanfordnottingham/places/?icknield" target="_blank">Icknield Way</a> that runs along the tops of the Chiltern Hills. The route (now mostly trails) has been used since prehistoric times. Evidence at Wellwick Farm indicates that from the Neolithic to the Medieval eras, humans have occupied the region for more than 4,000 years, making it a rich area for archaeological finds. </p><p>Wood and her colleagues found some evidence of an ancient village occupied from the late Bronze Age (more than 3,000 years ago) until the Roman Empire's invasion of southern England about 2,000 years ago. At the site were the remains of animal pens, pits for disposing food, and a roundhouse — a standard British dwelling during the Bronze Age constructed with a circular plan made of stone or wood topped with a conical thatched roof.</p>Ceremonial burial site
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTk0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDgwNTIyMX0.I49n1-j8WVhKjIZS_wVWZissnk3W1583yYXB7qaGtN8/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C82%2C0%2C83&height=700" id="44da7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="46cfc8ca1c64fc404b32014542221275" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="top down view of coffin" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />A high status burial in a lead-lined coffin dating back to Roman times.
Photo Credit: HS2
<p>While these ancient people moved away from Wellwick Farm before the Romans invaded, a large portion of the area was still used for ritual burials for high-status members of society, Wood told Live Science. The ceremonial burial site included a circular ditch (about 60 feet across) at the center, and was a bit of a distance away from the ditch where the (suspected) murder victim was uncovered. Additionally, archaeologists found an ornately detailed grave near the sacred burial site that dates back to the Roman period, hundreds of years later when the original Bronze Age burial site would have been overgrown.</p><p>The newer grave from the Roman period encapsulated an adult skeleton contained in a lead-lined coffin. It's likely that the outer coffin had been made of wood that rotted away. Since it was clearly an ornate burial, the occupant of the grave was probably a person of high status who could afford such a lavish burial. However, according to Wood, no treasures or tokens had been discovered. </p>Sacred timber circle
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTk0Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDAwOTQ4Mn0.eVJAUcD0uBUkVMFuMOPSgH8EssGkfLf_MjwUv0zGCI8/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C149%2C0%2C149&height=700" id="9de6a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee66520d470b26f5c055eaef0b95ec06" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="An aerial view of the sacred circular monument." data-width="1245" data-height="700" />An aerial view of the sacred circular monument.
Photo Credit: HS2
<p>One of the most compelling archaeological discoveries at Wellwick Farm are the indications of a huge ceremonial circle once circumscribed by timber posts lying south of the Bronze Age burial site. Though the wooden posts have rotted away, signs of the post holes remain. It's thought to date from the Neolithic period to 5,000 years ago, according to Wood.</p><p>This circle would have had a diameter stretching 210 feet across and consisted of two rings of hundreds of posts. There would have been an entry gap to the south-west. Five posts in the very center of the circle aligned with that same gap, which, according to Wood, appeared to have been in the direction of the rising sun on the day of the midwinter solstice. </p><p>Similar Neolithic timber circles have been discovered around Great Britain, such as one near <a href="https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/stonehenge-sarsens" target="_blank">Stonehenge</a> that is considered to date back to around the same time. </p>
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As we approach death, our dreams offer comfort and reconciliation
As patients approached death, many had dreams and visions of deceased loved ones.
08 March, 2021
Credit: Amisha Nakhwa on Unsplash
Mind & Brain
One of the most devastating elements of the coronavirus pandemic has been the inability to personally care for loved ones who have fallen ill.
