We are more exhausted because we have to think harder because things are changing so fast.

Interesting but not surprising. From a survival perspective, uncertainty is always the greater risk than certainty and requires more attention and effort.

The brain is more generally active under conditions of uncertainty versus certainty, and the common denominator of that animation is the insula. https://t.co/UVw20FRWrf pic.twitter.com/n1eMXVlKpc

— Rolf Degen (@DegenRolf) December 11, 2018

I wonder whether a finding such as this might be related to a modern paradox. Everyone, everywhere, and especially in the OECD, are living longer, healthier, safer, more prosperous lives. And yet everywhere there is angst, anxiety and exhaustion. Maybe we are working harder but it is not clear to me that that is the case.

But I can certainly see people being much more frequently in high uncertainty circumstances. The s-curve from technology introduction to market saturation was about 45 years in 1900. Nowadays it is more like fifteen, or even ten years. The pace of change is getting to the point where everything is always unfamiliar to most of us. Implying that all of us are using more of our brains more extensively and more frequently, presumably leading to an increase in exhaustion and anxiety.