Making Decisions Without a Brain

[@John_Smith_Dumfugg]

You ever get the feeling that some giant, inconceivable being was bullying you, personally, you, for no apparent reason? This video taught me that there could, in fact, be some merit in that idea

[@willowarkan2263]

How often has your room inexplicably filled with a selection of gases with varied effects?

[@spyrofrost9158]

@@willowarkan2263 Never. But often skeletons.

[@John_Smith_Dumfugg]

I keep getting spiritually and emotionally smothered in carmine or poked by gigantic hairs and no matter what I do it keeps happening

[@willowarkan2263]

@@spyrofrost9158 that might just mean your local necromancer is a bit scatterbrained.

[@37thraven]

@@John_Smith_Dumfugg Funny. The metaphor works better thinking of our divine overlord(s) toying with our weather and natural disasters and diseases. (vs. fateful things happening to you like a car accident). *But*! Imagine if some '5th dimension' scientist started flooding the air with hormones and messing with our neurochemistry to get us all riled up. Instigating fights and mating just to see what happens. Sims style

[@John_Smith_Dumfugg]

In this episode, scientists bully microorganisms

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

For science or whatever

[@acompletelynormalhuman6392]

On the bright side they probably can't feel pain

[@Raylen_Fa-ield]

@@acompletelynormalhuman6392 they seem to react to discomfort. Also watching this series I've seen microbes hunt other microbes. When they pray was caught it had a panicky response

[@choreboy988]

Carlos C3rd Not exactly indicative of pain, just stimuli.

[@choreboy988]

John Smith I prefer calling it “poking them into submission for scientific endeavor.” You really become humbled when a poking utensil pierces reality itself to poke your squish. 😑

[@knpark2025]

"making decisions without a brain" ah, yes. my Saturday afternoon.

[@f.jideament]

Imagine a non-human creature trying to understand the logic behind this sentence. And now think about why you're imagining about such stupid bullshit.

[@alexanderjohnson2309]

@@f.jideament Ha!

[@chan625]

:D

[@campkira]

all of us.. is just bigger version of them...

[@eriksatie4061]

Are you american?

[@Glassgothgirl]

Today I learned that microorganisms can have personalities. Of course they do.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

And I found out that our AI of just three decades ago was worse than a protozoan's.

[@nagydoesstuff]

Cus the can.

[@TheRogueWolf]

"...using a piece of hair to poke these Stentors." (the proportional equivalent of a 2x4 smacks into two unsuspecting Stentors)

[@Eblis840]

Like my favorite comedian says, ".....Life In The Big City" - Tim Dillon.

[@cheaterman49]

IMHO it shows how huge the Stentors are, when you see how relatively small a hair's width looks in comparison!

[@Ry-dx5om]

This sounds like a bad candid camera prank, but it's funny, perhaps because pranks, in the microcosms, are new to me.

[@cheaterman49]

@Richard Joyce If a cat falls from a building, it might survive. If an elephant falls from a building, "splash". :-)

[@Zorro9129]

@Richard Joyce That's the square cube law. Ants being able to lift five times their body weight sounds impressive until you realize that if humans were their size we could lift a lot more than that. We need so much muscle because we're big.

[@megastoejoe]

"Please stop... please stop poking me... STOP! Screw it i'm moving out."

[@spiercephotography]

The little Stentor home shopping at the end is so adorable to me! How in the world do I actually manage to look at these small tiny organisms and actually find them cute? I don't know, but I love it! Also, as a brain damaged person (TBI), this subject/video is particularly fascinating to me. I feel like i'm on auto pilot sometimes without realizing that I switched over and I don't even notice what I'm doing while I'm doing it. I guess maybe I'm not alone :D

[@Vent69420]

A possible answer to why you find them cute might be an abstract association with cultural forms of art, like cartoons. Unconsciously (or sub-consciously) you enjoy and find them cute because they resemble relatable aspects of living organisms that you find cute, or perhaps fictional artwork that you also find cute. It is weird how a brain can co-relate a cute living organism with an abstract piece of art and then further make connections to these tiny creatures. At least according to me, this seems to be the simplest answer my limited knowledge can come up with. Also, you are definitely not alone about the autopilot bit! Nature seems to control even the most self-aware organisms, for example, the simple adrenaline rush in a fight or flight response, your TBI in fact brings you closer to nature and every other living organism! I hope you have fun at every moment, though!

