Thick as thieves

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today: President Trump moves to make global tariffs permanent; A new wearable device you actually paint on; and what’s going on with Jon Bon Jovi…🤔

Let’s get into it!

Over 130 years ago, William James and Wilhelm Wundt argued about the nature and origins of “awareness.” The former insisted people could only become aware of their actions after they’d acted; the latter assumed the brain’s planning mechanisms and initiation of movement gave rise to awareness.

Recently, professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine Hal Blumenthal, and former Ph.D student David S. Jin, oversaw a study published in PNAS Nexus that attempted to finally resolve the dispute.

They had 67 participants play the Rush Hour sliding block puzzle game while simultaneously watching videos in the background. They were told to memorize the videos and the moves they made with each car in the game, to see if they were “aware” of the moves as they made them.

They measured the participants’ brain activity using ECG technology, and discovered that for those people who were able to accurately report their moves (i.e.: were aware), a pre-planning signal was more active. But…at the same time, a sensory signal lit up.

"It turns out James and Wundt were both right," Blumenfeld said. 🤯

Wearables like Fitbit and Oura are some of the most popular pieces of fitness technology on the market today, but even they have their shortcomings.

Any kind of electrode, in fact, can only be so effective if it’s resting on top of the person’s skin. The wearer sweats, the electrode pads get sticky, and the biometric data becomes skewed.

To remedy this, a team of international scientists—comprised of researchers from Penn State, MIT, and China’s Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology—developed an electrode that’s so wearable, it literally has to be painted onto the person.

The device is made up of “biocompatible compounds,” not only allowing for it to basically be grafted onto the wearer’s skin, but also ensuring it’s able to maximize its reading of the biometric data.

“The long-term use of on-skin electrodes hinges on high permeability of water vapor for increased body comfort and enhanced adhesion even in the presence of sweat, while also minimizing skin irritation,” the team noted in its study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the other day.

Having the freedom to choose from endless options in daily life may be the birthright of Western society, but more and more people these days are coming to the realization that having too many options to choose from ultimately defeats the purpose of having such freedom.

Behavioral scientists agree, including Barry Schwartz, an emeritus psychology professor at Swarthmore College and author of The Paradox of Choice, who said having too many options can “make people anxious, indecisive and, paradoxically, less happy with what they pick.”

“Instead of being liberated by all this choice, you’re paralyzed,” he said. “You can do anything, and you can’t figure out which of those many things to do.”

Sound familiar? Surely a feeling most have experienced while browsing Netflix endlessly, only to shed the burden and ultimately watch the same show or movie again.

This paralysis is a turn-off because the human brain doesn’t like having to make decisions; in fact, it’s designed to alleviate us having to think, according to Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor and neuroscience researcher at the University of Virginia.

The lesson? Don’t sweat the cosmetic stuff day-to-day, and reserve decision-making for the deep and important. You’ll feel better, and so will your noggin!

Jon Bon Jovi underwent a risky vocal cord operation in June of 2022 after finding out one of his cords was terminally atrophying, rendering him unable to sing. The surgery repositioned the cord, giving him a chance to sing again pending a long and winding road to rehab.

While the 64-year-old New Jersey legend won’t ever return to his prime form, the man and his band are still wanted: dead or alive.

Several clips emerged on the internet of the singer attempting to get back in the saddle over the last four years, and he certainly wished they hadn’t. He didn’t have it; not by a long shot.

Miraculously, however, his refusal to throw in the towel paid off, and Bon Jovi is now seven nights into a nine-date residency at Madison Square Garden.

While the songs have been tuned down several steps and JBJ continues to sound a little shaky, there’s no denying his progress. It’s not possible to play between 20 and 23 songs a night over two or two and a half hours without having your fast ball back.

Now let’s be realistic; no one throws 98 mph at 64 years old. But forced to choose between giving up and going down in a blaze of glory, there was only ever one option for the man who wrote Livin’ On A Prayer.

An offer you can’t…?

You know that Don Corleone was talkin’ about an offer that couldn’t be refused, but are you able to finish off these other iconic movie quotes? Find out with today’s trivia! 📽️