Episode 28 Welcome back Theoryologists. What happens when your brain hears a question? In fact, the answer is just what happened when you heard my question. Interestingly, you focused in and everything else, at least for a moment, was put to the side while your mind attempted to address the question at hand. Neuroscience research has found that the human brain can only think of one thing at a time. According to the book Brain Rules, “we are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.” Questions trigger a mental reflex known as “instinctive elaboration”. In which, when a question is posed, it takes over the brain’s thought process. And when your brain is thinking about the answer to a question, it cannot contemplate anything else. Behavioral scientists have also found that just asking people about their future decisions significantly influences those decisions, a phenomenon known as the “mere measurement effect.” This time I am again joined by Mike on co-host duty as we continue our discussion on the Ancient Aliens phenomen; focusing specifically on the ancient aliens television series. The series, which began formally in 2010, and appears in the History Channel, just began its 14th season and continues to prove wildly popular and successful, pulling in over a million viewers weekly on a regular basis. As we jump into the discussion, think about the aspects of the show that we highlight as possible drivers for the success and popularity with the public. What you will find is that the series is designed, very intentionally, to focus your attention and peak your interest by proposing the varied theories as questions. These questions guide the viewers in digesting the ideas presented, and actually increase the likelihood that they will accept the possibility, and find the show more engaging. www.conspiracytheoryology.com email - [email protected] Twitter - @TheoryologyPod Facebook - @TheoryologyPodcast Patreon - www.patreon.com/conspiracytheoryology Music is by adamhenrygarcia.bandcamp.com Links: https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/decisionsciences/newsn/5051/want-to-know-what-your-brain-does-when-it-hears-a-question