Season 3
8 episodes · Dec 5, 2018
In the third season of Mind Field, creator/host Michael Stevens continues his never-ending quest to uncover the inner workings of the human mind. With unprecedented access to leading universities and researchers who are turning science fiction into science fact, Michael travels farther than he ever has before, designing demonstrations which put theories to the test in the real world.
Season Videos
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S3E1The Cognitive Tradeoff Hypothesis
Dec 5, 201830mHumans are the only Earthlings with complex language. But at what cost was that ability acquired? In this episode, Michael Stevens visit Tetsuro Matsuzawa to learn about his influential cognitive tradeoff hypothesis.
S3E2Moral Licensing
Dec 5, 201830mHow are our moral decisions influenced by factors we’re not aware of? A phenomenon known as Moral Licensing claims that when we do something good, we often subconsciously allow ourselves to then do something bad. In this episode, Michael Stevens takes a look at whether those who donate money to charity become more likely to let a kid take the blame for a crime they know they committed.
S3E3The Stilwell Brain
Dec 12, 201830mThere are 100 billion individual neurons in the human brain. Working together, they allow us to make sense of, and move through, the world around us. Scientists have built replicas of the human brain with computers, but no one has ever successfully made a brain out of humans. On this episode, Michael Stevens travels back to his hometown of Stilwell, Kansas, and turn it into a working brain!
S3E4The Stanford Prison Experiment
Dec 19, 201830mNormal people can become monsters, given the right situation. That’s the standard narrative of the Stanford Prison Experiment, one of the most famous psychological experiments of all time. But what if the cause of its participants’ cruel behavior wasn’t what we’ve always been told?
S3E5Should I Die?
Dec 26, 201830mIf I could live forever, should I? How does being reminded of our own mortality affect us psychologically? In this episode I speak with mortician and death positivity activist Caitlin Doughty and visit a cryonics facility trying to extend human life indefinitely. Will I take them up on their offer, or will I choose to die?
S3E6How to Talk to Aliens
Jan 2, 201930mAre we alone in the universe? Even if we could contact aliens, what would we say? How would we say it? And, most importantly, should we even be trying to make contact at all? This episode takes me on a journey to compose and send my own personal message into outer space.
S3E7Behavior and Belief
Jan 9, 201930mHow can a lie become true? In this episode, Dr. Aaron Blaisdell and I create a game show that is actually a giant "human Skinner Box" to observe the formation of superstitious beliefs. And Dr. Samuel Veissière helps me design and perform a placebo reverse exorcism, harnessing the power of belief in both science and religion to convince normal people that a spirit has possessed their bodies.
S3E8Mind Reading
Jan 16, 201930mIn this episode I visit a researcher who is studying memory by using machine learning and neuroimaging to detect and predict people's brain states. I also travel to Japan to meet with a team working on ways to record the content of peoples’ dreams.