[@TheRealFlenuan]

It's not just you; everyone feels that way at times

[@choreboy988]

Steph P. What you described sounds pretty normal to me. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t space out. Must be a lot of parents lying about dropping their babies.🤷‍♂️😂

[@linefortier8595]

@@TheRealFlenuan Yes...I understand but can't explain in english. My feeling is the same

[@WobblesandBean]

"Hmmm....yep, this is definitely the spot, I'll just deploy my butt, aaaaand...there we go! Om nom nom"

[@therongjr]

Hank: "[...] focusing on what's truly important: food" Me (eating mac 'n' cheese): "Yes."

[@geraldfrost4710]

The four F's... fight, flight, food, and reproduction.

[@nablamakabama488]

I’m not so sure if mac n cheese actually counts as food.

[@limiv5272]

Now I'm hungry

[@Ry-dx5om]

@@geraldfrost4710 very classy

[@52.yusrilihsanadinatanegar79]

@@geraldfrost4710 Three Fs and one R

[@edwardlulofs444]

This has to be one of the most fascinating among all of these wonderful videos. All of my life I have been intrigued by single cells doing what many people thought that ONLY humans could do. It seems infinitely more difficult to understand how humans think and decide. But here, reduced to the "simplest" unit of life, single cells seem to do everything that we do except talk and play chess. This seems so profound, mysterious, awesome. Now I'm a senior citizen at risk of being terminated by something that probably isn't even alive. I do hope that I will live long enough to learn more about how single cells can interact with the universe in such a complex ways. Keep up the good work guys.

[@clray123]

It seems that mostly you are at risk of being terminated by stupidity of other people who make decisions "for your benefit".

[@swhite8381]

It’s because life is the one at the helm. Not us with our brains . I think our brains just give us the silly idea that we are the ones doing everything . 😆

[@edwardlulofs444]

@@swhite8381 I think that there is a lot of truth in what you say.

[@Daniel16180]

The way the bit at 6:10 with the two stentors juggling a paramecium was filmed is so beautiful and detailed compared to the rest. The depth it provides lets me visualize and understand how these creatures look so much more than the regular 2d slides. I wish more of these videos were done like that.

[@JamsGerms]

I am a protist poker now! 😂

[@IdiotWithEducation]

I was using a razor blade, but a hair is even better!

[@John_Smith_Dumfugg]

Bullying innocent little microorganisms, how dare you 😂

[@rotifer]

*Sometimes me and my paramecium buds would have a carmine drinking contest at my fellow Stentor's pad. Gnarly stuff let me tell you. After a few drinks in you'll feel so wasted you'd think your mastax was on fire from all the burning.*

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

This may sound racist but, how did you type this?

[@drungarious]

With the the toes on his foot, duh. Don't be so insensitive.

[@randompheidoleminor3011]

@@thisisahumanlol8255 *speciest.

[@acompletelynormalhuman6392]

@@thisisahumanlol8255 this is also human a completely normal human in fact

[@nerobernardino88]

@@thisisahumanlol8255 Eugh, typical human!

[@themalconator]

You guys are absolutely blowing my mind with these videos I really appreciate it. It's incredible that even at the microscopic level there is predator and prey. It seems like the African Savanna, so much variation. Tiny plant life photosynthesising, animals eating the plants, the predators that eat them, and rudimentary eyes to perceive light and circadian rhythms. It looks as if life just grew more complex and larger, but the evolutionary basis of finding food and reproduction have remained the same. There must be biological laws to life its self, similar to the laws of physics.

[@itsa_possum]

"What`s your job mate?" "Oh I poke microbes for a living"

[@109Rage]

Yeah, I was doing something else, saw the notification and title of the video, and my brain made the decision to click.

