Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Discover how Benjamin Libet's groundbreaking experiment challenges the concept of free will in this 2:32 minute video lesson.
In 1980, Benjamin Libet wanted to find out whether our mind prepared for a movement before we were aware of it. He set up an experiment monitoring brain activity, and found that our brain becomes active 500 milliseconds before we become aware of the decision to make a movement. What does that say about free will?
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THANKS to our patrons
This video was made with the support of our Patrons: Adam Berry, Alfred Holzheu, Anil Raut, ArkiTechy, Artur, azad bel, Badrah, Cedric.Wang, Christoph Becker, cnotv, Cory McAbee, David Markham, Delandric Webb, Digital INnov8ors, Dr. Matthias Müller-Mellin, Duane Bemister, Elias Reuss, Eva Marie Koblin, F J V Souza Fh, Gerardo Enrique Nieto, Heart of Texas Play Therapy, LLC, Izzy, jakob steensig, Jeffrey Cassianna, Jim Pilgrim, Joanne Doyle, jun omar ebdane, Leonel, Liam Dalling, Linda Kinkead, Linus Linderoth, Lucia Simone Winston, M. Allen, Mambo no 9, Marcel, María, martin, Martin Streule, Martina Hrebenarova, Mathis Nu, Mezes.Macko, Michael Paradis, Natalie O’Brien, Okan Elibol, Oweeda Newton, Peihui, Povilas Ambrasas, Raymond Fujioka, SAMAR ABDULKADER DAKAK BADAWI, scripz, Solongo Ganbat, Stefan Gros, Suppasit Srisaeng, Taka Kondo, Takashi HIROSE, Thomas Aschan, Yassine Hamza, Yvonne Clapham and all the others.Thank you! To join them visit patreon.com/sprouts
COLLABORATORS
Script: Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz and Jonas Koblin
Artist: Pascal Gaggelli
Voice: Matt Abbott
Coloring: Sasalux
Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
Production: Selina Bador
Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda
SOUNDTRACKS
Magical Keys - Studio Le Bus
DIG DEEPER with these top videos, games and resources:
Listen to this talk about the mysteries of consciousness
econtalk.org/patrick-house-and-itzhak-fried-on-the-brains-mysteries
Learn about neuroscience and free will
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166223618301553
See how magnetic brain stimulation causes movement
youtube.com/watch?v=qkNbYHu_STU
SOURCES
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_free_will#Libet_experiment
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8192467
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6640273
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
Visit our website to access recommended class activity on this topic!
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:14 The Libet Experiment
00:50 Predecision brain activity
01:10 Free will implications
01:26 Replication attempts
01:34 Libet’s interpretation
01:52 What do you think?
02:25 Patrons credits
#sproutsschools #neuroscience #freewill #psychology #philosophy
Discover how Benjamin Libet's groundbreaking experiment challenges the concept of free will in this 2:32 minute video lesson.
In 1980, Benjamin Libet wanted to find out whether our mind prepared for a movement before we were aware of it. He set up an experiment monitoring brain activity, and found that our brain becomes active 500 milliseconds before we become aware of the decision to make a movement. What does that say about free will?
