x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Physics of Gamification

What if physics could explain user behavior? Physics of Gamification connects classic physics laws with modern gamification mechanics — to reveal how people engage, act, and stay motivated. Hosted by Hakan Uzer, this is where science meets behavior design.

science social sciences

All Episodes

00:11:01

033 - Latent Heat: The Motivation You Don't See

Physics of Gamification ·

2026/01/06

In physics, "Latent Heat" is the energy absorbed by a substance to change its state (like ice turning to water) without any rise in temperature. To an observer, it looks like nothing is happening. To the physicist, it's the most energetic phase of the process.Today, Hakan applies this concept to Gamification and UX:• The Physics of the Plateau: Why it takes 80x more energy to change a state than to raise a degree.• The "Stuck" User: How to distinguish between disengagement

en

00:07:10

032 - Brownian Motion: Embracing Controlled Chaos in...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/12/30

Is your engagement strategy too predictable? In this episode, we dive into the microscopic world of Brownian Motion to discover how random collisions drive sustained movement.The Physics: What Robert Brown’s 1827 discovery teaches us about human behavior.The Trap: Why total predictability leads to "Design Equilibrium"—a system that works but no longer matters.Controlled Chaos: How to inject "jitter" to prevent users from settling into autopilot.The Jitter Factor: Why randomness

en

00:07:42

031 - Terminal Velocity: When Rewards Stop Feeling...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/12/23

In this episode, we explore why adding more "gravity" to a stalled system is a physics violation. If your users are coasting, doubling the points won't make them go faster—it just makes the system more inefficient.The Law: How Terminal Velocity creates a behavioral speed limit.The Resistance: Why "Hedonic Adaptation" acts like air resistance against your incentives.The Aerodynamics: Redesigning the medium through Variable Geometry and Induced Current.Listener Challenge: Audit

en

00:07:20

030 - The Chain Reaction: Triggering Viral Loops...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/12/16

Most gamification strategies are batteries: they store energy, release it once, and die. To build a system that grows on its own, you need to build a reactor.In this episode, we use nuclear physics to explain why most "viral" features fail. We break down the difference between "fast neutrons" (spammy invites that bounce off users) and "thermal neutrons" (signals that actually trigger a response).We cover:The Battery vs. The Reactor: Why designing for the initial action is a mistake.The Human

en

00:09:37

029 – Mechanical Advantage: Reward Efficiency Over...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/12/09

Mechanical Advantage: Reward Efficiency Over EffortIn this episode, we explore lever principles and how smart design rewards efficient, high-impact actions rather than brute effort. Learn how to build systems where small, intelligent moves create big motivational lift — and why recognizing efficiency is the key to long-term engagement.

en

00:07:33

028 - Refraction: Bending Motivation Through Environment

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/11/25

Light bends when it moves between different environments—air, water, glass.Motivation does the same.In this episode, Hakan Uzer explores how context can make simple tasks feel harder than they are, and why many engagement problems aren’t about users at all, but about the environment bending their perception. Using the physics of refraction, we look at how tiny shifts in workflow, timing, and feedback can straighten the path and restore momentum.

en

00:09:17

027 - Quantum Superposition: Let Users Define Their Role

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/11/18

Quantum superposition offers a useful lens for understanding human motivation. Instead of assigning a single label—top performer, slow performer, helper, learner—systems work better when they allow these identities to coexist. In this episode, Hakan Uzer explains how rigid measurement collapses user potential, why multi-dimensional roles matter, and how organizations see better results when people can define how they contribute. Includes real gamification cases where superposition was ignored—and

en

00:08:46

025 - The Pendulum Principle: Balancing Challenge and...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/11/04

In this episode of The Physics of Gamification, we explore how harmonic oscillation — the science behind pendulums — reveals the secret rhythm of engagement. Learn how to design gamified systems that swing naturally between challenge and comfort, avoiding burnout and boredom. Discover how rhythm keeps motivation alive, how team energy synchronizes, and why balance isn’t stillness — it’s motion around a meaningful center.

en

00:08:04

024 - Magnetic Alignment: Team Synergy and Collective...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/10/29

When teams align, motivation turns magnetic.In this episode, we explore the physics of magnetic domains — and how small shifts in alignment can transform scattered effort into unstoppable collective drive.Learn how leaders create magnetic fields of purpose, how to sustain them, and why synergy is the most powerful force in engagement.

en

00:06:40

023 – Fluid Dynamics- Motivation Flow Across Roles...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/10/21

What if motivation could flow like water? In this Season 2 opener, we explore Fluid Dynamics — and how energy moves through teams, roles, and systems. Learn how to design engagement that circulates, not stagnates.

en

00:05:41

022 – The Tunneling Effect: Surprising Progress from...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/09/02