[@catdraco9476]

Hey! Vsauce, Michael here. We all have brains, But what if, We didn't? [Chill Piano Tune Plays]

[@ericwright8592]

As a cell biologist this is absolutely fascinating. These single celled organisms appear to be making "decisions" but they're really just spontaneously reacting to the environment through various receptors and the subsequent changes in protein organization (shifting the cytoskeleton to change shape), protein function (like waving cilia) as well as transcription and translation of new proteins to change what the cell is doing at any given time.

[@TheIkhsan7]

"That might sound fairly familiar to some of us these days", lol...

[@jakartagamer6188]

Us, introverts

[@realitynowassigned]

Took me a minute

[@mawderation]

six feet! stay back!\

[@SohanDsouza]

WTF, this isn't a documentary about upper management! 🤨

[@TheRogueWolf]

You're right! It's about life forms making _rational_ decisions in response to stimuli.

[@scrumblebump9613]

@@TheRogueWolf r/wooosh

[@DerNachtmar]

@Yevhenii Diomidov r/wooosh

[@mozarteanchaos]

@@DerNachtmar you cant just triple-woosh dude, the woosh ecosystem will collapse

[@Rotem_S]

@@mozarteanchaos yeah, over woooshing is what eventually led to the whooosh-prime 2008 crysis

[@mho...]

science at its best: "lets poke it and see what happens"! great video as always!

[@altheaunertl]

"Moments ago, you made a decision to click on this video." Yeah and I was already feeling guilty about that since I /should/ be going to sleep.

[@misterlocapone6604]

“It’s remarkable how many ways there are, to do anything at all” WOW

[@snipoxkillo1099]

Hooman: *poke* *poke* *poke* *POKE! POKE! POKE! POKE!* Stentor: *[confused screaming]* Why u bully me *[confused screaming]*

[@Robert_McGarry_Poems]

Thank you, "those people," from patreon.

[@jordanautumnjarviswilson9383]

Oh gosh... so as listen to every video, and watching James poke at such organisms I find it so comical as to laugh at the Irony of the way it can make someone chuckle... Thank you. Not only do you keep these videos educational, you also have a one of a kind way of thinking how to talk on topics... Thank you folks once again for helping with the interests of my education as I learn with yall's team! Keep up the good work for its folks like you all and I that give our Future generations the knowledge to continue Journeys into the Micro- cosmos Autumn Wilson- Las Cruces New Mexico USA

[@danpesta4220]

These videos are mesmerizing - hypnotic even. A ten minute video seems to pass in less than a minute. I’m always disappointed there isn’t more. I can’t say that about any other video channel..

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

My favorite episode! Watching experimentation of their individuality is absolutely fascinating! Microcosmic behaviour!

[@d4v0r_x]

for creatures big as mountains to small as a single ray of light, and all between, life is poetry

[@juancoria8862]

7:42 *stabs the stentor with the equivalent of a flagpole* 7:47 *realizes he POKED the stentor a little TOO MUCH*

[@zejalt8608]

1:48 these sound like some nice names for anime

[@csweezey18]

I'd watch "The Daily Life of Paramecium!" XD

[@acompletelynormalhuman6392]

One of my friends told me about an anime where it's from the perspective of your immune system Monster a Day sort of thing

[@takashi.mizuiro]

a completely normal human i think the name is cells at work or hataraku saibou you can give it a shot

[@acompletelynormalhuman6392]

@@takashi.mizuiro thanks

[@takashi.mizuiro]

your welcome

[@williamstewart988]

I have no idea how this guy doesn't have millions of subs yet. Amazing production quality, very engaging. Well done :)

[@ThePCguy17]

"Moments ago, you made a decision to click on this video." >me, who clicked this hours ago and only tabbed over after gaming a bunch Yeah...moments ago.

[@keithwinget526]

same lol

[@Xaiff]

How long is a moment anyway?

[@Oscar4u69]

it feels nice to see that i'm not the only one 😁

[@kdidjedjsjjsje6442]

Why do people like you treat KZbin like a blog. No one cares

[@Oscar4u69]

@@kdidjedjsjjsje6442 for the same reason idiots like you complain about everything 😄 we are human and we like AND CAN express ourselves.

