Why We Are Indifferent To Mass Suffering

One dying child makes us cry but a million makes us scroll.
That isn’t because we’re cruel.
It’s because our brains were never built for the numbers.

This video stitches together two bits of research that explain the block. Paul Slovic’s work and Robin Dunbar’s work on the size of the human social brain

We’re hitting a wall that was there before we were born. And the people who understand that wall best are the ones using it against us.

I’m in this too. I’ve walked past the same homeless bloke a hundred times and felt nothing, then found myself tearing up at one photograph. This video is me trying to work out why.

I’m Barry Ferns, a comedian whose personal journey through failure, homelessness, and rebuilding led me to explore the socio and behavioural economics of inequality.

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This channel digs into how systems of power shape our identity, behaviour, and beliefs, and how we can shift the stories we tell ourselves and each other about poverty, inequality, and who’s to blame.

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Help us stay independent and keep making videos like this.
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If you’re new to this, check out @garyseconomics first – his channel gives the structural and financial perspective. This one adds the lived, social and emotional side.

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Want to see the stand-up side of all this?
Find my live comedy and storytelling here:
https://www.youtube.com/@mrbarryferns

To learn more about my comedy club, Angel Comedy, and buy tickets for shows head here: https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/

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