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Pop!Tech ’08: The Dorito Cycle

Neuroscientist Peter Whybrow used his time at Pop!Tech to talk about how those of us who live in abundance have a problem of our own: the "Dorito Cycle." He argued that our natural appetites and urges-which evolved in an environment of scarcity-become unhealthy compulsions in a time of plenty. In other..

Andrew Price
By Andrew PriceOct 25, 2008
Andrew Price
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Neuroscientist Peter Whybrow used his time at Pop!Tech to talk about how those of us who live in abundance have a problem of our own: the "Dorito Cycle." He argued that our natural appetites and urges-which evolved in an environment of scarcity-become unhealthy compulsions in a time of plenty.In other words, easy access to Doritos, porn, or telecommunication isn't necessarily a good thing, except for the profits of companies that sell them.If this stuff sounds interesting, his 2005 book American Mania: When More Is Not Enough will probably be a great read. Similar themes are covered from a historian's perspective in the later chapters of Daniel Lord Smail's excellent book On Deep History and the Brain.

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