[@pauljs75]

Thing is, single cells seem to show some capability of being computationally complete. And that goes for nerve cells too. So the brain as an organ is actually an entire computational network processing information and not just a single computer. So think of this kind of thing as being akin to scaling parallel processing, and how that affects the ability to deal with information. Single cells of course may not be able to compute much in terms of stimulus vs. response, but perhaps they're able to respond a lot faster since thy don't have to do a poll and come to a consensus for their decision like the brain of some multi-cellular organism.

[@Life_42]

Thank You PATRONS on Patreons! God bless you all!

[@3OHT.]

I've been watching these since you guys started this series. This is good work and something to be proud of, you guys can show this to your grand kids in 20 years and it will be just as good

[@daniell1483]

I don't know why, but the Stentor's decision-making process is so damn relatable that I think it is my new favorite protist. I don't know how it made the decisions it made, but that it made decisions I think I might have made in its place makes it easy to sympathize with its plight.

[@glenliesegang233]

But, tardigrades are still cuter!

[@giantsquid2]

"...ready to eat until the next decision needs to made. And if that isn't life, I don't know what is." lol

[@lordofelectrons4513]

"Making Decisions Without a Brain" I'm so tired of hearing about the elections!

[@nickb3221]

"Your body had to go through very complex processes for you to make and execute your decision" Me: Okay, the thought of the complexity of my thought just made me exhausted.

[@kd013n]

it's just astonishing to think that I could get this content for free. thank you, creators.

[@ethan-loves]

Thank you, patrons! Especially for this video.

[@altheaunertl]

I love that even though you could hurt or kill the organisms for the sake of curiosity and science, but you don't-- ethics are just as important as curiosity and experimentation. You have always been able to demonstrate and explain what you're talking about without doing permanent damage.

[@kiowa6057]

This is the best series on KZbin right now

[@Lin_The_Cat_]

I never realized that Hank Green does the voice recordings for these videos, but now that I have, I can’t unhear it.

[@matthewtoader1]

“settling back into a comfortable position” me: *pooping*

[@spyrofrost9158]

What could possibly be more comfortable?

[@bluesap7318]

@@spyrofrost9158 shorting while in a hot bath

[@DerNachtmar]

This is fascinating! There seem to be many parallels between microorganisms and the way simple programs/robots work. But i never thought of how these microorganisms are even able to do these simple tasks and especially loved the part that even different specimen have different behaviour hierarchies.

[@vickypedias]

Mind = blown. Unicellular organisms have preferences, and respond to stimuli in a sophisticated manner, in a way even *learning*. Wtf. No idea they could do any of these things. I'm in absolute awe.

[@emmanuelsanchez9303]

I feel like these little homies are kindred souls, as I too, sometimes make decisions without my brain

[@markcotham7737]

Just wanted to thank y'all for making this series. It's so peaceful yet fascinating.

[@witchflowers6942]

it really causes reflection on what it means to be conscious and what consciousness is. Many will say "well it's in the brain" but something without a brain or even a nervous system... is aware. it is conscious.

[@nutzeeer]

basically the complexity of any videogame (except minecraft) has about the same interactome as the microcosmos: go somewhere, do something, eat, avoid and so on. to think a single celled organism would be smart enough for those basic concepts.

[@Ealsante]

"Contract like nobody's poking you. Inspect like you're never moving away. Eat like the next decision's never coming." -- Mark Twain, Stentorian writer

[@glocrowhurst]

I love this guy's voice. He's like the Mr. Rogers of microbiology.

[@homelessEh]

5:43... the look like little mini swimming tropical islands all bumping around on the ocean lol ..just the way they look like statalite images of lake and forrest.

[@abagoffrozenspinach]

10 minutes of a microbiologist bothering its subjects until they leave the study, I love it so much

[@TheRealestSwag]

Of course I know him, he's me

[@Mephisto28890]

*nobody* : *scientists* : "lets poke some microorganisms!"

