Some researchers think our love of uncertainty might be why we enjoy music. We anticipate patterns in the melody, and when the song does something slightly unexpected - boom, dopamine city.

Why Your Brain Gets High on Uncertainty

While it's true that anxiety is worrying about the future uncertainty, we are still learning more about our brains. Our brains are also really interested in uncertainty. While there's still debate in terms of - is it only a certain type of uncertainty where the constraints are clearer (ref: 70% hard for improvement).

In either case, this is why social media is particularly effective at keeping us engaged. It's also why game loops are designed to keep you engaged just enough to keep going.

The reason why one needs to know this is because for certain types of brains like mine, these loops are incredibly addictive and debilitating for real life functioning :). The more I learn about neuroscience, the more I arm myself to consciously fight some of these to ensure that I can create space for my brain.