Idea in need of sharpening · Synthesizer School

Aug '22 in Other

Idea in need of sharpening

Disclaimer: Sorry, this is incredibly long. That's all :)

In an Andrew Huberman podcast featuring Dr. Anna Lembke, called "Understanding & Treating Addiction," there's this notion that life, in this day and age, is difficult/hard/challenging because it can be regarded as "very boring". That, because we're no longer fighting for survival (e.g., hunting for food, building fires, etc.), life can be lackluster. And that, in part, can (not necessarily "will") lead to the desire for constant stimulation, pleasure, excitement, and so on - which, without regulation, can lead to addictions. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that's associated with reward/pleasure, and each person has a baseline level. When the release of dopamine creates a shift from the baseline level, we either experience pleasure (above baseline) or pain (below baseline). There's so much more to say about it, but I'm gonna leave it there because I feel like that's all that's necessary to know (for now) to understand what I'm getting at.

Also: There is literally so much information in Huberman podcasts, so I'm trying to find the balance between giving enough information so that the points can come together cohesively, comprehensively, and concisely... but not so much that it bores/confuses people.

I know a lot of people, especially young people, sometimes use social media to distract themselves (myself included). The thing about most content on the internet is that it's grabbing for attention. We see it in thumbnails, titles, crazy editing, etc. This inherently means it has to be new, exciting, sometimes shocking, for people to attend. And I'm not saying that social media is bad, that exciting content is bad - I adamantly disagree with that! I just mean it's all mixed together and we don't get to decide what someone else puts on the platform. I remember hearing in a university lecture, "We live in an attention economy." Which is another thing in and of itself - won't get into it now. But it's true. Attention is such a valuable currency, but we don't always esteem it as such.

I'm probably butchering the language that was actually used in the Addiction podcast, but I remember learning that when we engage in something fun/exciting, we increase the release of dopamine, and then in its absence (i.e., after stopping engagement in said fun/exciting thing), it falls below baseline (where we experience a sort of pain), as it aims to return to baseline. So, it kind of overshoots. Reminiscent of Newton's 3rd law - "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." They might've even mentioned Newton's law in the podcast, I honestly don't remember because I haven't watched the whole thing in a while.

I always feel best when I'm productive, learning, and making progress on my goals. But it's super easy to get distracted and to delay getting around to doing the things I know will improve the quality of my life in the long-term. Makes sense since many of us crave the ever-increasing release of dopamine... but that ultimately leads to our own demise. Social media, and addiction to social media, is incredibly prevalent. The issue is that a lot of adolescents (& adults) don't fully understand the effect of consuming, or over-consuming - especially content that is solely for entertainment purposes (i.e., doesn't necessarily serve to improve or enhance their lives).

That said (sorry.. that was a lot), maybe I could create a bridge for people who also have a difficult time getting started on being productive or learning. Or even people who aren't necessarily looking to learn. The thing is, if I hadn't enrolled in a social psychology class, I wouldn't have known about environmental affordances and the importance of creating a space, physical & mental, that's conducive to my success. If I didn't force myself to watch a 2hr-long podcast on depression, I wouldn't have learned about the vital role EPA Omega-3 fatty acids & creatine can play in alleviating depressive symptoms. By the way, I say "force" because I have ADHD lol so, for every minute of content I consume, I actually paid attention to about 46 seconds of it and then had to rewind or re-read to get the remaining 14. If I hadn't started reading a book I've owned for 5 months but never touched, I wouldn't have fully understood the significance in deep, brutally honest self-reflection and introspection. So, what about people who never happen to do those things?

Alright, the actual idea... I like to create art, and people like to watch that sort of thing. So, I have this idea of creating videos of myself creating art. But maybe I could do a voice-over of the process, while adding bits of information I've learned from videos, podcasts, lectures, books, etc. This way, it's still "entertaining" but it also features useful info/knowledge. I have Word docs, notebooks, loose paper, and a head full of things I've learned. It's kind of a waste if it just sits there. I used to think I wanted to be a professor. Or a teacher. Or an art teacher. But I think I just wanted to show others what I was shown because of the ways it enhanced my life. Like discovering a new favorite song. Or a food that's unbelievably tasty. Or a sale that ends in 11hrs and 42mins.

So, if anyone has ideas for how I could best execute this, I'm open to listening :) critiques, revisions, suggestions, etc. Welcome to any and all discussion. I promise I'll work on being less wordy in the future!

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