“The Dopamine Effect!” Or The 'Maya' Effect? (English, Paperback, Akshay Raghav)

Have you ever wondered why it is difficult to break out of some behaviours, even when we know it is bad for us? Every research suggests that dopamine based reward system of our brains, has a central role to play in all our habits and behaviours. With the technological advancement and very easily available dopamine hits, the reward system in our brains is heavily muddled up nowadays. Though the situation is definitely more severe now, but the human brain circuit is the same since pre-human times. Thus, it is plausible to assume that ancient humans must have also suffered from these dopamine-induced behaviour issues. Thus, we see the advent of concept like Maya in ancient India. Maya is a concept from Hindu and Buddhist philosophy that refers to the illusory nature of reality, and how our perceptions of the world can be misleading or deceptive due to Maya. The theory of Maya and the dopamine effect, both offer valuable insights into how our behaviour is influenced by the world. They can be seen as powerful concepts that offer valuable perspectives on how our experiences are shaped in our brains. Thus, by exploring the similarities between these concepts, the idea is to first gain a deeper understanding of how the world around us impacts our thoughts and behaviours. And then to understand that how, with a combined approach of science and philosophy, we can actually learn to effectively navigate through these influences, to achieve a better lifestyle.