Subtitles section Play video
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VO: This episode of Fun Science is brought to you by Brilliant.
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These are the lyrics to the theme song of this very show.
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CHARLIE: But despite the fact that I've been making fun science videos for years,
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and that I've written an entire Fun Science book, available in all good book stores,
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I have never, ever, tried to explore the actual science of fun!
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But today that changes, in this episode of...
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[FUN SCIENCE THEME SONG]
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So, what is fun?
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Well, surprisingly, science finds fun hard to define.
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Although we know that fun brings enjoyment, not all enjoyment brings fun.
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VO: For example, though I quite enjoy listening to classical music,
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I wouldn't really describe the experience as fun.
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Although, someone else's experience might be different.
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CHARLIE: However, although fun is subjective, we all experience it in the same way
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when the chemical dopamine is released in our brains.
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Now, dopamine evolved as a reward for behavior that benefitted our survival.
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So if you do something good for your species, like reproducing, your brain releases dopamine
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as if to say, great job, do more of that.
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But science also shows us that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
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VO: Take gambling as an example.
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It might feel fun to win at first, but when we repeatedly flood our brain with dopamine
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in high dosages it can actually change the structure of our brain, and thus our behavior.
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This is what can form the makings of an addiction, which definitely is not fun.
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CHARLIE: But, provided that it's not excessive, fun can definitely be good for you.
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VO: It can help with depression, for example.
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Studies show that doing something fun with others, even if you don't initially feel like it
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can still improve your mood dramatically.
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CHARLIE: And fun can help us to be more creative.
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In a study where 1,500 people were asked to list potential uses for a jam jar and a paperclip,
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those who ranked themselves as most playful were also able to come up with more ideas,
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like this one.
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It's a paper clip container.
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Pretty fun, right?
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VO: Here's a 'fun' fact.
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If you can convince your brain that you're going on a run for fun rather than as exercise...
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CHARLIE: I'm having a great time!
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VO: Then you'll actually be less likely to eat afterwords.
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CHARLIE: My run was my reward!
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And, while making time for fun is important, apparently we have more fun when leisure activities
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are loosely scheduled, say within a set window of time, or better yet completely unplanned--
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ANGELINA: Hey Charlie!
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CHARLIE: What?
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I'm kind of busy right now.
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ANGELINA: Do you wanna have a backpack fashion parade?
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CHARLIE: DO I!?
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VO: And although it is still fun to have fun all by yourself,
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we tend to have more fun when we do things with others, especially if they're our friends.
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And what's a common side effect of having fun together?
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[LAUGHING]
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VO: Laughter.
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Scientists believe that laughter is related to the panting sound that animals like chimps
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and bonobos make when the engage in rough and tumble play.
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It's as if the laughter is there to signal...
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CHARLIE: We're just playing and having fun.
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ANGELINA: We're not gonna kill each other.
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VO: And this signaling is helpful because play can help us to learn things like social rules,
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establishing rank, bonding, motor skills, and managing stress.
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CHARLIE: And maybe that's the best thing about fun,
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and possibly the reason that Fun Science exists in the first place,
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because fun makes it easier for us to learn...
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So I hope you had fun, and I hope you learnt something,
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and if you're looking to learn more science with the help of fun, why not try Brilliant?
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VO: The people who built Brilliant understand the important role that fun plays in learning.
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They give you fun and challenging problems to solve, getting you hooked on learning actively,
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and helping you to master complex concepts.
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Brilliant have loads of science courses to explore, but why not start with their science
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essentials course and refamiliarize yourself with the basics?
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To learn more go to brilliant.org/FunScience and sign up for free, although the first 200
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people who go to that link will also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
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Anyway, that's all for today, thank you so much for watching and I'll see you next time.
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Bye bye!