Before the 90s, there was really only three ways that you could understand how the brain worked. In many of our experiments, we asked subjects to perform some basic kinds of tasks. And we're able to see, not in real time, but pretty close, sort of how their brain is actually giving rise to language,. To me, it feels like one of the most intimate things you can do actually see inside at people's thoughts.
Who do we volunteer to run a gruelling half-marathon? Who do we expect to give up sugar, or quit drinking? Who do we demand clears out the garage in the middle of summer?
Ourselves. Mean, right?
Turns out we make demands on our future selves that our present selves would think are unrealistic or unreasonable. And the reason we do it is because our minds are really bad at anticipating the wants and needs we'll have in a week, a month, or a year from now. And that harms our happiness.
Talking before a live audience in Somerville, MA, Dr Laurie Santos and Harvard professor Jason Mitchell explore how we can be kinder to both our present and future selves.
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