Explain It to Me Battling brain rot
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Jan 25, 2026 
Andrew Budson, neurologist who studies memory and neuroplasticity, and Stuart Jeffries, writer on the history of stupidity, discuss whether modern life is causing 'brain rot'. They explore technology's role in cognitive outsourcing, historical anxieties about declining intellect, how memory and neuroplasticity work, and practical habits—like socializing, deliberate practice, and humility—to keep minds sharp.
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Stupidity Reflects Cultural Values
- Jeffries summarizes Buddhist and Taoist critiques: material desire equals living stupidly.
- Different cultures define stupidity by what they value, so the term is socially constructed.
Fools As Truth Tellers In Literature
- Jeffries notes Shakespeare used fools to speak truth to power and critique society.
- Historical portrayals reveal that perceptions of folly often serve moral and political purposes.
Lack Of Empathy Can Be Evil
- Jeffries links ignorance to moral failure via Hannah Arendt's 'banality of evil' reading of Eichmann.
- He frames lack of empathy and imagination about others as a form of dangerous stupidity.
