Mind Field (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Freedom of Choice - full transcript

[pleasant music]

- [sniffing]

Ah, nothing like bacon
and eggs in the morning.

It's a hearty meal that holds
you together for the whole day.

It's a combination so obvious
that it's been around

for as long as
both foods existed.

Humans naturally loved
these foods together,

so they became
a staple of breakfast.

Or did they?

What if I were to tell you
that the traditional combination

of bacon and eggs isn't part
of our natural history,



but is instead
a corporate conspiracy

orchestrated by society's
true puppet masters?

It isn't a breakfast
for champions.

It's a breakfast for sheeple.

[electronic music]

♪ ♪

We think that a lot of
commonplace things

are the way they are because of
collective free choice,

when in fact, sometimes,

one or two people alone

made a decision
and created something

that is now taken for granted
as part of society--

just part of life.

Here's the real story
behind bacon and eggs.



It all begins
with Sigmund Freud.

Or rather, his nephew,
Edward Bernays.

Bernays is credited as the
"Father of Public Relations,"

the product of a time
when the world

had become just small enough

that you could manipulate
a lot of people at once

because of the way that
advertising, news,

and radio could reach a large
number of people quickly.

Bernays took advantage
of mass media

not with the intention
to inform,

but with the intention
to control.

In the 1920s,
Ed Bernays asked a doctor

who worked at his agency
whether a breakfast should be

heavy or light, and the doctor
pretty much said,

"I guess heavy
would be better."

Bernays then had that doctor

get 4,500 other doctors
to confirm that.

- All of them concurred
that a heavy breakfast

was better for the health
of the American people.

- Then, Bernays
lobbied newspapers

to publish that all these
doctors were saying

you should eat
a big ol' breakfast.

But he wasn't doing this
to improve public health.

He was doing this because
Beech-Nut Packing Company,

a major supplier of bacon,

was paying him to do it.

- The sale of bacon went up,

and I still have a letter

from Bartlett Arkell,

president of Beech-Nut
Packing Company,

telling me so.

- So we collectively,
as a country,

agreed that bacon was our
breakfast meat of choice.

But we didn't actually
make that choice at all.

And that's just breakfast.

Our lives are full of decisions
that we think

we make of our own free will.

But do we?

[dramatic music]

These days,
our markets are inundated

with products and choices.

But is having many choices
good or bad?

[dreamy electronic music]

♪ ♪

Most people say they like
a lot of choices.

But do they really?

We took our cameras and a few
pounds of jelly beans

to Venice Beach to find out.

First, we invited
people to pick

one of two flavor choices.

- Yeah, good.

- Yeah, I'm happy with it.
Yeah.

Thank you.

It was an easy choice to make.

I chose it 'cause I wanted
something fresh in my mouth.

- I like it--I like lemon and
citrus and everything like that.

Good taste.
I'm happy with my choice.

- Most subjects were content
with their selection

when it was a choice
between two options.

But what happens when
we offer more choices?

Will the subjects be just as
happy with their decision?

- I see.

Not licorice...

Okay. Can I do more than one?
Or just one?

- Oh, my goodness.

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

Well, I'm kind of regretting
not trying a fruit one.

Because with jelly beans,
it's more--

fruit is more natural to me.

Like, I probably
should have gone

for my first choice, raspberry.

Maybe I would have been happy.

- There's, um--I mean,
there's a lot to choose from.

I'm gonna try one?

- Okay. Marshmallow.

- I don't know.
Uh...

You're always questioning, like,

"Did I make the right choice,"
right?

Like, initially, I wanted
to try pineapple,

but then I thought marshmallow,

I don't want to miss out on
marshmallow, or peach,

or blueberry even.

If I could choose again,
I would probably pick peach.

- All right.

Pineapple.

Very good.
It's my favorite fruit.

Mmm, I could have had blueberry,

which is also
one of my favorites.

- Uh, kind of
an impulse decision.

I kind of wish
I looked at the whole

thing a little bit more.
- Yeah.

- Maybe I would have picked
a better flavor.

- So maybe sometimes
we're actually

happier with fewer choices?

In fact, researchers have been

exploring this idea for years.

According to the famous
jam experiment,

a study by Sheena Iyengar and
Mark Lepper published in 2000,

too many similar choices
may even stop us

from making any choice at all.

The study compared
two store displays:

one with 6 varieties of jam and
one with 24.

Although fewer consumers
stopped to sample jam

at the display
with limited choices,

a full 30% of them
made a purchase.

