Orion: We've all felt it: that state of being stuck, running on autopilot, where the day just kind of... happens to you. What if I told you that's not a personal failing, but your brain's 'energy-saving mode' kicking in by design? And what if there was a user's manual for overriding it?

qing chen: That’s a powerful reframe right there. It shifts the blame from character to mechanism. I’m already hooked.

Orion: Exactly. That's the provocative idea behind the book "LIT: Life Ignition Tools" by Harvard Medical School professor Jeffrey Karp. He argues we all have these incredible tools to spark momentum and purpose, but we first have to understand the system we're working with. And today, with my guest, the wonderfully curious and analytical thinker qing chen, we're going to decode that manual.

qing chen: It’s a pleasure to be here, Orion. The idea of a 'user's manual' for the brain is something I think many of us crave, especially when we feel like we're just reacting to the world.

Orion: I couldn't agree more. And that's our plan. Today we'll dive deep into this from two perspectives. First, we'll explore the brain's default 'autopilot' mode, what the book calls the Low-Energy Brain, and what it takes to break free. Then, we'll discuss a powerful and surprising strategy to do just that, looking at how nature itself provides the code for innovation. Qing, does that feeling of being on autopilot resonate with you?

qing chen: Oh, absolutely. I think it’s the default state for modern life. You get into routines—work, home, the same inputs, the same news cycles. It’s efficient, but it doesn't always feel... alive. It feels like you’re optimizing for maintenance, not for discovery.

Orion: 'Optimizing for maintenance.' That is the perfect description of what the book calls the 'Low-Energy Brain,' or LEB. It's our brain's natural tendency to conserve energy. It prefers familiar patterns, routines, and shortcuts because thinking new thoughts and doing new things is metabolically expensive. It costs energy.

qing chen: So it's a survival mechanism, really. Our brains evolved to be efficient, to not waste calories on unnecessary processing. But in a world where we're not running from predators, that same efficiency can become a trap.

Orion: Precisely. And the author, Jeffrey Karp, knows this feeling intimately. He shares a story from his childhood that I think perfectly captures this struggle. He was a kid with learning differences, full of energy, and found it impossible to sit still in a traditional classroom. In kindergarten, his teacher, trying to get him to focus, told him, "Pretend your bottom is glued to your chair."

qing chen: (Laughs) I can see where this is going.

Orion: Right? So, being a literal, curious kid, he wraps his fingers around the bottom of the seat, holds it tight against his rear, stands up, and starts waddling around the room with the chair attached to him. The class erupts in laughter, and he gets sent to the principal's office. This became a pattern. He was seen as a troublemaker, but really, his brain was just resisting the low-energy, passive state the classroom demanded. It was craving engagement.

qing chen: That’s such a great illustration. It’s not defiance, it’s a mismatch of operating systems. His brain was seeking stimulus, not trying to be disruptive. It reminds me of what neuroscientists call the Default Mode Network, or DMN. It's the part of the brain that's active when we're at rest, mind-wandering, thinking about the past or future. It's our 'autopilot.' The book seems to be arguing that we can intentionally disengage from that DMN and activate a different network.

Orion: That's the core idea! He calls the opposite of the LEB state the 'LIT' state. It's when you're energized, curious, and fully engaged. It's that feeling of a 'spark' or a flash of inspiration. The book is essentially a collection of tools designed to intentionally 'pinch' the brain out of the low-energy LEB state and into the high-energy LIT state. It’s about moving from that passive, wandering DMN to an active, focused state of attention.

qing chen: So the challenge isn't to eliminate the default mode, which is impossible, but to become better at switching out of it at will. To be the pilot of the plane, not just a passenger while the autopilot is on.

Orion: Exactly. You have to consciously choose to take the controls. But that begs the question... how? If we're wired for autopilot, what does it take to flip that switch?

Orion: So if our brain defaults to this low-energy state, how do we 'pinch' it awake? The book offers a dozen tools, but one strategy stands out as a masterclass in creativity, and it’s called 'Active Opportunism.' And the best story to illustrate this involves... a slug.

qing chen: A slug? Okay, you have my full attention. This is the kind of cross-domain connection I love.

