The latter is an appealing argument, especially after reading Lee Gomes’s March 12 column in The Wall Street Journal about why we’re powerless to resist grazing on endless web data. He wrote about research conducted by Irving Biederman, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California who’s studying the evolutionary and biological basis of the human need for information.
Dr. Biederman’s research is showing that when humans look at photos that include an element of mystery their brains produce more pleasure-enhancing neurotransmitters, which are called opoids. So when we encounter “new and richly interpretable information,” we experience a chemical reaction that makes us feel good and makes us want more information. Dr. Biederman’s research is also showing the reverse. We want to avoid things that bore us.
Thank you, Dr. Biederman and Lee Gomes! Knowing now about opoids is enough ammunition for me to view scandals as a pleasurable diversion, not a time waster. Who needs computer games, gardening or other hobbies, when you’ve got a juicy story to follow?
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