---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know one lab that studies nicotine…"
description: "\"I know one lab that studies nicotine receptors and all the scientists are smokers, and another lab that studies impulse control and they're all overwei..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png"
---

#  I know one lab that studies nicotine receptors and all the…

![“I know one lab that studies nicotine receptors and all the scientists are smokers, and another lab that studies impulse control and they're all overweight.” quote by David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png)

> “I know one lab that studies nicotine receptors and all the scientists are smokers, and another lab that studies impulse control and they're all overweight.”

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Scientists studying a behavior often share that behavior, highlighting potential bias in research environments.

**In simple terms:** Researchers may share the traits they study.

Key Takeaway

Beware of bias.

Themes

science bias research

Mood

inquisitive analytical

Type

academic critical

When to use this quote

- lab culture
- health studies
- public policy

Key Concepts

Self‑selection methodology

Questions to Reflect On

- How to mitigate researcher bias?
- What controls improve objectivity?

A Different Perspective

Personal habits may skew findings.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Impulse control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse-control/) [Labs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labs/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Smokers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smokers/)

## Related quotes

> [“With the prefrontal cortex down-regulated, most impulse control mechanisms go offline too. For people who aren't used to this combination, the results can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-kotler/with-the-prefrontal-cortex-down-regulated-most-impulse-control/)

[Steven Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-kotler/)

> [“During the worst time of Jesse’s cycle, the “worry” region of her brain was overactive, which caused her to become fixated on things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-g-amen/during-the-worst-time-of-jesse-s-cycle-the-worry-region-of-her-brain/)

[Daniel G. Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-g-amen/)

> [“According to a study from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, sleep deprivation reduces our emotional intelligence, self-regard, assertiveness, sense of independence, empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/according-to-a-study-from-the-walter-reed-army-institute-of-research/)

[Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/)

> [“The major impairments of ADD — the distractibility, the hyperactivity and the poor impulse control — reflect, each in its particular way, a lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-major-impairments-of-add-the-distractibility-the-hyperactivity/)

[Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/)

> [“Well," he asked, "whaddya expect?" It was so obviously a rhetorical question that of course I answered it. My truth impulse seemed stronger around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/well-he-asked-whaddya-expect-it-was-so-obviously-a-rhetorical/)

[Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/)

> [“You have one energy resource that is used for all kinds of acts for self-control. That includes not just resisting food temptations, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-vanderkam/you-have-one-energy-resource-that-is-used-for-all-kinds-of-acts-for/)

[Laura Vanderkam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-vanderkam/)

> [“Isn’t it funny how we make rational excuses for being out of alignment? We say, “Well, this \_\_\_\_ and that \_\_\_\_ happened, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaric-hutchinson/isn-t-it-funny-how-we-make-rational-excuses-for-being-out-of/)

[Alaric Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaric-hutchinson/)

> [One of the reasons why good actors are good is that they have poor impulse control. If you put them in front of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-harris/one-of-the-reasons-why-good-actors-are-good-is-that-they-have-poor/)

[Jared Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-harris/)

> [“The Codex actually sounds kind of creepy here. “Yeeeees, tell me eeeeeverything.” I was Marked by a very cute boy with terrible impulse control.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/the-codex-actually-sounds-kind-of-creepy-here-yeeeees-tell-me/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [“As each day passed the community became more and more indoctrinated into the world of psychobabble. It was used to keep patients in subservient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-stephanie-schoenberger/as-each-day-passed-the-community-became-more-and-more-indoctrinated/)

M.D Stephanie Schoenberger

> [“very last section of the brain to mature, during the teenage years and early twenties, is the prefrontal cortex, which controls judgment, impulse control,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ockwell-smith/very-last-section-of-the-brain-to-mature-during-the-teenage-years-and/)

Sarah Ockwell-Smith

> [There's only one thing harder than living in a home with an adolescent - and that's being an adolescent. The moodiness, the volatility, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/there-s-only-one-thing-harder-than-living-in-a-home-with-an/)

[Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/)

> [“Work by Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania, Tom Boyce of UCSF, and others demonstrates something outrageous: By age five, the lower a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/work-by-martha-farah-of-the-university-of-pennsylvania-tom-boyce-of/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Human history is the ancient story of the umbilical conflict between a lone individual versus a cabalistic society. A love-hate relationship defines our personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/human-history-is-the-ancient-story-of-the-umbilical-conflict-between/)

[Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/)