SUPPORT us to understand human beings better! 🐦:
patreon.com/sprouts
Check out Sprouts Channels in other languages:
Spanish 🇪🇸: youtube.com/channel/UCf_PS8-T1w_VT1Kz-9G0nHw
German 🇩🇪: youtube.com/channel/UCACKzLYxdIRKEcWqiA3o-BQ
Thai 🇹🇭: youtube.com/channel/UCjbGGEmXBRH3hCYGNEgQXfQ
Chinese 🇨🇳: youtube.com/channel/UCbWqAbkBTmfnB8uo78ttVcw
Turkish 🇹🇷: youtube.com/channel/UCl9hDr2QSwtFeyMeXNQ_sdQ
Russian 🇷🇺: youtube.com/channel/UCrQkGkkhUP5vPlOZ0Excn0Q
Romanian 🇷🇴: youtube.com/channel/UClQ5KNzOhc2ZPn08HcyId1Q
Farsi 🇮🇷: youtube.com/channel/UCzx5i7cPwt-Bgson-SRK0Ow
French 🇫🇷: youtube.com/channel/UCGj6ZcECjYQtmPJNzV8jYtw
Italian 🇮🇹: youtube.com/channel/UCpiI2N_0GZQ63OL3VK4lHXg
Esperanto 🏴: youtube.com/channel/UCoXZfW6CH_NBl8OemOscwrA
Portuguese 🇵🇹: youtube.com/channel/UCwu4qa1iaDnnllhrPMnR3Ww
Korean 🇰🇷: youtube.com/channel/UC6BHbb_erJpc549lUtIUF0A
Indonesian 🇮🇩: youtube.com/channel/UClnjfwzY-DsFcnCPQj1iYIw
DOWNLOAD video without ads and background music 🤫:
sproutsschools.com/video-lessons
SIGN UP to our mailing list and never miss a new video from us 🔔:
eepurl.com/dNU4BQ
SOURCES and teaching resources 🎓:
sproutsschools.com/libet-experiment-do-we-have-free-will
VISIT our website 🌐:
sproutsschools.com
CONTRIBUTE by upvoting your favorite topic or suggesting new ones 🔊:
sprouts.featureupvote.com
JOIN us on discord 🤖:
discord.gg/DzbyGSk5y8
THANKS to our patrons
This video was made with the support of our Patrons: Adam Berry, Alfred Holzheu, Anil Raut, ArkiTechy, Artur, azad bel, Badrah, Cedric.Wang, Christoph Becker, cnotv, Cory McAbee, David Markham, Delandric Webb, Digital INnov8ors, Dr. Matthias Müller-Mellin, Duane Bemister, Elias Reuss, Eva Marie Koblin, F J V Souza Fh, Gerardo Enrique Nieto, Heart of Texas Play Therapy, LLC, Izzy, jakob steensig, Jeffrey Cassianna, Jim Pilgrim, Joanne Doyle, jun omar ebdane, Leonel, Liam Dalling, Linda Kinkead, Linus Linderoth, Lucia Simone Winston, M. Allen, Mambo no 9, Marcel, María, martin, Martin Streule, Martina Hrebenarova, Mathis Nu, Mezes.Macko, Michael Paradis, Natalie O’Brien, Okan Elibol, Oweeda Newton, Peihui, Povilas Ambrasas, Raymond Fujioka, SAMAR ABDULKADER DAKAK BADAWI, scripz, Solongo Ganbat, Stefan Gros, Suppasit Srisaeng, Taka Kondo, Takashi HIROSE, Thomas Aschan, Yassine Hamza, Yvonne Clapham and all the others.Thank you! To join them visit patreon.com/sprouts
COLLABORATORS
Script: Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz and Jonas Koblin
Artist: Pascal Gaggelli
Voice: Matt Abbott
Coloring: Sasalux
Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
Production: Selina Bador
Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda
SOUNDTRACKS
Magical Keys - Studio Le Bus
DIG DEEPER with these top videos, games and resources:
Listen to this talk about the mysteries of consciousness
econtalk.org/patrick-house-and-itzhak-fried-on-the-brains-mysteries
Learn about neuroscience and free will
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166223618301553
See how magnetic brain stimulation causes movement
youtube.com/watch?v=qkNbYHu_STU
SOURCES
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_free_will#Libet_experiment
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8192467
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6640273
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
Visit our website to access recommended class activity on this topic!
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:14 The Libet Experiment
00:50 Predecision brain activity
01:10 Free will implications
01:26 Replication attempts
01:34 Libet’s interpretation
01:52 What do you think?
02:25 Patrons credits
#sproutsschools #neuroscience #freewill #psychology #philosophy
![Study Smart: Prepare for Exams Effectively!