<p><a href="https://khn.org/news/bereaved-families-are-the-secondary-victims-of-covid-19/" target="_blank">Again and again</a>, grieving relatives <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/us/coronavirus-victim-family-note-trnd/index.html?sr=twCNN042420coronavirus-victim-family-note-trnd0853PMStory" target="_blank">have testified</a> to how much more devastating their loved one's death was <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241678926.html" target="_blank">because they were unable to hold their family member's hand</a>—to provide a familiar and comforting presence in their final days and hours. </p><p>Some had to say their final goodbyes <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-230-am-in-north-dakota-youre-holding-a-smartphone-to-let-a-husband-say-goodbye-to-his-wife-via-facetime-after-60-years-of-marriage-2020-11-23" target="_blank">through smartphone screens</a> held by a medical provider. Others resorted to <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241678926.html" target="_blank">using walkie-talkies or waving through windows</a>.</p><p>How does one come to terms with the overwhelming grief and guilt over the thought of a loved one dying alone? </p><p>I don't have an answer to this question. But the work of a hospice doctor named Christopher Kerr—with whom I co-authored the book “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Death_Is_But_a_Dream.html?id=KX6cDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description" target="_blank">Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End</a>"—might offer some consolation.</p>
<h2>Unexpected visitors</h2><p>At the start of his career, Dr. Kerr was tasked—like any and all physicians—with attending to the physical care of his patients. But he soon noticed a phenomenon that seasoned nurses were already accustomed to. As patients approached death, many had dreams and visions of deceased loved ones who came back to comfort them in their final days.</p><p>Doctors <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/end-of-life-and-palliative-care/the-significance-of-end-of-life-dreams-and-visions-04-07-2014/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are typically trained</a> to interpret these occurrences as drug-induced or delusional hallucinations that might warrant more medication or downright sedation.</p><p>But after seeing the peace and comfort these end-of-life experiences seemed to bring his patients, Dr. Kerr decided to pause and listen. One day, in 2005, a dying patient named Mary had one such vision: She began moving her arms as if rocking a baby, cooing at her child who had died in infancy decades prior.</p><p>To Dr. Kerr, this didn't seem like cognitive decline. What if, he wondered, patients' own perceptions at life's end mattered to their well-being in ways that should not concern just nurses, chaplains, and social workers?</p><p>What would medical care look like if all physicians stopped and listened, too?</p>
<h2>The project begins</h2><p>So at the sight of dying patients reaching and calling out to their loved ones—many of whom they had not seen, touched, or heard for decades—he began collecting and recording testimonies given directly by those who were dying. Over the course of 10 years, he and his research team recorded the end-of-life experiences of 1,400 patients and families.</p><p>What he discovered astounded him. Over 80% of his patients—no matter what walk of life, background, or age group they came from—had end-of-life experiences that seemed to entail more than just strange dreams. These were vivid, meaningful, and transformative. And they always increased in frequency near death.</p><p>They included visions of long-lost mothers, fathers, and relatives, as well as dead pets come back to comfort their former owners. They were about relationships resurrected, love revived, and forgiveness achieved. They often brought reassurance and support, peace and acceptance.</p>
<h2>Becoming a dream weaver</h2><p>I first heard of Dr. Kerr's research in a barn.</p><p>I was busy mucking my horse's stall. The stables were on Dr. Kerr's property, so we often discussed his work on the dreams and visions of his dying patients. He told me about his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbnBe-vXGQM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TEDx Talk on the topic</a>, as well as the book project he was working on.</p><p>I couldn't help but be moved by the work of this doctor and scientist. When he disclosed that he was not getting far with the writing, I offered to help. He hesitated at first. I was an English professor who was an expert in taking apart the stories others wrote, not in writing them myself. His agent was concerned that I wouldn't be able to write in ways that were accessible to the public – something academics are not exactly known for. I persisted, and the rest is history.</p><p>It was this collaboration that turned me into a writer.</p><p>I was tasked with instilling more humanity into the remarkable medical intervention this scientific research represented, to put a human face on the statistical data that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909113517291" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had already been published in medical journals</a>.</p><p>The moving stories of Dr. Kerr's encounters with his patients and their families confirmed how, <a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/12/12/montaigne-on-death-and-the-art-of-living/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in the words of the French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne</a>, "he who should teach men to die would at the same time teach them to live."</p><p>I learned about Robert, who was losing Barbara, his wife of 60 years, and was assailed by conflicting feelings of guilt, despair, and faith. One day, he inexplicably saw her reaching for the baby son they had lost decades ago, in a brief span of lucid dreaming that echoed Mary's experience years earlier. Robert was struck by his wife's calm demeanor and blissful smile. It was a moment of pure wholeness, one that transformed their experience of the dying process. Barbara was living her passing as a time of love regained, and seeing her comforted brought Robert some peace in the midst of his irredeemable loss.</p><p>For the elderly couples Dr. Kerr cared for, being separated by death after decades of togetherness was simply unfathomable. Joan's recurring dreams and visions helped mend the deep wound left by her husband's passing months earlier. She would call out to him at night and point to his presence during the day, including in moments of full and articulate lucidity. For her daughter Lisa, these occurrences grounded her in the knowledge that her parents' bond was unbreakable. Her mother's pre-death dreams and visions assisted Lisa in her own journey toward acceptance—<a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0TltiT8Y9CYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=losing+a+parent+acceptance+grief&ots=S1b_VEJ6YR&sig=fQ0IX4ZJ1ri80S1GlhwlYsmY648#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a key element of processing loss</a>.</p><p>When children are dying, it is often their beloved, deceased pets that make appearances. Thirteen-year-old Jessica, dying of a malignant form of bone-based cancer, started having visions of her former dog, Shadow. His presence reassured her. "I will be fine," she told Dr. Kerr on one of his last visits.</p><p>For Jessica's mom, Kristen, these visions—and Jessica's resulting tranquility—helped initiate the process she had been resisting: that of letting go.</p>
<h2>Isolated but not alone</h2><p>The health care system is difficult to change. Nevertheless, Dr. Kerr still hopes to help patients and their loved ones reclaim the dying process from a clinical approach to one that is appreciated as a rich and unique human experience.</p><p>Pre-death dreams and visions help fill the void that may otherwise be created by the doubt and fear that death evokes. They help the dying reunite with those they have loved and lost, those who secured them, affirmed them, and brought them peace. They heal old wounds, restore dignity, and reclaim love. Knowing about this paradoxical reality helps the bereaved cope with grief as well.</p><p>As hospitals and nursing homes continue to remain closed to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, it may help to know that the dying rarely speak of being alone. They speak of being loved and put back together.</p><p>There is no substitute for being able to hold our loved ones in their last moments, but there may be solace in knowing that they were being held.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154133/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation"></p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carine-mardorossian-1202094" target="_blank">Carine Mardorossian</a>, Professor of English, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-at-buffalo-925" target="_blank">University at Buffalo</a></em></p><p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-death-approaches-our-dreams-offer-comfort-reconciliation-154133" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
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Surprising new feature of human evolution discovered
Research reveals a new evolutionary feature that separates humans from other primates.
