Ever feel like your emotions hijack your logic? You're not alone! This episode dives into the surprising science of emotions with guest Leonard Mlodinow, author of Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking.

We explore how emotions, far from being separate from reason, actually play a crucial role in guiding our thoughts and decisions. Learn how emotions evolved to keep us safe, how they influence what we pay attention to, and even if simple creatures like fruit flies use emotions too!

*Get Dr. Mlodinow's book, Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking - https://amzn.to/43HZrAx

Dr. Leonard Mlodinow is a theoretical physicist. He received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and was on the faculty of the California Institute of Technology. In addition to pioneering academic research papers, he authored two children’s books, and nine popular science books, including five bestsellers. His most recent book is Stephen Hawking: A Memoir of Friendship and Physics. His book, Subliminal: How Our Unconscious Mind Rules Our Behavior, won the 2013 PEN/Wilson award as best literary science book. His book The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, was a New York Times editor’s choice and notable book of the year, and won the Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical thinking, and the Liber Press (Spain) Award for the Popularization of Science, in addition to being short-listed for the Royal Society book award. The Grand Design, co-authored with Stephen Hawking, was a #1 best New York Times bestseller, and was made into a three-part documentary on the Discovery Channel. He is also the co-author, with Deepak Chopra, of War of the Worldviews: Science and Spirituality. His books have appeared in over 30 languages.

Dr. Mlodinow has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Nature, Discover Magazine, Wired, The New York Review of Books, Psychology Today, and other mass-market publications. He has appeared in films such as Jeff Bridges’ documentary Living in the Future’s Past, and on numerous television programs including Morning Joe, and Through the Wormhole. He has also created several award-winning video games, including one in conjunction with Steven Spielberg, and another that starred Robin Williams. He has written for network television, including the series MacGyver, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the comedy Night Court. He is a popular international speaker who has given invited lectures on four continents, at universities such as Caltech and Harvard, and corporations ranging from Google and Microsoft to Pepsi and Major League baseball.

Key topics:
🥰Mlodinow argues that emotions are not separate from reason, but rather play a crucial role in influencing our thoughts and decisions.
🥰Emotions evolved to help us survive by guiding our reactions in different situations. For example, fear prompts us to flee from danger, while disgust helps us avoid spoiled food.
🥰Our brains constantly process sensory input, memories, beliefs, and goals, and emotions determine which of these elements are most important at any given time.
🥰Emotions are not purely mental; they also have a physical component, such as changes in heart rate or smell.
🥰Mlodinow suggests that even simple animals like fruit flies may experience emotions in a basic way.

The conversation also touches on:
🥰Charles Darwin's view of emotions as biological functions
🥰The role of the reptilian brain, emotional brain, and cortical brain
🥰How emotions can be studied in a scientific way

Quotes:
“Emotions are the bridge between your body and mind.”
“Emotions are a mental state that determine what kind of logical processing happens in our brain at any given time.”
“Emotion is one of the ways that your body communicates with your thinking.”

#scienceandspirituality #deepakchopra #podcast #leonardmlodinow #science #emotions #reason #thinking #decisionmaking #guestspeaker #emotionalintelligence #learning
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