## More by David Eagleman

> [We're trapped on this very thin slice of perception ... But even at that slice of reality that we call home, we're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-re-trapped-on-this-very-thin-slice-of-perception-but-even-at-that/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [Visual cortex is fundamentally a machine whose job is to generate a model of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/visual-cortex-is-fundamentally-a-machine-whose-job-is-to-generate-a/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [If you ever feel lazy or dull, take heart: you're the busiest, brightest thing on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/if-you-ever-feel-lazy-or-dull-take-heart-you-re-the-busiest-brightest/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [We are not conscious of most things until we ask ourselves questions about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-are-not-conscious-of-most-things-until-we-ask-ourselves-questions/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [“with the knowledge that you cannot appreciate the destination without knowing the starting point; you cannot revel in the simplicity unless you remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/with-the-knowledge-that-you-cannot-appreciate-the-destination-without/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [“If an epileptic seizure is focused in a particular sweet spot in the temporal lobe, a person won´t have motor seizures, but instead something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/if-an-epileptic-seizure-is-focused-in-a-particular-sweet-spot-in-the/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [The deep secret of the brain is that not only the spinal cord but the entire central nervous system works this way: internally generated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-deep-secret-of-the-brain-is-that-not-only-the-spinal-cord-but-the/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [When people fall in love, there´s period of up to three years during which the zeal and infatuation ride at a peak. The internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/when-people-fall-in-love-there-s-period-of-up-to-three-years-during/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [The majority of human beings live their whole lives unaware that they are only seeing a limited cone of vision at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-majority-of-human-beings-live-their-whole-lives-unaware-that-they/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [Our ignorance of the cosmos is too vast to commit to atheism, and yet we know too much to commit to a particular religion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/our-ignorance-of-the-cosmos-is-too-vast-to-commit-to-atheism-and-yet/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [“As Gazzaniga put it, "these findings all suggest that the interpretive mechanism of the left hemisphere is always hard at work, seeking the meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/as-gazzaniga-put-it-these-findings-all-suggest-that-the-interpretive/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [I spent my adult life as a scientist, and science is, essentially, the most successful approach we have to try and understand the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/i-spent-my-adult-life-as-a-scientist-and-science-is-essentially-the/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [When the brain activity is kindled in the right spot, people hear voices. If a physician prescribes an anti-epileptic medication, the seizures go away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/when-the-brain-activity-is-kindled-in-the-right-spot-people-hear/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [“Platoons and plays and stores and congresses do not end - they simply move on to a different dimension.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/platoons-and-plays-and-stores-and-congresses-do-not-end-they-simply/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

> [Awareness of your surroundings occurs only when sensory inputs violate expectations. When the world is successfully predicted away, awareness is not needed because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/awareness-of-your-surroundings-occurs-only-when-sensory-inputs/)

[David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

[Explore all 183 David Eagleman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/)

## More Impulse quotes

> [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/)

[Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/)

> [“Anything you fear is a shackle to ur soul. It is a phobia that tethers and blinds ur ability to see and comprehend your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/anything-you-fear-is-a-shackle-to-ur-soul-it-is-a-phobia-that-tethers/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [The odor of bowel wind is known to every human, but the fragrance of book glue has crossed only a fraction of mortal nostrils.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-odor-of-bowel-wind-is-known-to-every-human-but-the-fragrance-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/)

[Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/)

> [Dialogue and education for peace can help free our hearts from the impulse toward intolerance and the rejection of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/dialogue-and-education-for-peace-can-help-free-our-hearts-from-the/)

[Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/)

> [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/)

[Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/)

> [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/where-one-person-shapes-their-life-by-precept-and-example-there-are-a/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [ No one suffers so much as he \[the genius\] with the people, and, therefore, for the people, with whom he lives. For, in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/no-one-suffers-so-much-as-he-the-genius-with-the-people-and-therefore/)

[Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/)

> [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/)

[Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/)

> [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [Order is a prerequisite of survival; therefore the impulse to produce orderly arrangements is inbred by evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-prerequisite-of-survival-therefore-the-impulse-to-produce/)

[Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/)

> [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/)

[G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/)

Browse all 1,476 Impulse quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I know one lab that studies nicotine receptors and all the scientists are smokers, and another lab that studies impulse control and they're all overweight.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Eagleman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-receptors-and-all-the-scientists/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Impulse"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-receptors-and-all-the-scientists/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/david-eagleman-2079_impulse_i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-rec_1875062.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I know one lab that studies nicotine receptors and all the scientists are smokers, and another lab that…” — David Eagleman",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Eagleman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I know one lab that studies...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-receptors-and-all-the-scientists/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/i-know-one-lab-that-studies-nicotine-receptors-and-all-the-scientists/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
