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3. The West and the Rest

4 Extra Debut. Many of our classical assertions on the workings of the human mind are based entirely on the western mind. With Matthew Syed.

Did a shift in our sexual behaviour 2000 years ago lead to the rise of the west as a globally dominant force?

Matthew Syed wants to put the western mind in the spotlight. There鈥檚 a good reason for doing this. It turns out that 96% of psychological experiments have been carried out on western students. Why is this? Because western students are easy to access for a psychologist working in a university.

This might sound convenient, but there鈥檚 a problem - it turns out that westerners think in a particular way. Easily reproducible experimental findings in the west don鈥檛 stack up when you use non-western subjects. Many of our classical assertions about the workings of the human mind are based entirely on the western human mind.

Matthew digs into the deep roots of the western mind and asks whether a ban on cousin marriage triggered a surge of innovation in the west as tribal boundaries broke down.

It鈥檚 an intriguing theory, but does it stack up? Matthew is determined to find out.

Producer: Robbie MacInnes

Music, Sound Design and Mix: Benbrick

Series Editor: Russell Finch

Executive Producer: Sean Glynn and Max O'Brien

A Novel production for 91热爆 Radio 4, first broadcast in 2021.

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Tue 16 Jan 2024 21:00

Broadcasts

  • Wed 24 Feb 2021 16:00
  • Mon 1 Mar 2021 00:15
  • Tue 16 Jan 2024 21:00

Sideways - Articles

Sideways - Articles

Features on some of the fascinating topics from Sideways with Matthew Syed.

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

How one act of generosity can have profound consequences.

Why we all need an alter ego

Why we all need an alter ego

Matthew Syed looks at how adopting an alter ego can help us all to access confidence.

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What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

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