Brainchild (2018) - full transcript

[Crowd chanting] Think or Swim!

We're back, everybody.

Y'all know what time it is.

Jeffrey, it's think or swim time!

[crowd cheers]

And for the grand prize, what is your

-final answer?
-Come on, Jeffrey. You know this.

-I know you know this.
-[host] Time is running out.

[Jeffrey] Think.

Think!

Oh, no. My mind just went blank.



I need an answer.

Now I'm having random thoughts
for no reason.

Has this ever happened to you?

Has your brain ever stopped
working mid-thought

-or when you're stressed?
-Yes! And um who are you?

What if I could show you ways
to get better at thinking under pressure

-or how not to lose your train of thought?
-Awesome.

Come to think of it, where do thoughts
come from in the first place?

[birds tweeting]

Do you have your answer?

Please, you gotta give me an answer.

-Beat it.
-Ah, you're no help.

Get ready to change the way you think
about thinking on Brainchild.

Hey!



Hello! What are you doing?

No, seriously, think about it.

Right now, what are you doing?

Okay, yeah, you're watching the show.

Duh! But... what else?

Awake or asleep,
you're never just doing one thing.

That's 'cause your brain is

always thinking.

And it's thinking about a lot.

So, the big question is,

why do some thoughts just

pop into your head?

♪ Word pop mania ♪

♪ Mania. ♪

We're gonna show you five words,

you have 3 seconds to work out
what they have in common.

Ready? Go!

Did you say all five were liquids
you can drink? Nice! Here's another one.

Time's up!

What did you say for this one?
All five are animals.

More specifically, they're all mammals.

Did you notice how the answer
just popped into your head?

So, let's play one more.

Got your answer?

Did it just pop into your head
for this one,

or are you feeling
a bit more like this guy?

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrr?

Take another look. Those objects
have nothing in common,

but the words do.

Can you spot what it is?

In case you're still struggling,
here's the answer.

All of those words begin with a vowel.

Ooh, tricky.

Did you get it,
or did your brain come up short?

I'll let you in on a little secret.

We created this test specifically
to make the answers

pop into your brain for each question,
except for the last one,

and the difference reveals
something amazing about your brain.

Your brain has two ways of thinking.

Scientists call this System 1
and System 2.

Think of System 1 as your fast,
impulsive friend who keeps it real

and gives you those "aha!" moments.

System 2 is calm, collected,
and calculated,

doing everything by the book

and slowing down
in order to analyze a problem.

System 1 is who shouted...

-Liquids!... Animals!
-...during these games.

Alright!

-However...
-Heads up, bro!

...System 1 is also the one
who let you down

when we showed you
five seemingly random words.

-Sorry, dude.
-To solve that puzzle...

A, E, I, O, U.

...you needed to engage the slow,
analytical thinking skills of System 2.

Most amazing thing about both systems
of thought is how fast they work.

"Aha!" moments in your brain seem
to happen in the blink of an eye,

don't they? So just how fast
does your brain think, anyway?

Let's find out.

Think fast!

Here's how it works.
We're gonna show you a red screen.

As soon as the red screen turns green,

press pause on your remote or device and
note the number of seconds on the timer.

This is your reaction time.

It measures how quickly a thought
can move through your body.

Got it? Let's try one to warm up.

Remember, when the screen turns green,

press pause
and note the number on the timer.

Get ready!

Were you able to capture your time?

Okay. We're gonna try it for real now.

Hands over those pause buttons and
really try to react as fast as you can.

Got your time?

Okay. So you should have your rough
reaction time in hundredths of a second.

Now let's see how your speed of thought
stacks up against our participants.

And go!

Yes!

Go!

Not yet... Go!

Yes! Forty-one!

Yeaaah!

So, how did their scores compare to yours?

Chances are, even if they were faster,
they were probably not much faster.

In fact, you probably noticed
something weird happening.

Everyone's reaction times
fell between 40 to 60 100ths of a second.

No one's really that much faster,
but no one's really slower either.

Why is that?

It's because you're seeing how fast
a thought can actually travel.

Isn't that right, Alie?

A thought starts in your brain and travels

through special channels called nerves

that conduct electricity as information.

Basically, your body's version
of fiber-optic cable,

like what brings your Internet.

The fastest nerves
shoot thoughts from your brain

to your muscles
at over 250 miles an hour.