By contrast,
only 3% of the consumers

at the more extensive display

actually bought a jar of jam.

This is called
"Choice paralysis."

But life is all about choices.

We like having choices.

Don't we?

Or are we happier

when we have no choice at all?

[static]

Hello, and welcome to
"Tea Time Word Scrambles,"

the game show where
the competition is steep

and trouble is always brewing?

Some of our contestants
will be given a choice

of caffeinated black tea
or soothing herbal tea.

And the others will be given
no choice at all.

Once the tea takes effect,

they'll be asked
to unscramble some words.

Which contestants will be
happier with their performance?

Those who have their choice of
tea, or those who don't?

Let's find out.
It's "Tea Time."

My name is Michael Stevens,
your host today.

Let's meet our contestant,
Gisele.

- Yay!
- Nice to meet you, Gisele.

- Nice to meet you too.

- Tell me a little bit
about yourself.

- I'm from New York,
and I've lived in LA for al--

[bell dinging]
- Ooh!

Gisele, you know
what that sound means.

- What?
- That means it's Tea Time.

- Yay!
- Go ahead and take a seat

in the Tea Seat.
- Okay.

I like tea.

- Well, you're in for
a treat, Gisele.

- Okay.
- Because today you are going

to be unscrambling words.
- Uh-oh.

- A task that requires energy--
- Yeah.

- Because there's a time limit,
but it also requires focus.

- Mm-hmm. Okay.
- Steady, calm nerves.

- Got it.
- And patience.

- Yeah.
- So,

today the choice is yours.

You can either have

some herbal tea that will keep
you calm and focused...

- Okay.
- Or you can have

some black tea
that's caffeinated

and will give you some energy.

- Hmm.

I'm gonna go with black.
- Black tea?

- Yeah.
- All right.

Go ahead and pour
some black tea--

you know what?
I'll have some too.

Mmm, wonderful.

Now, what made you pick
black tea?

- Um, I want to be energized.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

- Here's to you.
- Cheers.

- Cheers.

Mmm.
[bell dinging]

Whoa, you know what
that sound means.

It's word scrambling time.
- Okay.

- Remember, this subject
had a free choice

of which tea to drink.

Will freedom of choice
bring her

happiness and satisfaction?

Gisele, these are your words.

- Oh, my God.
When do I start?

- Well, we're gonna put three
minutes on the clock.

- Okay.
- Go ahead.

You can use these steps

to access the letters.

The goal here is to solve

as many as possible
within the three minutes.

- Got it.
- And...go!

- [sighs]

[playful music]

- Starting with
word number five.

♪ ♪

Gisele has kitten.

That looks like it could be
the right answer.

♪ ♪

- Oh, yeah.
- Vacuum.

- Uh...

Um...
- Hearth.

Looking good.

- Oh, I don't know
what this is.

Um...

[bell dinging]
- Oh!

And time is up, Gisele.
Come on down.

And let's take a look
at how you did.

- Oh.
Oh, no. [laughs]

- For number one,
you got vacuum,

which is correct, very good job.
- Yay!

- Very good job.
For number two, hearth.

Correct, very good job.
- Yay!

- Now, number three,
you have "Taffrid."

- [blows raspberry]
- It's a very good word,

but it's not one.

The actual answer is adrift.

- Oh, I was so stuck on that.

- Number five, you have kitten.

That was the first one you
solved, and kitten is correct.

- Yay!
- Very good job.

Now, down here at the bottom,

uh, the answer is lounge.

You have "Lougne."

- Oh! I spelled it wrong!
[buzzer blares]

- No, we can't accept "Lougne,"
unfortunately.

Well, Gisele, you received

one, two, three points.
[bell ringing]

So, how do you feel you did?

- I should've probably
had the other tea

because then it would have
calmed my nerves.

I should have chose
the other tea.

- This subject clearly
regrets her choice.

The fact that she chose
the tea herself

gives her the opportunity
to second-guess her decision.

What about the other subjects

who were given
freedom of choice?

"Noric," we were looking
for ironic.

- Isn't that ironic?
- No, it is not.

What we were looking for
was hearth.

- Hearth?
- Adrift.

Shroud.
- Are these words--

actual, real words?
- Yeah, they are.

Tell me, Heather, how do you
feel you did today?

- Uh, not as well
as I had hoped.

- If you could do it again would
you choose a different tea?

- Yes.
You can only get better.

