This episode is also on Bilibili too.
The Greedy Dopamine
Author: Daniel Lieberman (psychiatrist, affiliated with George Washington University in the United States)
Overall rating: 5 stars
When I reached the third-to-last chapter, I still thought the core ideas were pretty great, but not exactly mind-blowing. Then, starting with the second-to-last chapter, the book suddenly shifted into a higher gear. The author first uses dopamine to explain the American national character, which is already a wonderfully brain-opening idea, and then uses it to explore the essence of human nature and the fate of humankind. The whole book suddenly grows in scope. It starts from science and ends up soaring to a height from which it looks down over humanity. It starts high and keeps climbing—a rare achievement.
Translation: 4 stars
Very smooth overall. A few technical terms could perhaps be translated better, but on the whole, a positive review.
Reading barrier: Low
Accessible, requiring no background knowledge, and friendly to readers.
This book is about how dopamine—the “molecule of desire”—steers our thoughts and actions. It begins with a series of neuroscientific and psychological facts about dopamine, then ultimately rises to a height from which it looks down over human nature and the fate of humankind. Some of its ideas are genuinely thought-provoking.
Some core ideas and memorable highlights from The Greedy Dopamine——
1. Dopamine, the “far-future molecule”
As we go through life, we are basically busy with two things. 1, pursuing things we do not have yet. 2, enjoying things we already have. Most things have these two sides—the pursuit of a girlfriend, followed by the pleasure of being happily stuck together; working hard to earn money for a house, followed by the comfort of sinking into the sofa to watch TV; studying by lamplight for fame and honors, followed by the glory of seeing all the flowers of Chang’an in a single day.
In the brain, “enjoying what we have” and “pursuing what we don’t have” are actually governed by two kinds of chemicals (neurotransmitters).
“Enjoying what we have” is controlled by certain “present-moment molecules.” When the brain releases large amounts of present-moment molecules, we focus on things we already possess and are currently experiencing—for example, after a long run, the brain releases lots of endorphins, giving us that light, floaty high; during orgasm, it releases large amounts of oxytocin, sending us over the moon; while skiing, it releases large amounts of norepinephrine, giving us the thrill of a racing heartbeat.
Dopamine, the protagonist of this book, is also a neurotransmitter found in abundance in the brain. But it is a “super outsider” in a class of its own, because dopamine is not a present-moment molecule but a far-future molecule. Dopamine directs our attention toward things that are not currently in front of us but that we want to obtain.
Dopamine is responsible for creating desire and making us feel, “I want it.” It drives us to pursue visible, tangible things such as money and food, but it also drives us toward invisible things, such as knowledge, love, and influence.
In fact, whenever we deal with something that is not right in front of us, dopamine is involved—planning for the future, making art, conducting scientific research, learning things. All these behaviors are driven by dopamine. In other words, the other half of life’s two major tasks—pursuing things we do not yet have—is almost entirely handled by this one molecule.
Most people are already familiar with the idea that dopamine creates desire. But before reading The Greedy Dopamine, few readers probably realized that dopamine reaches into such a deep and wide territory.
2. People with dopamine oversupply
Dopamine makes us feel dissatisfied, makes us think, “I still want more.” This is obviously important: without it, we would want nothing, and we could not stay alive. Meanwhile, “present-moment molecules” make us feel, “I’m quite satisfied.” That, of course, is important too.
Dopamine and present-moment molecules sit at opposite ends of a seesaw, rising and falling against each other. Ideally, “I still want more” and “I’m quite satisfied” should be somewhat balanced. We spend part of our energy pursuing various things, then another part enjoying the present. This balanced life may bring the greatest sense of happiness. The reality, however, is that in many people, the forces of present-moment molecules and dopamine are out of balance.
The focus of The Greedy Dopamine is what happens when the power of dopamine completely overwhelms the present-moment molecules. In some people’s brains, the dopamine circuit is especially active. Their most striking characteristic is this: they love pursuing, but they cannot enjoy the present.
Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, once told his biographer that he had had sexual relationships with about 4000 women—in other words, he changed partners every 5 days after reaching adulthood. He pursued, and then kept pursuing, forever unable to feel satisfied. This is a classic example of someone whose dopamine circuit is excessively active.
You have probably heard stories about “workaholic” entrepreneurs. They are addicted to work, have no interests or hobbies outside it, sometimes neglect their families, and pour all their energy into their jobs. Although these people may be rolling in money, they have almost no interest in enjoying life. Entrepreneurs of this type are clearly people with dopamine circuits that are excessively active.
Elon Musk may be a textbook example. During a period when he was working at PayPal, he reportedly once worked 23 hours a day. A few years ago, Musk sold his property and moved into an RV. Some people criticized him for putting on a show; others said he was playing a much bigger game. But after reading The Greedy Dopamine, I think the explanation can be much simpler—Musk is simply suffering from dopamine oversupply. His passion for pursuing the unknown far exceeds his ability to enjoy the present.
Dopamine drives us to pursue all kinds of unknown things, which is why industries that demand a great deal of “exploring the unknown”—entrepreneurship, creative work, and scientific research—are full of people with dopamine oversupply. Many outstanding entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists have dopamine oversupply. That is why so many entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists seem less than happy: their relationships with family, children, and subordinates are often terrible. They always seem anxious, as if something is unfinished and they are in a hurry to go discover something else.
The book sums up the fate of this group like this:
They have made many contributions to the public, but no matter how rich, famous, or successful they become, they rarely experience happiness and never know satisfaction. The evolutionary forces that promote the survival of species produced these unusual people. Nature drives them to sacrifice their own happiness and bring new ideas and innovations that benefit others into the world.
