Neuroscientists have proposed a simple explanation for the pleasure of grasping a new concept: The brain is getting its fix.
The "click" of comprehension triggers a biochemical cascade that rewards the brain with a shot of natural opium-like substances, said Irving Biederman of the University of Southern California. He presents his theory in an invited article in the latest issue of American Scientist."While you're trying to understand a difficult theorem, it's not fun," said Biederman, professor of neuroscience in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences."But once you get it, you just feel fabulous."The brain's craving for a fix motivates humans to maximize the rate at which they absorb knowledge, he said.
H/t Dan Everett.
And the "fix" feels great regardless of the quality of work.
ReplyDelete