The human brain has evolved to keep us alive in the savanna by learning to compete and to cooperate. These two states have existed in human brains for as long as humans have existed. The instinct to compete worked well for small, tribe-sized challenges, but in the current day, this instinct works against us and global problem-solving. Steve Wourgiotis explains how to suppress our brain’s natural instinct to compete and learn to collaborate on a global scale. Steve uses neuroscience to disrupt conventional wisdom about interpersonal interactions in the hopes that we can all have better conversations, every day. He’s pursuing a second master’s degree in sustainability to save nature from the humans. After living in Berkeley, California for 16 years, Steve and his wife returned to their hometown of Durham with their young daughter. Steve listens deeply to music in the dark so his desk of unfinished work doesn’t distract him. He has been spotted kayaking in subzero weather, making forts in College Woods, and taking too long to cook (amazing) dinners.
