The Science of Vibes: How Your Brain Tunes to the Room ⋆ AI of the week ⋆ Real Growth

Thing 1 - The Science of Vibes: How Your Brain Tunes to the Room

Have you ever walked into a room and instantly felt the vibes were off? There's some basis for it in neuroscience. Your brain indeed does syncs with others around you through something called "inter-brain synchrony" (IBS).

Here's what's true:

✅ Brainwaves Sync Up
Research shows our brains do match rhythms (especially alpha and beta waves) when we share attention, cooperate, or feel emotionally connected. This happens in classrooms, friend groups, teams, and even during therapy sessions.

✅ Emotional Contagion
When people around you (or content you scroll through online) feel anxious or negative, your mirror neurons and emotional contagion kick in, and amplify those feelings within your own nervous system.

✅ Environment Shapes Outcomes
Being around groups with positive alignment correlates with better learning, cooperation, and performance. Your brain also mirrors focus, motivation, and even success.

Here's what's overstated:

❌ "Dominant Frequency" Myth
Your brain doesn't helplessly lock onto a mysterious dominant frequency. Synchrony comes from shared attention and emotional connection, not some overpowering external rhythm.

❌ Simplified Mob Mentality
Neuroscience sees brain synchronization in crowds, but mob behavior involves multiple complex factors like anonymity, excitement, and social dynamics, not just synced brainwaves.

What's still emerging:

🟡 Social Media Brain Sync
While negative emotions from online spaces do affect your mood, complete inter-brain synchronization from text interactions is still being studied.

Changing your environment can indeed boost your success, well-being, and growth. But it's not mystical. Your brain adjusts and responds to real social and emotional signals from the people around you all the time.

(source 1, source 2, source 3)

Thing 2 - AI of the week

• There's been a humanoid robot half-marathon race in China

That's weird, what's the point?
Well, it's a tough challenge that tests their capability, and durability. It also draws attention to each of the companies and helps them get customers and raise money.
It also shows how far they've come...

• OpenAI introduced new state of the art models, on the web and over API (GPT-4.1 aka GPT-4.10... ha-ha, clever)
• OpenAI also introduced Image Library, a place to find all your image creations - in the sidebar, below "Explore GPTs"
• Mistral AI introduced Classifier Factory - a simple way to develop custom classifiers for moderation, intent detection, sentiment analysis, data clustering, fraud detection etc

Thing 3 - Real Risk. Real World. Real Growth.

Get out of your room and try out a new skill in the real world.
Go to the physical place where it’s happening, and put your ass on the line with something to lose.
A vivid, visceral feeling of danger will teach you better than words.

- Derek Sivers

Nothing sharpens growth like real stakes. The friction, the fear, and the thrill of genuine risk engrave lessons deeper than any book or screen ever could.

Cheers, Zvonimir