-And the winner is... your brain!
-[crowd cheers]

[Sahana] So, while your brain thinks
pretty fast, it can still be tricked,

as you're about to see in this next
illusion with master manipulator Spidey.

Hey, guys. My name's Spidey,

and we're gonna play
The Game With The Red Cards.

If you've played it before,
don't ruin it for your friends.

I'm gonna grab a coupla cards,

five to be exact.

I'm gonna ask questions about the cards,

and all you have to do is answer them.

I'll start by showing you the cards.

Question number one. It's very simple.
In fact, I already answered it.

How many cards am I holding in my hand?

If you said "five," congratulations.

That is 100% correct.
I am holding five cards.

Take another look.

Next question.

How many of the cards have red faces?

How many of the cards are red?

If you said, "Two,"

you are 100% nailing this game right now.

King of hearts, three of diamonds,
two red cards.

Next question.

Is there a value
that comes up more than once?

In other words, are there two cards
that have the same number?

If you said "yes,"
you are the king of this game.

You're just owning this right now.

There are two threes:
a three of diamonds and a three of spades.

Now I'm gonna change something.
I'm gonna add something.

I'm sure you can see how this
is different to the others.

Take a look.

Next question.

The card that I added, the different one,

in other words, the blue one,

what is that card?

If you said "eight,"
you are doing an amazing job.

In fact, it's the eight of hearts.

Let's do another question.

How many of the cards that I'm holding

have a red back?

How many of these cards
are red on this side?

If you said "five,"

you are 100%...

incorrect.

Now, if you got it wrong,
don't worry.

Everyone gets it wrong. In fact,

people think that it's a magic trick.

They think I use magic or sorcery
to alter the cards,

like, "Burn the warlock!"

But I didn't. There's no magic here.
The only magic is in your mind.

So why did your mind think
I had more than one red card?

It's because of the way
I asked the questions.

The language that I used
convinced you that there were more.

To start, I called it
The Game With The Red Cards.

That implants the idea
that there is more than one red card.

Here's how it works.
A blue card does start in my pocket.

The rest of these cards
were always blue except for one.

The questions get you to focus
on the face of these cards.

You almost ignore the backs.

You assume they're all red because
I keep showing you that same red card.

The important part comes
when I add the extra card.

Your mind assumes that the card
is different because it has a blue back,

but I never said that. The only way
it's different is because it's new.

Your mind creates a correlation.

It believes that it's different
because it has a blue back.

So now, due to a series of questions
that I've asked,

I implanted a thought in your mind.

I've convinced you that there are five
red cards and only one blue card,

when, in fact,
the exact opposite is the truth.

-[klaxon honks]
-Wow!

So, sometimes thoughts
can steer you in the wrong direction.

Hey, watch it!

Where do these thoughts
even come from in the first place?

Like, how does your brain know
to think "up" for up...

or "popcorn" for when you're hungry?

To find out, let's play a little game.

♪ Connect the thoughts. ♪

We're gonna show you three words
that don't seem to have a connection.

Your job is to think of a shared word

that could be added to the front
of each of them to make a new word.

In this case, you could add
the word "hair" to make

Okay. You got it.

Let's try again with three new words.

And remember, the shared word comes before
the three words to make a new word.

We'll give you five seconds
to solve it. Ready? Go!

So, were you able to figure it out?

By adding the word "sun,"

you get "sunrise," "sunburn,"
and "sunset."

Let's try again,
and we'll make it a little tougher.

Ready? Go.

All right. Did you come up
with the word..."head"?

Okay, for our last round,
we're gonna make it even tougher,

but I believe in you. Ready? Here we go.

If you were able to solve this one, nice.

Now you might be thinking,
"Besides challenging your mind,

what do these brainteasers

have to do with thinking?"

In order to form thoughts,
your brain sifts through a vast database

of memories, experiences,
and images to make connections.

So, if you're hungry, the word "food"
lights up in your brain

along with everything you know about food
until you decide what you want to eat.

And while this may explain

how you were able to solve
these brainteasers,

it can also help explain where
random thoughts come from.

Because when you have a thought
in one area,

it lights up many other areas.
For example,

you think of a river, not only do words
associated with "river" light up,

but also words associated with "money"...

-What?!
-What?!