07 March, 2021
Human evolution.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Surprising Science
- Researchers find a new feature of human evolution.
- Humans have evolved to use less water per day than other primates.
- The nose is one of the factors that allows humans to be water efficient.
<p>Scientists discovered a new feature that makes humans distinct from other primates like chimpanzees. The research shows that the human body uses 30% to 50% less water per day than our closest animal relatives.</p><p>Certainly, our brain power, and the ability to walk upright are key in making us special but the efficiency with which the human body uses up water is another major difference. This characteristic likely came about as an evolutionary adaptation in ancient hunter-gatherers, who had to venture out further and further from water sources in search of food, thinks the study's lead author Herman Pontzer, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Even just being able to go a little bit longer without water would have been a big advantage as early humans started making a living in dry, savannah landscapes," Pontzer <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-03-humans-evolved-closest-primate-relatives.html" target="_blank">said</a>.</p><p>As our body constantly gets rid of water through processes like urinating or sweating, it is necessary for the water levels to be restored. "To sustain life, humans and other terrestrial animals must maintain a tight balance of water gain and water loss each day," as the paper's authors <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00289-X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS096098222100289X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">write</a>. </p><p>For the study, the researchers looked at this cycle of water consumption and loss in 309 people from a variety of backgrounds. These included farmers, hunter-gatherers, and office workers, who were compared to 72 apes spread around zoos and sanctuaries.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5Mzg4NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Mjc5NDIxNX0.twc5eqzbcvstjN1fXX-egPqyRhL5ob1oxbmE7Vm_M4g/img.jpg?width=980" id="5b260" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0410ac6c503e7f6c52ff043c1ffaa533" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="2250" data-height="2250" />
A model of water turnover for humans and chimpanzees who have similar fat free mass and body water pools.
Credit: Current Biology
<p>The scientists calculated the water intake of each person in the study, whether it came from drinks or food. They also tracked how much water was lost through urine, sweat or the GI tract. With all the numbers added up, it became clear that an average person's body goes through about 3 liters of water every day. That's about 12 cups. A chimp or a gorilla goes through twice as much.</p><p>The results were surprising because humans tend to sweat more than other primates. In one square inch of skin, "humans have 10 times as many sweat glands as chimpanzees do," <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-03-humans-evolved-closest-primate-relatives.html" target="_blank">explained</a> Pontzer. We can sweat out about a half gallon in a 30-minute workout. We also lead much more active lives than the apes at the zoo, with most apes only moving a couple of hours a day, according to the scientists. So how is it that we use up so much less water?</p>
<p>The researchers believe that the very real difference in water processing they observed in humans compared to other primates is related to evolutionary mechanisms. Our bodies had to adjust to need less water to stay healthy.</p><p>The scientists are now focused on figuring out how exactly this change occurred. The data suggests that our sense of thirst diverged from other ape relatives. We just don't want so much water. Notably, the ratio of water-to-calories is 25% less in human breast milk than in ape milk.</p><p>It is also possible that our nose has a lot to do with this. Fossils point to the fact that humans started to get more protruding noses than its evolutionary cousins about 1.6 million years ago, with the dawn of Homo erectus. In contrast, gorillas and chimp have flatter noses. </p>
<p>What's good about our noses? Since we tend to breathe out water vapor, the nasal passages actually cool and condense it, turning it back into liquid. This liquid gathers inside the nose and get reappropriated back into the body. Essentially, having a nose that juts out likely helped ancient humans keep more moisture when breathing.</p><p>Read the study published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00289-X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS096098222100289X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">Current Biology. </a></p>
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Skepticism: Why critical thinking makes you smarter
Being skeptical isn't just about being contrarian. It's about asking the right questions of ourselves and others to gain understanding.
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