You can't get worse than one.

- I think, probably,
if I had chosen the other tea,

I would have gotten
everything correct.

- None of these contestants

were happy with
the choices they made.

But what happens when

the freedom to choose
is taken away?

Trin, tell us which tea
has been

randomly assigned
to Athena today?

- Athena has been assigned
black tea.

- Ooh, caffeinated,
energizing black tea.

Here's to you, and good luck.

- Thank you.

- Mmm. Oh, wow.

That's good tea.
[bell dinging]

Athena, you've had
the tea we assigned you.

Black tea. Caffeinated tea.

Let's see how that serves you
in this challenge.

- Oh, boy.
- Here are your words!

You have three minutes
beginning...now!

- Oh, boy.

- Lots of choices.

- Hmm.

- Kitten.
- Finally.

Oh...

- Don't worry, Athena.
We've had far worse.

Two minutes.
- Oh, boy.

- Two minutes remain.
- Nothing is coming to me.

- These words are not easy.

Lounge.

- Yes.
[bell dinging]

- And that's time.

Athena, come on down.

And let's take a look
at how you did.

- Okay.
- So, for word number five,

you have kitten...
kitten is correct.

- Good job.
- Yay.

- And for the final word,
you have lounge.

And the answer is lounge.

[bell dinging]
Very good. Very good work.

So you got 2 out of the 12.
- Oh, boy.

- Tell me, how do you feel
you did.

- I'm just happy
that I got two of them.

- Do you think you would have
been able to solve more

if you'd had a calming tea?

- Probably not,
you need a little something

to kick-start
your brain activity.

- This subject,
who was given no choice,

was happy with the tea
assigned to her,

despite getting
only two words right.

And she wasn't the only one.
- Whoo!

- How do you think you did?

- I think I did pretty--
pretty great.

- If you could do it again,
would you have

preferred to have been assigned
a different tea?

- No.
- Studies have shown that

sometimes we're happier
when we don't have a choice.

Well, for two points,

you--you win nothing.

This game is actually
more about investigating

the mind, so in reality,

the real winner today
is everyone.

Thanks for playing,
and remember,

no matter where you live
or who you are,

it's always...
both: "Tea Time!"

- Damn it, I just found
another word.

[subtle electronic music]

♪ ♪

- So, it's not always preferable

to be in the driver's seat
of your life.

Sometimes, the pressure
to make a decision

can cause you to dwell on
the options you didn't choose

and hinder your performance.

But what if there's
a difference between

the physical process
of making a decision

and your consciousness
being aware

that a decision has been made?

What if all your decisions
are made by someone--

no, something else--

a split second before you're
aware you've made them?

♪ ♪

[buzzer blares]
Hmm.

This task seems easy enough.

Just push either button
before the light comes on.

[buzzer blares]
Mm. Mm.

[buzzer blares]
Ah!

So why is it so difficult?
Wow!

It's difficult because
this machine

is actually reading my mind.

It knows when I decide
to push a button

and lights them up before
I can actually push one.

- How does it feel
when it's happening?

- It feels like...
[buzzer blares]

Like, right then.

It already knew.
[buzzer blares]

I'm trying to not have
my mind read.

[buzzer blares]
Ah!

Here's how the box works.

My decision to push a button
doesn't begin when I think it
does.

It's actually preceded by
subconscious activity, I'm not
aware of

But that the machine can detect.

Now the machine isn't predicting
which button I will push,

it's determining when I am about
to push one, before I know it.

For the first few minutes,
I push buttons,

and the box records my brain
activity

learning which behaviors follow
which subconcsious processes.

♪ ♪

Eventually, the box can know
what I'm about to do,

before even I do.

In other words, it can read
my subconscious mind

and tell me what
I was going to do

before I know
I was going to do it.

That's the part
that freaks me out.

This is called
a free will experiment

because it begs the question of
what free will actually is.

If the subconscious
knows what you're doing

before you do it,
is it really your decision,

or do you just think
it's your decision?

[buzzer blares]
Wow.

[laughs]

I'm trying to surprise it.

[buzzer blares]
Ah.

- The interesting thing is
to see, like,

for instance, that you become
closer to the machine,

and you definitely speed up.

- I feel very competitive.

I don't want my mind to be read.

I find this process
frustrating...

[buzzer blares]
Mm!

Even though I know how the box
works.

But what if you didn't
know what the box did

before you tried it?