...because the word "bank" is shared
by "river," "riverbank,"

and also "money," "money bank."

In other words,
your brain is constantly playing

a word-association game
like we just played.

As it turns out, the random

thoughts you have might not

be so random. But did you ever wonder
why you have irrational thoughts?

Let's play a game to find out.

Imagine this scenario, it's lunchtime,

and the nice lunch lady offers you
a choice between pizza

or hamburgers.

Let's say you pick pizza. Yum!

Now, just as she's about
to cut you a slice,

the lunch lady remembers
she also has hot dog...

Ooh, hot dog!

and you reply,
"I'll just take a hamburger."

-Yeah, hamburger.
-Wait.

What?

Why would you pick pizza, learn
about hot dogs, and switch to a burger?

It's completely irrational.

I mean, your brain is this marvelous
information-processing computer,

and computers are never irrational, right?

Not exactly.

People, including adults,
have irrational thoughts all the time,

just as you're about to see
in this next experiment.

Step right up
for the raffle of the century!

We're at an amusement park, setting up
what looks like an ordinary raffle

to prove that people
don't always think rationally.

Right, folks. We've got
some great prizes today.

[Sahana] We've got prizes like a tablet,
headphones, even a new PlayStation,

and each raffle ticket
only costs five dollars.

Five dollars a ticket! Five dollars!

But, here's the catch.

Before the raffle, I'm gonna offer to buy
their five-dollar ticket for ten dollars.

Seems like a sweet deal, right?

Think these people will go for it?
Would you?

It's important our test subjects
don't know it's an experiment,

so I'm hiding the cameras wherever I can,

including this sneaky camera
in my glasses.

Let's see what happens.

Step right up, folks,
for the raffle of the century!

Just $5 for a chance to win.
Is that great?

-Yeah.
-All right.

-Thank you.
-Enjoy.

This one’s for you.

-Best of luck to you.
-Thank you.

-Thanks.
-Five bucks each.

-Thanks.
-Thanks very much.

-I want the PS4.
-Oh, I think it wants you, too.

-Thanks.
-Good luck.

-All the best.
-Thanks so much.

Now comes the fun part.
I'm gonna offer them twice what they paid

for their ticket, and they can simply buy
a new ticket and still pocket a $5 profit.

Is that what you'd do?

Honestly, I think I'm about to lose
a lot of money on this deal,

but... let's see how it goes.

-Hey. Excuse me.
-Yes?

Okay. Maybe a weird question, but...

would I be able to buy that ticket
off of you for ten dollars?

Absolutely not.

You'd make a five-dollar profit!

I could win an iPad.

What are your odds of winning
those prizes?

There's loadsa tickets
in that box.

-I feel lucky.
-Feeling lucky?

-Have a good one.
-Well, thank you. No worries.

Okay. How about these two?

-Hi.
-Hi.

I was wondering if I could buy

your raffle tickets off of you for
ten. Would you give it to me?

-I would say yeah.
-No.

-You would?
-Yeah. I mean, it's a $5 profit. Why not?

-You'd make $5 right now.
-Yeah.

-No.
-You wouldn't?

No. I'm not much interested
for taking two.

-You'd make $5 right now.
-It's up to you, Frank.

-It's $10, or you wait for the prize.
-Wait for the prize.

This is crazy. What is happening?

No one wants money on the spot,

even though the odds of winning a prize
are really low.

Let's try to sweeten the deal.

How about fifteen dollars?

We're gonna keep this,
it feels like a lucky one..

Yeah. We're gonna keep this ticket.

You could get three more.

But what if those three
don't work out?

I believe it's my lucky ticket.

You're right. How about $20?

You still wouldn't do it for 20?
Why?

I'll do it for 20.

There's your ticket,
and I will take the $20.

But you wouldn't?
Why would you do it for 20?

I'd do it for 20 because

even if my ticket isn't selected
for a prize

at least I walk away with something.

-But you still wouldn't do it for 20?
-No.

Wow! What is happening?

People are acting completely irrational.

And, also, I hope this isn't weird
that I'm, like, talking into my glasses.

Amazing.

Out of all these tickets,
only a few will be winners.

And yet only one person

agreed to sell their ticket

for a guaranteed profit.

Well, as surprising as this seems,

we kinda had a feeling people
would behave this way. But why?