Learn effective study techniques to master your exams in just 7 days with this 5:50 minute video lesson!
No time to read the entire book. Dont worry. This video will explain things you should do. We assume that you have just 7 days and 3 hours a day. Whats you should do for a week? Lets see this video!
[0:00] Preparing
[0:44] On day 1: See the big pictures
[1:28] On day 2: How to learn effectively
[2:06] On day 3-6: Spend 1 hour on Review and 2 hours Learning the next chapters
[2:37] On day 7: Reviewing and pack your bag for exam day
[3:17] Exam day
[3:25] Begin your day
[3:48] Once you sit in the test
[4:15] Carefully read the question
[4:36] If you get too stressed
If you have an exam soon, dont stress. Even if you would fail it, it’s probably not the end of the world. As Jack Ma said: “I flunked my exam for university two times before I was accepted by what was considered my citys worst university.” Today he’s China’s biggest success story. Good luck!
More videos
Ping Pong Technique: https://youtu.be/WTr12dK2Se0
Chunking - A Learning Technique: https://youtu.be/hydCdGLAh00
Memory Palace Technique: https://youtu.be/p9IOqd1LpkA
Learning Technique Playlist: https://goo.gl/aWiEnc
sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-the-brain-need-s/
Read the whole script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zYxzyjPAIH9DiaKVEPEhRBxl7P9533q730HCG8DAUKI/edit
Music ID: Z2P1P4KFI0MZSKFY Study Smart: Prepare for Exams Effectively!](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6oyKH5WVE3U/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Universe 25 Experiment [All Mice Died]
In 1972, John B. Calhoun built an utopia for mice. Every aspect of Universe 25, as this particular model was called, was designed to cater for the well-being of its rodent residents, increase their lifespan, and allow them to mate. It was not the first time the ethologist had built a world for rodents. Colhoun had been creating utopian environments for rats and mice since the 1940s, with consistent results: overpopulation leads to explosive violence and hypersexual activity, followed by asexuality, self-destruction, and extinction.
READ THE PAPER
“Escaping the Laboratory: The Rodent Experiments of John B. Calhoun & Their Cultural Influence,” from Edmund Ramsden & Jon Adams : http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22514/ or http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22514/1/2308Ramadams.pdf
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https://sproutsschools.com/video-lessons/
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THANKS to our patrons
This video was made with the support of our Patrons: Adam Berry, Alex Rodriguez, Andrea Basillio Rava, Angela, ArkiTechy, Artur, azad bel, Badrah, Bernd Gaertner, Cedric.Wang, Daniele Diniz, David Markham, Delandric Webb, Digital INnov8ors, Dr. Matthias Müller-Mellin, Duane Bemister, Eva Marie Koblin, Fatenah G Issa, Floris Devreese, Frari63, Gerry Labelle, Ginger, Harmoniac Design, ICH KANN DEUTSCH UND ES WAR EINFACH!, Izzy, Jannes Kroon, Jeffrey Cassianna, Jim Pilgrim, Joanne Doyle, John Burghardt, Jonathan Schwarz, Jorge Luis Mejia Velazquez, jun omar ebdane, Khadijah Sellers, Leonel, Linda Kinkead, Linus Linderoth, Lucia Simone Winston, Marcel, María, martin, Mathis Nu, Mezes.Macko, Michael Paradis, Mindozone, Natalie O’Brien, Nick Valerio, Nicki, Okan Elibol, Oweeda Newton, Peter Bishop, Povilas Ambrasas, Raymond Fujioka, Roel Vermeulen, Scott Gregory, scripz, Sebastian Huaytan Meder, Si, Stefan Gros, Stephen Clark, Stuart Bishop, Takashi HIROSE, Thomas Aschan, Tristan Scifo, Victor Paweletz, Yassine Hamza, Yvonne Clapham and all the others.Thank you! To join them visit www.patreon.com/sprouts
COLLABORATORS
Script: Edmund Ramsden & Jon Adams
Editor: Will Wiles, a London-based author and journalist
Screenplay: Jonas Koblin
Artist: Pascal Gaggelli
Voice: Matt Abbott
Coloring: Nalin
Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda
Fact Checking: Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz
Production: Selina Bador
SOUNDTRACKS
Toys Are Alive - Studio Le Bus
Terror Avenue - Jack Pierce
Divine Masquerade - Jack Pierce
DIG DEEPER with these top videos, games and resources:
Watch Soylent Green, 1973. The film depicts a futuristic society in which overpopulation is so catastrophic and food in such short supply that the populace survives on rations of the titular food product, which turns out to be made from processed human flesh.
