Follow the Leader

### Cold Open

Most of us like to think of ourselves as unique, one-of-a-kind individuals. But the truth is, much of what you do, say and think is influenced by other people. Like every time you watch a viral video online, use a review to choose a restaurant, or buy a product simply because it's popular. Not only are you heavily influenced by other people's opinions, but you also tend to copy their actions. Whether you're conscious of it or not, You're often influenced by other people. But that's okay because you also influence others, who influence others, who influence you back. It's like one big game of follow the leader. And it's enough to make you question who you really are!

### Questions

Can simply looking at someone else's face cause a physical reaction?

Getting someone to yawn is pretty easy. But getting someone to like you is a bit tougher. Or is it?

Is there a limit to how far people will follow along?

The question is which does your brain find more important: What people say, or what people do?

## Games

### Game #1: Two-Way Circle Illusion

A bunch of dots spin around in a circle, but when you focus on one dot, something seems to change.

Result: All circles are moving in a straight line at a certain angle.

Why?

Your brain merges the 6 motions into a composite motion so you end up seeing, a spinning circle. The overload of information foucsing on all 6 dots led you to see the circle instead of their motions.

### Game #2: Face Me

You follow the commands of Jason Silva, moving your eyes in a direction or two.

Result: You may have found yourself following the eyes instead of following the instructions.

Why?

Our brains have a deictic gaze, allowing to draw our attention to a particluar object.

### Game #3: Ready or Not

An image will flash on screen for three seconds. Simple questions will be asked afterwards.

Result: You focused on what the man was looking at, the red hammer. You didn't remember some of the other tools.

Why does this continue to happen?

Following a person's gaze allows you to see their reactions to things, so you can predict how they'll react in the near future. This action is instilled froma very young age. Your eyes control you attention.

### Game #4: Yawn Time

Images of people yawning flash on the screen.

Result: You yawn as well.

Why?

It's a reflexive behavior area in the brain stem dedicated to managing your bodily functions such as heart rate, breathing, etc. Yawning evloved as a way for humans to tell everyone it was time to get some rest, and also stay on the same schedule.

In a nutshell: Yawning is contagious!

### Game #5: Al vs. Bob

An avatar talks to volunteers. Al and Bob face off to be more likeable.

Result: Al doesn't seem to make friends. Bob does. The volunteers agree.

Why: Bob and Al are played by the same person. Bob seems to be more outgoing with his smile, and mimicked the volunteer's reactions. The brain sends many verbal and nonverbal cues when communicating with another human being. When two people tend to have similar reactions, mirroring happens. The more similar the cues are, the better liked they are.

### Game #6: A or B

Choose between options at the mall, plane and online.

Result: Most people pick the more crowded or popular option(A)! Why would you value at a stranger's opinion?

Why: Because our brains are hardwired to do so. It's better to take the chance with everyone else, than by yourself.

### Game #7: Umbrella

Marco tempest tries to mislead your brain.

Result: The big umbrella becomes small, and you miss the camera swap.

But why do you miss the swap?

Because your brain would rather have the most likely scenario, which is not the umbrella becoming small.

### Game #8: Las Vegas, LINE STARTS HERE

Will people join a random line for no reason? Since the point of the experiment is to follow, a guest volunteer is placed.

Result: After the first couple people join, the followers just keep on coming. They can't resist the free mystery experience they'd be missing out on.

Why: Due to a phenomenon called Informational social influence. This occurs when you rely on others to determine your course of actions. In a crisis where you didn't know what to do, others could alert you on what you should be doing.

Now, will people follow along with the leader and play along?

Result: Yes they will! People jump over tape, play hopscotch, and other crazy things just to follow the leader. They even get in a conga line!

Remember, there was one person standing in line for nothing just a couple of minutes ago.

Why's it expected: Other people's behavior tells us what the best course of action is. We're all human, and if it's good for them, it's probably good for us. Everyone only did these things because the leaders did it as well.

We should let them in on the trick, but why such a debbie downer?

### Game #9: Words vs. Actions

Follow's Jason's commands.

Result: You struggle to follow the conflicting directions and actions.

Why: Because hearing and seeing mess each other up in the brain.

### List of Experts/Guests

* Jonah Berger(Marketing, Expert)
* Marco Tempest(Illuionist)