The reason why most people refuse to sell
back their tickets or overvalue them

is due to something scientists call
the endowment effect.

It works like this. When you purchase
something, it becomes yours.

To your brain, the fact that something
is yours and no one else's

gives it a special kind of power,

and it becomes more valuable
than what you paid for it.

Perhaps you've experienced this, too,
like when your parents bought you

your favorite teddy bear

or your lucky jacket.

Nice jacket.

Suddenly, that item is no longer worth
just the value they paid for it.

Instead, it's yours and it's priceless.

And while these tickets,
aren't your priceless Bear Bear,

they did become more special
than a piece of paper worth five dollars

because our participants
paid for them.

In other words, they became endowed
with more value.

Which caused people to make the irrational
decision to hold onto their tickets.

And if you're wondering which one
of these people won the raffle,

none of them did.

Guess they should've sold me
their tickets.

It just goes to show, while your brain
is still 30 times more powerful

than the best supercomputer,

you can still be prone
to irrational thinking.

But don't worry.

We'll show you how to take back control.

Trust me. I'm positive.

♪ Photo positive. ♪

We've gathered a few volunteers
to play a simple game.

All they have to do is count the number
of photos inside this magazine.

Get it right, and they win
a quick 20 bucks.

Sounds easy enough, right?

The catch,
they'll only have ten seconds to do it.

Ten seconds?

So do you think winning this game
is possible or impossible?

I think it's possible.

It's impossible.

It is impossible to count
all these photos.

It's entirely possible.

Looks like a pretty even split
on the answers.

-Now let's see how they did.
-Go.

Time's up!

Aggghh.

So, do you think anyone was able
to count all the photos in time?

-Should I give you my answer?
-Not yet,

because first, you're going to try
this game at home.

Remember, try to count all of the photos
in under ten seconds.

Think you can do it?

And go!

Wow. We only got through a few pages,
and there's so many to go.

But we think some of you might have
the correct answer anyway.

Let's see what our volunteers said.

-Forty-eight.
-More like 35.

There are 48 pictures.

-And time is up.
-Seven. Oh, no!

I'm not even halfway through.

So, what was your answer?

Well, if you said 48, congratulations!
You're right!

And for those of you who didn't get it,

you may be wondering why some
of these people were able to do it

and others not so much.
Well, it has everything to do

with the question
at the beginning of this game.

Is it going to be possible or impossible

to count the number of photos?

It's impossible.

It think it's possible.

It is impossible to count
all these photos.

It's entirely possible.

Wow. The people who had
a positive attitude going in

all came up with the correct answer,

while the people with
the negative attitude came up short.

So how could your attitude
help you win this challenge?

Well, obviously, you can't count
all these photos in ten seconds.

But thinking positive
may have helped you spot this.

"Stop counting.

There are 48 pictures."

That's right! There's a cheat code
hidden right in plain sight.

So why did only some
of our volunteers see it?

In this experiment

the ones that went in
with a positive outlook

despite it being an impossible task,

left their minds open enough to see
the helpful hint that we provided.

On the other hand, the people
who went in with a defeatist attitude

missed the answer. It was literally
right in front of their face.

So, the lesson is, if you tell yourself
you can't do something,

chances are you'll be right.

It was possible. It really was, but...

I went about it the wrong way.

The power of positive thinking.

Positive thinking doesn't just help

you navigate the world around you.

There are benefits to thinking positive
inside of you, as well.

Benefits associated with positive thinking
include boosting your health and wellness,

helping you harness more brainpower,
even increasing your memory,

all of which would help
if you had a test coming up,

or if you found yourself in the hot seat
on a wacky new game show.

[chanting] Think or swim!

Think or swim!

Please, you've got to help me.

-Beat it.
-No, I need an answer.

For the grand prize

[slowed down speech]
do you have an answer, Jeff?

I'm afraid I don't know it.

[choir sings]

Oh, Jeffrey, I'm sorry.

The correct answer to the question,

"What Grammy Award-winning Michael Jackson
song rhymes with 'eat it'?"

is "Beat It."

I can't believe it. You were right.

Ya think?

Now I eat it?

Ow I dunno.

They're like... rarr rirr rirrr
vyoom vyoooom!

Like... reeeaaarr!

They don't make that noise,

but, you know...

I'm afraid I don't know it.

-You want me to go again?
-Yeah, one more time.