Orion: It's fantastic. So, Karp's lab at Harvard focuses on medical innovation. One of the huge challenges in medicine is performing surgery on internal organs, especially something like a beating heart. It's wet, it's constantly moving, and trying to patch a hole in it is incredibly difficult. Traditional sutures can cause more damage, and most glues don't work in wet, dynamic environments. The problem seemed unsolvable with existing tools.

qing chen: Right, you're dealing with a non-stop, high-moisture, flexible surface. A nightmare for any kind of adhesive.

Orion: A total nightmare. So, instead of trying to invent a new chemical from scratch, Karp and his team became 'active opportunists.' They asked a different question: "Who has already solved the problem of sticking to wet, slippery, moving surfaces?" And they looked to nature. They studied the Dusky Arion slug, which secretes a mucus so adhesive it can stick to a wet leaf upside down. They also looked at sandcastle worms, tiny creatures that build underwater shelters by gluing grains of sand together with a protein-based glue that hardens in the ocean.

qing chen: They're looking for existing solutions in a completely different operating system—the biological one. They're not inventing, they're translating.

Orion: Exactly! They analyzed the properties of these natural adhesives—the slug mucus has a unique positive charge that helps it bond, and it's also flexible and shock-absorbing. By mimicking these principles, they developed a bio-inspired surgical glue. It's a hydrogel that's incredibly strong, flexible, and biocompatible. They've shown it can instantly seal a hole in a pig's heart, even as it's beating. It's a revolutionary breakthrough.

qing chen: Wow. That's incredible. But what's most fascinating to me isn't just the outcome, it's the underlying methodology. This is more than just a clever idea. It's a repeatable process. It suggests that the most profound solutions are often found by looking at systems that have already solved similar problems, even if they're in a completely different domain.

Orion: Tell me more about that. What do you mean by 'repeatable process'?

qing chen: Well, it's a framework for innovation. Step one: Clearly define the function you need, not the form. They didn't need 'glue'; they needed 'adhesion on a wet, dynamic surface.' Step two: Ask 'Where has this problem already been solved in nature?' Step three: Analyze that natural solution and abstract the principles. Step four: Apply those principles to your own context. It's a way of thinking that forces you to look outside your own echo chamber. It's the ultimate tool for getting 'LIT' because it forces novelty and new connections.

Orion: It’s a perfect example of what the book calls 'swapping caution for curiosity and the deeper dig.' They could have stayed in the chemistry lab, but they went to the garden and the ocean floor for inspiration.

qing chen: And it implies that the biggest barrier to innovation often isn't a lack of solutions, but a failure of where we're looking for them. We're stuck in our Low-Energy Brain, looking at the same familiar inputs. The slug was there all along. We just weren't asking the right questions.

Orion: That just connects everything so perfectly. We have this default LEB state, this autopilot, that keeps us in our routines, looking at the same things. And the way to break out of it, to get LIT, is to do exactly what Karp's lab did: to become an active opportunist and look for inspiration in the most unexpected places.

qing chen: Exactly. It's about shifting from a mode of passive consumption of information to one of active, curious scouting. The world is full of solutions and ideas, but the LEB state filters them out. Getting 'LIT' is about intentionally turning off that filter and letting the novelty in.

Orion: It’s a powerful and, frankly, very hopeful idea. It suggests we all have the capacity to be more creative and engaged, if we just give our brains the right kind of fuel.

qing chen: And the fuel is curiosity. It's the energy source for the 'LIT' state.

Orion: So, to bring this home for everyone listening, the challenge isn't to go out and invent a new surgical glue tomorrow. It's much simpler, and maybe more profound. The book is full of these little tools, these 'pinches' for the brain.

qing chen: Small experiments, right?

Orion: Exactly. So here’s a final thought, a call to action. What is one small, unexpected source of inspiration you could actively seek out this week? Maybe it's watching a documentary on a topic you know nothing about, like deep-sea exploration or the art of basket weaving. Maybe it's taking a different route to work and really looking at the architecture. The goal isn't to find an answer or solve a problem. The goal is just to 'pinch' your brain, to feed it something new, and see what new connections light up.

qing chen: I love that. It’s not about a grand gesture. It's about cultivating a habit of curiosity. A small investment in novelty that can pay huge dividends in how engaged and alive you feel. It’s the first step in taking the plane off autopilot.

Orion: Well said. Qing, thank you for decoding this with me today. It’s been a truly 'LIT' conversation.

qing chen: The pleasure was all mine, Orion. Thank you.