[@SteveStanger]

Me: Seeing the title to the video... My Brain: Don't make a political comment. Don't make a political comment. Don't make a political comment. Don't make a political comment. Don't make a political comment. Also, as always, love these videos!

[@jordanmalfara1501]

First bit of the video made my procrastination sound like legit work. Thank you for that

[@SomeAutomaton]

These creatures are much more sensible than humans

[@joeblack4436]

If I were to have to engineer such behaviour into a simply system like a uni-cellular organism then I would: Design subsets of reactions. And with actions I mean the most minute effects such as a single silia rotating clockwise or anti-clockwise. Each subset when active, being a collection of actions which together lead to a certain mode of behaviour. Then I'd make all the subsets sensitive to the concentration of a particular chemical signal carrier. The concentration of sensitivity dictating the order in which these behavioural subsets activate in. Each subset being active only while the concentration of the chemical signal carrier is within a specific band. The default behavioural subset being active only while none, or very little, of the chemical signal carry is present. The final behavioural subset only activating once a very high concentration of the chemical signal carrier is present. Then I would simply let each instance of a particular stimulus (mechanical irritation in this case) release incremental amounts of said chemical signal carrier. Top it off with a mechanism constantly scrubbing the chemical signal carrier present within the cell. Possibly even by metabolising it into another substance that can serve as a signal carrier for another range of behavioural subsets to allow for for a series of behaviours leading to a climax (maybe a flight behaviour), and then to another set of behaviours to recover back to the default behaviour (settling down and getting on with things again maybe). A truly wide range of behaviours could evolve through subsets being sensitive to various concentration bands and ratios of both the postulated chemical signal carriers - Via mutation of the signal carrier sensitivity couple with natural selection. Et Viola.

[@TheodoreManthovani]

It's simple, i see nature documentaries or cat videos, i click.

[@joshuasims5421]

If I didn't have a brain, though, I couldn't overthink things...

[@Ry-dx5om]

That could be nice. ... Hmmm.

[@joehorne3773]

how did you know that moments ago i made a decision to click on this video....... i'm onto you

[@shiddy.]

6:56 I feel like you have the cat thing totally backwards this is a very good topic, I've wondered about this in the past while watching your videos

[@deucemcallister13]

always love these videos. continued teachings of the microcosmos.

[@tiramisucocolands7952]

I love the sheer poetry in these videos. As someone who doesn't like inspirational quotes, such videos like this give me some cool quotes to practice my fugly handwriting.

[@GZxuanChannel-nx9vi]

AMAZING Video, @Journey to the Microcosmos

[@rotifer]

*They didn't show footage of me being poked. It's because I required them to take me out to dinner first!*

[@spiercephotography]

Good job Rotifer, way to stick to your dating ethics :D

[@JamsGerms]

Some things have to stay private...

[@yahwea]

How prescient of you to know!! my steps to get to this video, which I did select, began with selecting video earlier, then two newer, until I came here. My brain is pretty cool! Great introduction to this vlog episode!!

[@mayaenglish5424]

5:53 I had to rewind this entire clip section because I was too busy watching the Paramecium narrowly avoid death as it repeatedly ping ponged back and forth between the two Stentors. I was literally clenching my abs and like, holding my breath the way you sometimes do playing a video game or during an action scene in a movie rooting for the good guy to make the jump to the roof lol. Then at 6:27 I was like oh wait what were you saying Hank?

[@giladpellaeon1691]

Hank, this vid is part of my routine, usually before bed on a work night because I learn things and your narration is quite soothing. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[@Bill_Bo]

What I want to know is HOW they (e.g. a paramecium) make these decisions? How do the cilia coordinate to go in one particular direction based on where the thing WANTS to go. How does it know it is being poked? Is there something equivalent to a tiny brain and nervous system going on in that chemical soup of the single cell? Do each cilia 'decide' what to do independently and the combination results in coordinated movement? Just how does this work on such a small scale? Understanding this is vital to understanding consciousness, I think. When/how does a chemical reaction become a decision?

