How to think about feelings – with Leonard Mlodinow

We’re told we need to master our emotions and think rationally to succeed. But cutting-edge science shows that feelings are every bit as important to our success as thinking.

0:00 Introduction
0:36 What is emotion?
5:27 Uncertainty in neuroscience
6:50 Plato's perception of the brain
8:09 Darwin's theory on human emotion
14:50 How does emotion vary culturally?
18:13 Other emotional creatures from fruit flies to bacteria
22:18 Why have we evolved to be emotional?
29:03 How neuroimaging has changed the emotional game
34:32 The value of emotional intelligence
38:09 Reappraisal as a tool for emotional regulation
47:40 What research can tell us about the real world

This video was livestreamed from the Royal Institution on 23 March 2022.

Leonard Mlodinow is a scientist turned storyteller. He is the bestselling author of 'The Drunkard's Walk', 'Subliminal' and 'Elastic'. He co-authored two books with Stephen Hawking and later wrote an acclaimed memoir, 'Stephen Hawking', about their time together. He has written for television, including multiple episodes of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', as well as helping Steven Spielberg and Robin Williams make a video game. There are now over one million copies of Leonard Mlodinow's books in print.

Leonard's latest book, Emotional: The New Thinking About Feelings, is available from Amazon and all good bookstores.

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[GMC]

What a man. I feel humbled and grateful to hear what he has to say. Thank you.

[User-jrvf]

The addition of the timestamps is a very good idea. If I feel like a topic still needs to sink in, I can just go back to that topic and re-watch only the specific part of the video.

[riosen]

I mostly use emotions to draw motivation energy, Ideally I want to get rid of the lazy state i wake up everyday and trigger my hyperactivity the earliest possible, So I can start doing stuff I have deemed trivial automatically, without thinking, and that even includes talking and socialization.

I mostly thinks of them as vectors spaces or colours that can combine and make a shades gamut rather rather than things that are in opposition and override each other. Like I kinda think that complex emotions made of antagonizing feelings love-hate are more funnier than by separate

[freddyjosereginomontalvo]

Awesome channel with awesome content and great quality as always say

[A-X-]

Can you make a podcast titled "How to feel about thinking"?😂😂😂😂

[NXaiUL]

Don't think about it. Feel it. That's the whole point.

[gidi]

I study the functionality of different emotions for a few years now. (pain -> point the area at risk, fear -> expect to
put an area (in your inner world) at risk, promote existing the situation, ...)

And I used to treat emotion as a sign for the actual function that takes place with regard to my intent,
But when it comes to "pain", I feel I should treat it as if my intent held by me over a cliff, and as long as I hold the intent I keep it alive, which is a little different than treating emotions as signs.

Is there a better view of emotion, that feels right when the emotion takes you?

[stinkymccheese]

Seems to me that people these days are a little too concerned with feeling and not concerned enough with rational thought.

[fuzzy_lumkins]

When I hear smart people talking about emotions one thing usually comes to mind and it's not the person I'm about to quote but the people who thought it was a good idea. Interviewer "how many moons does the earth have" guy "I don't know how am I supposed to know that I got a masters in liberal arts not geography... Oh I don't know this 30" Enough Said

[MegaSpooney]

This guy is at least 10 years behind the times. Batja Mesquita’s book, Between Us, and Lisa Barrett’s book, How Emotions Are Made, have already debunked virtually all of what he said here. Pretty embarrassing for him

[You_Can_Do_If]

Our energy and surrounding awareness and reality integration is because of a omnipresent fungus invisible to us which we are connected in the frontal sinus

[smlankau]

The Buddha said that the mind uses 52 Mental Factors to process a thought.

[eddiejones.redvees]

I made the Decision to stop watching after the first three minutes