Watch Snowpiercer (Netflix, 2020) depicting a society in a train where population has to be controlled and the ecosystem rests on a very thin equilibrium.
Read about Behavioral Sink on Longreads
https://longreads.com/2011/09/07/the-behavioral-sink/
Read about the life and work of John B Calhoun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Calhoun
SOURCES
Edmund Ramsden & Jon Adams, “Escaping the Laboratory: The Rodent Experiments of John B. Calhoun & Their Cultural Influence,” The Journal of Social History, vol. 42, no. 3 (2009). Available as a working paper at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22514/ or http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22514/1/2308Ramadams.pdf
The Behavioral Sink, the mouse universes of John B. Calhoun by Will Wiles
http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/42/wiles.php
Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Population
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1644264/pdf/procrsmed00338-0007.pdf
John B. Calhoun, “Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Mouse Population,” in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 66 (January 1973), pp. 80–88. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1644264.
John B. Calhoun, “Population Density and Social Pathology,” Scientific American, vol. 206, no. 2 (February 1962), pp. 139–150. Available at http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1963-02809-001
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Visit our website to learn more on suggested activity for a classroom on this topic!
CHAPTER
00:00 Introduction
00:11 Universe 25 experiment
00:51 Beginning of experiment
01:18 Population growth
02:25 Population peaks
02:59 The last conception
04:10 Behavioral sink
04:56 What do you think?
05:26 Patrons credits
05:35 Ending
#sproutsschools, #universe25, #behavior, #utopia The Universe 25 Experiment [All Mice Died]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7ReBJfxHjFU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Borderline Personality Disorder [Shorts version] #bpd #psychology #mentalhealth
What can we do to help people with BPD? Please share your thoughts or your own experiences with this condition in the comments below!
To watch the full video; https://youtu.be/JYSX88h-qIc
#sproutsschools #psychology #bpd #mentalhealth Borderline Personality Disorder [Shorts version] #bpd #psychology #mentalhealth](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7TofRX-zbbQ/mqdefault.jpg)

![Bipolar Disorder [Shorts version] #sproutsschools #mentalhealth #psychology #bipolar
🎢 Feeling like you’re on an emotional rollercoaster?
It might be more than just mood swings — it could be Bipolar Disorder.
This often misunderstood mental health condition affects millions, yet many go undiagnosed. 🧠💭
Why is it so hard to spot? What does living with it really feel like?
👉 Watch the full video to better understand the signs, struggles, and reality of Bipolar Disorder.
#bipolar #bipolardisorder #sproutsschools #mentalhealth #neurodivergent #neurosciences #mentalhealthmatters Bipolar Disorder [Shorts version] #sproutsschools #mentalhealth #psychology #bipolar](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7nPvR8BnwXY/mqdefault.jpg)



![Four Moral Theories [Shorts version] #moral #philosophy
Would you save a boy who is drowning in front of you? And which group of four famous thinkers you are in? Find out more in the full video on 4 moral theories next Thursday!
#sproutsschools #moral #philosophy Four Moral Theories [Shorts version] #moral #philosophy](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8hEjCOnveI8/mqdefault.jpg)