[@michalzustak8846]

"Is there something equivalent to a tiny brain and nervous system going on in that chemical soup of the single cell?" Brains and nervous systems aren't magic. They are just specialized cells doing electrochemical signaling between each other that ultimately work just like any other cells. They just network the information processing power of many cells. It's like asking "how did 1950s transistor computers work, did they have tiny microprocessors in their transistors"?

[@Bellazme]

I loveeeeee all your posts. THANK YOU.

[@glenliesegang233]

10 to 20% of the genome of organisms code for genes which order protein production. The other 80 to 90% is an "operating system" which is a massively parallel groupings of AND, OR, and NOR gates which serve to create rapid "decisions" which permit survival. We humans simply fail to grasp the utterly fantastic constant information processing , the dance of rapid protein cascades affecting cytoskeleton shape and ciliary motion (even in the simplest flagellated bacterium) And, the dance of RNA with DNA/histones for gene promotion and silencing is so utterly incredible, only tiny portions cannot be grasped.

[@victoriadombrowski384]

Oh,that was great fun! Love this channel!!!

[@SotraEngine4]

I was looking for a 10 hour version of some music video, but then I saw this and thought: "Let's procrastinate!"

[@nightrous3026]

Hank i love these videos. Been subbed to this channel since the first video was uploaded

[@TheJohnblyth]

Wonderful. So now it’s making me wonder. Thanks!

[@proudsnowtiger]

What a splendid video. The tone gets better and better, and so much good science slips in under the radar. Moar pls.

[@AlbyPenney]

That last slide of white tendrils and the green stentor was mesmerizing!

[@Nanamowa]

I clicked this by accident, then turned off my phone because I had to do something. When I came back, I was pleasantly surprised and decided to watch the video. No real choice in selecting the video, just random.

[@Macachee]

The parameciums are so green and sparkly!

[@pibi-tudu-kaga6991]

Do you know of a non-reproduction copy of the Behavior of the Lower Organisms? Amazon at least only has the artifact reproduction reprints

[@Estabanwatersaz]

Great 👍 information. Many thanks 🙏

[@Guydude777]

Fascinating stuff! Much appreciated.

[@agxryt]

Holy @ 5:45, SO pretty. Why are they glowing like that? They look like little drops of green amber

[@ashsamuel5324]

What's the little tube at the bottom of the screen @2:57 with the helical structure? is that DNA?

[@valor36az]

You should read “the price of altruism” along the similar lines, the author follows the work and tragic story of George Price who set out to disprove his own theory on the statistical basis of altruism. He is consumed by the idea that kindness cannot possibly be predetermined, he was unable to prove himself wrong and eventually committed suicide.

[@suspence7207]

Oooooh this is something I was super curious about. Yuussss

[@cottonbud5916]

nice. I love this channel so much

[@GranRey-0]

Yay a video! and thanks for assuming I easily performed these tasks. 7:35 favourite part... *stab stab stab*

[@kartikeypatel7426]

Well information. Good show. Well show.

[@damainx]

At about 4:51, the Paramecium appear to have blinking lights. What's going on?

[@mktaters310]

My friend asked me, "How much information do bacteria really take in to make decisions." Conveniently 2 videos later I found this

[@0903tgrace]

Your videos are my favorite biological rabbit hole to go down. These vids are like potato chips: just one is not possible

[@pablomeneses1633]

Could you make a video about giant viruses like mimivirus and mega viruses?

[@StuMas]

Surely, this has huge implications for consciousness and free will.

[@bokchoiman]

It's crazy to think that behaviours at the lowest levels are directed purely through electromagnetic forces between atoms and molecules. How such behavioural patterns come to be is a fascinating thing to ponder. From chemical soup emerges. Emerges what, conciousness? Or was conciousness already there to begin with?

[@Haplo-san]

Piece of hair helped me a lot to understand size of these creatures finally, because I couldn't visualize how big or small with magnification level or micron measures.

[@profpuffofficial2]

Bottom right

[@Haplo-san]

@@profpuffofficial2 I know that already, thank you. What I'm saying, it is hard to visualize size of a 100 micron creature without a piece of hair next to it.