3. A country with dopamine oversupply
If there are individuals with dopamine oversupply, are there countries with dopamine oversupply too? According to the author, there may really be such a country—and that country is the United States.
The reason is that the United States is a country made up almost entirely of immigrants and their descendants.
What is distinctive about immigrants? The proportion of people with dopamine oversupply is very high among them.
This makes perfect sense. Dopamine makes people dissatisfied with the status quo, and it is often precisely those with dopamine oversupply who are more likely to make up their minds to leave their homeland and try to make a living in some unfamiliar place.
Is the proportion of dopamine oversupply really unusually high among Americans, a people made up of immigrants? There is indeed indirect evidence: people with dopamine oversupply are especially prone to bipolar disorder, alternating between depression and emotional highs—in other words, what we commonly call manic depression. And the United States happens to have the highest rate of bipolar disorder in the world: 4.4% of its population has it, twice the average level in other regions.
That 4.4% represents the most severe group of people with bipolar disorder. In fact, bipolar disorder ranges from severe to mild, and its mildest form is “mania without depression”—remaining in a mildly elevated emotional state for a long time. People in elevated moods tend to look roughly like this: they think positively, even excessively optimistically; they are very confident, even a little arrogant; they are full of energy and always have all kinds of plans; they have broad interests, meddle in other people’s business, and are sometimes overenthusiastic, but they also frequently lose interest very quickly.
——Isn’t that just the American national character? The strengths and weaknesses line up almost perfectly.
All of this points to the United States, a country made up of immigrants, being a country with dopamine oversupply.
Perhaps the excess dopamine carried by these immigrants stimulated all kinds of innovation and creativity in American society. In Silicon Valley, 52% of startups are founded by immigrants. Of the various patents filed in the United States each year, 40%-70% are filed by immigrants.
Today’s Silicon Valley big shot, Musk, is an immigrant. What are the odds? Musk also has bipolar disorder.
Many people in the past analyzed where America’s creativity ultimately came from from institutional and cultural perspectives. The dopamine perspective gives us a particularly unusual—and wonderfully brain-opening—angle.
(When I read this passage in the book, I thought of America’s neighbor, Canada. Canada was initially established mainly by colonists who did not want to break away from their mother country, Britain, or become independent when the United States was fighting for independence. In that process, could the Americans’ personalities have undergone another round of dopamine selection? Those with less dopamine, who were content with the status quo, went to Canada, leaving the Americans with an even higher concentration of dopamine. Canadians today clearly live more comfortably than Americans. I wonder whether dopamine is secretly meddling behind the scenes again?)
4. “I” am dopamine
Back to another angle in the book: does an active dopamine system merely determine a person’s personality? Not at all. Regardless of whether the dopamine system in your body is active, dopamine defines “who you are.”
The book puts it this way:
In our hearts, we are dopamine.
If you asked someone, what is the essence of human nature?
A “scholar might say that her essence is the ability to understand the world. … She evaluates, judges, and makes predictions, giving her own understanding.” Paying attention to and understanding the unknown—that is dopamine’s job.
A hedonist would tell you that they “believe the deepest self can make them experience pleasure. Whether it is wine, women, or song, their goal in life is to get more rewards while pursuing more.” That, of course, is still dopamine’s job.
An “artist might say that the essence of their humanity is creativity. It was precisely that godlike force that created truth and beauty that had never existed before. Human existence is the source of creation.” Imagining something that does not exist and then creating it—that is still dopamine’s job.
So, if I asked you, “Who are you? How do you define yourself?” how would you answer?
I imagine you would probably say, too: “I am my resolve regarding XX,” or “I am my faith in XX.”
So what defines you as a person is “what you want,” not “what you already have”—you are dopamine.
5. Dopamine is this age
Finally, dopamine not only defines “you”; it also defines the age we live in today.
Consumerism has you thinking every day, “I want to buy more.” TikTok has you constantly “wanting to watch the next one.” Games keep you forever “wanting to open the next loot box.” Marvel’s post-credit Easter eggs keep you forever waiting for the next Marvel movie…
These days, hardly anyone lives in the present anymore. Our minds are always pointing toward the next second. This is the age of dopamine, and we’ve become a kind of “dopamine organism.”
The author writes:
We have sacrificed the deep sea of reality in exchange for the rushing current of our never-ending but shallow desires. In the end, it may destroy us. Dopamine will not stop; it drives us ever onward, until we tumble into the abyss.
Maybe it’s time for a little reflection. We need to think about how to restore the balance between dopamine and those present-moment molecules. How to reverse the trend of the times is too grand a question, and the author doesn’t explore it in depth. But on a personal level, the best way to bring dopamine together with the “present-moment molecules” may simply be to try creating something with your own hands.
Because—
No matter how smart, original, or creative you are, without the raw materials supplied by your present-moment senses, your dopamine circuits won’t accomplish much. Michelangelo’s Pietà depicts the Virgin Mary holding her dead son, …… The beauty of Mary’s grief is an idealized depiction of femininity, but if Michelangelo had not used his eyes to study real women, or his emotions to experience real grief here and now, he could never have imagined such a figure.
So even if you’re not an artist or scientist accustomed to creating things, you can still try making a few small things yourself.
Woodworking, knitting, painting, decorating, and sewing are outdated activities that don’t attract much attention in our modern world, but they are precisely what matters.
Because these activities require the brain and the hands to create together, they fuse the “next second” imagined by dopamine with the “present moment” experienced by the hands.
By: Zhichao Wei
Leave a Reply