Frank Rose The Selfish Meme Summary
Working Through “The Selfish Meme” In Frank Rose’s piece “The Selfish Meme” the author discusses a Harvard study, which found that the reward center in the brain is more stimulated when talking about oneself as compared to other topics due to evolution. In the beginning of the selection, the point of focus is what exactly is going on physiologically that would cause people to enjoy talking about themselves, with Frank Rose then indicating that MRI scans displayed increased activity in the mesolimbic dopamine system.
Around halfway through, however, gears shift from the question of what was going and more towards the “why” side of the spectrum. The study states it is likely due to it being evolutionarily advantageous for this surge of positive …show more content…
Rose answers himself shortly after, declaring that humans would build stronger social connections and enhance group learning through the telling of one’s own experiences, thus benefiting our growth as a species. The short piece titled “The Selfish Meme” is an interesting article written by author Frank Rose that walks your average reader through a study performed at Harvard University, which describes the believed cause for why humans enjoy speaking about their own personal experiences to be the activation of the brain’s reward system, which is mentioned several times throughout the selection. Rose likely wanted to reiterate the findings of this study so he could improve the self-awareness of his audience in a more casual and engaging way than that of them seeking out the information for themselves. First off, the author refers to more amateur writers bringing up the idea that sharing our personal lives on Facebook could be “as satisfying as sex”. Although he does this to point out these people’s quickness to sensationalize the findings, he uses it to grab our attention in the same way. He proceeds to refute these claims and then expands upon the details of the study, which is important because it gives us a discernable foundation, rather than just an arbitrary
Around halfway through, however, gears shift from the question of what was going and more towards the “why” side of the spectrum. The study states it is likely due to it being evolutionarily advantageous for this surge of positive …show more content…
Rose answers himself shortly after, declaring that humans would build stronger social connections and enhance group learning through the telling of one’s own experiences, thus benefiting our growth as a species. The short piece titled “The Selfish Meme” is an interesting article written by author Frank Rose that walks your average reader through a study performed at Harvard University, which describes the believed cause for why humans enjoy speaking about their own personal experiences to be the activation of the brain’s reward system, which is mentioned several times throughout the selection. Rose likely wanted to reiterate the findings of this study so he could improve the self-awareness of his audience in a more casual and engaging way than that of them seeking out the information for themselves. First off, the author refers to more amateur writers bringing up the idea that sharing our personal lives on Facebook could be “as satisfying as sex”. Although he does this to point out these people’s quickness to sensationalize the findings, he uses it to grab our attention in the same way. He proceeds to refute these claims and then expands upon the details of the study, which is important because it gives us a discernable foundation, rather than just an arbitrary