In physics, quantum tunneling describes the improbable — particles breaking through barriers they shouldn’t be able to cross.In gamification, the same phenomenon can happen with people. Users who seem stuck, blocked, or disengaged can still find surprising ways forward if the system creates rare, meaningful moments of breakthrough.In this season finale, we explore:How to design tunneling moments that unlock progress when players plateau.Why shortcuts must feel rare to preserve fairness and

en

00:09:45

021 – Phase Transition Moments That Shift Player...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/08/26

Phase transitions aren’t just for physics — they happen in behavior too.In this episode of Physics of Gamification, we explore how systems don’t always change gradually… sometimes they reorganize all at once. Just like ice snaps into water or water flips into vapor, gamified systems can push players into new states that completely reshape how they engage.You’ll learn:Why engagement isn’t linear, but state-based.How to design thresholds that transform players from learners into leaders.Where sudden

en

00:05:55

020 – Black Hole Mechanics: Don’t Let Systems...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/08/19

In physics, a black hole’s pull comes from its mass — and once that gravity becomes overwhelming, nothing escapes.Gamification systems can fall into the same trap. Add too many mechanics, too many rules, and too many layers… and you create an engagement singularity.In this episode, we explore:How overcomplexity collapses user motivationThe “event horizon” where features start to hurt, not helpPractical ways to strip away weight and restore momentumBecause the best-designed systems aren’t always the

en

00:10:07

019 – Resonance: Designing Features That Amplify Each...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/08/12

In physics, mechanical resonance occurs when elements vibrate at a shared frequency, amplifying energy far beyond what any one part could achieve.In gamification? It’s when every feature — missions, rewards, leaderboards, and feedback — align so perfectly that engagement flows effortlessly.This episode dives into what resonance looks like in behavior systems:Why dissonance kills momentum, how emotional rhythm matters, and what happens when mechanics sing in harmony.If you’ve ever felt like your

en

00:05:39

018 – Thermodynamic Equilibrium Beware the Plateau

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/08/05

In physics, thermodynamic equilibrium is a perfectly balanced state — no more energy flows, no more reactions happen. It’s stable. Still. And kind of dead.In this episode, we explore what happens when gamified systems reach that same point — when everything runs “just fine,” but nothing meaningful happens anymore. From flat leaderboards to predictable feedback, we break down how challenge decay leads to disengagement… and how to reignite interest with purposeful disruption.Because when your system

en

00:05:41

017 – Light Speed Limits: Why Faster Isn’t Always Better

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/07/29

In physics, traveling near the speed of light leads to distortion — things blur, time stretches, and clarity breaks down. In gamified systems, the same thing can happen when we accelerate too quickly.In this episode, we explore how speed in design—rapid feedback, escalating missions, and overloaded interfaces—can overwhelm users instead of engaging them. You’ll learn how to slow things down with intentional pacing, emotional rhythm, and meaningful pauses that create flow, not fatigue.Because in

en

00:07:30

016 – The Gravity Well: When Systems Become Hard to...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/07/22

Some gamified systems don’t motivate users — they trap them. In this episode, we explore how common mechanics like streaks, point ladders, and status roles can slowly form behavioral gravity wells: systems that pull people in, but make it difficult to step away. Drawing from physics and behavioral theory, we examine how to design systems with graceful exits, re-entry points, and healthier engagement over time. Because true loyalty comes from freedom — not force.

en

00:06:21

015 – Relativity of Time- Why Perceived Time Matters...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/07/15

In this episode, we explore how Einstein’s theory of relativity translates into user motivation. Because in gamified systems, it’s not about how long something takes—it’s how long it feels.We unpack how to compress perceived time using structure, feedback, and momentum, with real examples from onboarding flows and sales gamification.

en

00:07:35

014 – Wave-Particle Duality: Users Are Players and...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/07/08

Are your users logical goal-seekers or emotional human beings? The answer is: yes. In this episode, we explore how users — like quantum particles — exhibit dual behavior. Sometimes they act with clear objectives. Other times, they’re swayed by emotion, environment, or instinct.Just like light can be both a wave and a particle, users can be both players in a system and people with stories. We break down what that means for gamification design — with fresh examples, surprising science, and a few

en

00:07:35

013 – Schrödinger’s User- Engagement Exists Until...

Physics of Gamification ·

2025/07/01

What if your users aren’t disengaged… just unmeasured? In this episode, we explore Schrödinger’s Cat — one of the weirdest and most insightful thought experiments in physics — and what it teaches us about user engagement. Until we act, observe, or ask… our users live in multiple states at once: curious or indifferent, motivated or lost.We’ll break down how measurement, observation, and even attention can shape behavior — for better or worse.Featuring examples from onboarding systems, sales

en

33 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter