# Our Fascination With Pushing Buttons & How Games Have Shaped Our World-SYSK Choice

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/something-you-should-know-52651/our-fascination-with-pushing-buttons-how-games-have-shaped-our-world-sysk-choice
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/something-you-should-know-52651/our-fascination-with-pushing-buttons-how-games-have-shaped-our-world-sysk-choice.md
Podcast: [Something You Should Know](https://stenobird.com/podcast/something-you-should-know-52651)
Published: 2026-06-06T07:03:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/495/pdrl.fm/60a606/pscrb.fm/rss/p/tracking.swap.fm/track/bwUd3PHC9DH3VTlBXDTt/traffic.megaphone.fm/SBP8174843402.mp3
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/495/pdrl.fm/60a606/pscrb.fm/rss/p/tracking.swap.fm/track/bwUd3PHC9DH3VTlBXDTt/traffic.megaphone.fm/SBP8174843402.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/something-you-should-know-52651/episodes/our-fascination-with-pushing-buttons-how-games-have-shaped-our-world-sysk-choice
Duration seconds: 3009

## Resource

Most people think of romantic music as background noise for dates, movies, or weddings. But researchers have found that music can actually influence romantic behavior and attraction in measurable ways. Listen to discover how love songs may be doing more than simply setting the mood. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100618112139.htm Take a look around you and notice how many buttons surround you. Elevator buttons. Crosswalk buttons. Remote controls. Keyboards. Car dashboards. Humans push buttons all day long—and often repeatedly, even when pushing again does absolutely nothing. There’s something deeply satisfying and psychologically powerful about pressing a button and getting an immediate response. But buttons are a surprisingly recent invention, and they fundamentally changed how humans interact with machines, technology, and even each other. Rachel Plotnick, associate professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Indiana University, explores the strange history and psychology of buttons, why people are so drawn to them, and how “push-button culture” transformed modern life. She is author of Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic, and the Politics of Pushing (https://amzn.to/3xvIj5j). Humans don’t just enjoy games—we seem to need them. From sports and gambling to video games, puzzles, and board games, people everywhere devote enormous amounts of time and energy to play. But games may be doing far more than entertaining us. Neuroscientist and physicist Kelly Clancy explains how games shape human behavior, influence culture, teach strategy, reward risk-taking, and even help societies evolve. In our conversation, she reveals why games are woven so deeply into human nature and why understanding games may help explain the way humans learn, compete, cooperate, a…

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