I want to introduce you to
Moran, and this is Diana

from the YouTube channel
Physics Girl,

one of my favorite
YouTube channels.

- Michael, stop.

- Derek, thanks for being here.

I'm very excited to
introduce you to Moran Cerf

from Northwester.
- Nice to meet you.

- And he's brought his box.

Diana and Derek
have scientific minds.

But they have not been told
what the box really does.

Moran explains a deceptively
easy game.

- So we could--
- The lights are on,

don't touch it.
- Yeah.

- Once the box begins to beat

their conscious decision-making
to the punch,

will they be able to figure out
what's going on?

- Do I look a bit
like a jellyfish?

- You feel comfortable?
- Great. I feel amazing.

- Okay. You can start.

[dramatic music]

- For the first 15 minutes,
the box calibrates

and learns how
the subject's mind acts

before making a decision.

Then, the fun begins.

[buzzer blares]

♪ ♪

[buzzer blares]

♪ ♪

- Before?
[buzzer blares]

- Yeah.

[buzzer blares]

- Both of our subjects seem
increasingly confused

and frustrated.
[buzzer blares]

- [laughs]

- I know exactly how they feel.

[buzzer blares]
- [laughs]

- It's hard 'cause sometimes,
like, the light comes on

while I'm going
to push it, you know?

It's kind of--
- Yeah, yeah.

Well, Moran, do you want
to tell him?

- So, this box here

is reading your brain activity

and tries to predict not which
button you're gonna press,

but when, and then turn
the lights on

just before you
press the button.

- This is predicting when
I'm gonna make the decision.

What?
- Yeah.

- This is amazing.

- I definitely noticed the
lights going on often

when I was going
to hit the buttons.

- Mm-hmm.
- But also there were times

when, like, I wasn't gonna
make any choice,

and they just went on,
so I was like, well--

- Why? How do you know?
- [laughing] Right.

- What?
- How do you know that?

Maybe the lights
just stopped your brain

from telling you that you were
about to make a choice.

- It's not just, "Oh,
he's about to push it,"

but it's "he is about to become

aware that he is going
to push the button."

- I'm trying to think, like, I'm
still trying to out-think you.

Like, I'm trying to be like,
"Oh, I'm gonna

"push the left button,
I'm gonna--

wait, no, I'm gonna
do the right."

- It's interesting that you
put it that way.

Because really, it's not about
out-thinking us,

it's about out-thinking
yourself.

The implications of this
are kind of chilling.

We could affect
the decisions you make

in all aspects of your life

if we could tell you
things like,

"Which of these two paintings
will you prefer?"

- Mm-hmm.
- Which candidate

do you want to vote for,
or imagine

using this for dating.

Because it's reading
your subconscious mind...

- Mm-hmm.
- We might be able to tell that

you prefer someone
that you don't actually

think you do.

- Well, that sounds scary.

[laughter]

But--but at the same time,

I feel like I--
I don't know.

I'm such a human, Michael,
I feel like

my humans response is like,
"Okay,

"there's a process
my brain goes through.

"I get it. You learned it.

But it's still my brain
and still my process."

- Denial.
- Is...

- I--I like to call it
"Limitations" of free will.

- And by the way, we know that
you're gonna have

chicken salad
for tomorrow's dinner.

[laughter]
- Yes, that's very clear.

It's very good
at predicting that.

- Yeah.
- [laughing]

[subtle electronic music]

♪ ♪

- Like falling dominoes,

a whole chain of things
has led up

to now,
this very moment.

In your life, those dominoes
might be

your parents, your childhood,
the books you've read,

your friends, things that have
influenced you,

what you had for breakfast,

how you felt this afternoon.

Everything has led up to now,
that final domino,

but how it falls, well,
that's your choice, right?

Or is it?
[sighs]

Moran's box kind of questions
some of that.

If your brain can tell us
what you're going to do

before you even know
you're going to do it,

is your conscious mind
actually being controlled

by your subconscious mind?

And if your subconscious
can be fooled,

then who is actually in charge?

Do you truly have free will?

Or are you just...

like a puppet?

A puppet who thinks

it has no strings?

Does your conscious, aware self

just take credit for things

your unconscious body's already

decided to do?

[laughs] Well, more research
needs to be done.

But what we do know is that

things you normally wouldn't
consider part of you

are a gigantic part of you.

I think Kermit the Frog
said it best:

"Although I'm not sure exactly
what Jim Henson did,

whatever it was,
it really moved me."

[electronic music]

♪ ♪

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