Current Events > Vsauce and Isolation.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I used to be a big fan of Vsauce, the YouTube channel that explores various scientific and philosophical topics. But I stopped watching it for some reason, and when I saw the host, Michael, again, I noticed something different about him. He seemed a bit off, not what a layperson would call crazy or anything, but just slightly altered. Then I learned that he had participated in an experiment with solitary confinement, where he spent three days alone in a white room with no human contact. I wondered if that experience had changed him somehow, and what it does to people in general.

But why does isolation hurt us so much? Is it because we are social animals who need to communicate and bond with others? If someone chose to be alone, like a hermit or a recluse, would they suffer the same consequences? Or is it the lack of control and freedom that makes us feel hopeless and helpless? And is it ethical to subject prisoners to isolation for years on end, knowing the harm it can cause?

These are some of the questions I have been thinking about after watching Vsauces experiment. What do you guys think of isolation and its negative effects? Do you have any personal experiences or opinions on this topic?

Isolation is a transformative human experience.

Or is it?

Vsauce Michael is a treasure, he definitely plays it up especially in shorts.

I stopped watching and unsubscribed from the normal Vsauce guy because he got too preachy some time ago.

I still love the Vsauce2 guy though.

He just got older and had more experiences. He's not just a fella making youtube anymore, he's been around producing and directing and starring in projects with real funding.

In the same series as the isolation experiment he tried an ego death psychiatric drug

The last of his videos I watched was about "chairness", or that is the metaphysics of what makes an object an object. Typically he leaves his videos pretty open ended but in that one he really commits to selling the audience on his metaphysics.