The Science of Spontaneity: Mastering Wu-Wei | Edward Slingerland | Big Think

The Science of Spontaneity: Mastering Wu-Wei Watch the newest video from Big Think: Join Big Think Edge for exclusive videos: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDWARD SLINGERLAND: Edward Slingerland is Professor of Asian Studies and Canada Research Chair in Chinese Thought and Embodied Cognition at the University of British Columbia. Educated at Princeton, Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley, he is an internationally renowned expert in Chinese thought, comparative religion, and cognitive science. In addition to over twenty academic journal articles in a range of fields, he has written several scholarly books, including What Science Offers the Humanities and a translation of the Analects of Confucius. He is the author of Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT: Edward Slingerland: In order to understand what effortless action is, you have to understand what effort is and what effort feels like. And I think the best way to do that is the so-called Stroop Test. So, we’re going to flash a word on the screen and you should say aloud the color that it’s printed in, we don’t care what the word says just the color. So here it goes. Alright, so that was probably fairly easy. Did it fast, you had no confusion. We’re going to flash another word now the same thing. Only want to know the color it’s in, we don’t care about what it says. So, unless you’re some kind of space alien you paused or you said the wrong thing you said green or you said green red so that kind of feeling of having to stop yourself and override a natural reaction and then impose another reaction that’s cognitive control, that’s effort. And we understand very well from a cognitive science perspective how this works. So, part of your brain is detecting conflict between the parts of your brain that recognize color and the parts that can read English if you’re a native English speaker and those two are in conflict so the ACC, anterior cingulate cortex, says danger, danger we’ve got to resolve this conflict and then the prefrontal cortex, lateral prefrontal cortex is brought in to resolve this issue. All of that takes a lot of time. So, that feeling of effort you have it took you longer the second time, just gives you a sense of both what cognitive control what effort feels like and also the limitations of it because it’s hard, you’re actually a little bit fatigued after you do that once. So, in doing a Stroop Test then has less self-control and if you then offer them carrots versus cookies as a snack, even if they’re on a diet they’ll go for the cookies. Self-control, that effort, draws energy... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT BIG THINK: Smarter Faster™ Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content -- with thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster. S​ubscribe to learn from top minds like these daily. Get actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers & doers. Our experts are either disrupting or leading their respective fields. ​We aim to help you explore the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century, so you can apply them to the questions and challenges in your own life. Other Frequent contributors include Michio Kaku & Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Michio Kaku Playlist: Bill Nye Playlist: Neil DeGrasse Tyson Playlist: Read more at for a multitude of articles just as informative and satisfying as our videos. New articles posted daily on a range of intellectual topics. Join Big Think Edge, to gain access to a world-class learning platform focused on building the soft skills essential to 21st century success. It features insight from many of the most celebrated and intelligent individuals in the world today. Topics on the platform are focused on: emotional intelligence, digital fluency, health and wellness, critical thinking, creativity, communication, career development, lifelong learning, management, problem solving & self-motivation. BIG THINK EDGE: If you’re interested in licensing this or any other Big Think clip for commercial or private use, contact our licensing partner, Executive Interviews: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Big Think here: 📰: 🧔Facebook: 🐦Twitter: 📸Instagram: 📹YouTube: ✉ E-mail: info@ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------