Language Is a Game of Telephone

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We use language as this kind of infallible or kind of there's a presumption of infallibility with our language. And the hard part is recognizing that occasionally, language is in service of a mind tricking itself. So when we are then two steps removed or one step removed, we're just, it's a game of telephone. But on a scientific level, I want to know what is actually happening inside the brain.

How does the mind work? What makes us sad? What makes us laugh? Despite advances in neuroscience, the answers to these questions remain elusive. Neuroscientist Patrick House talks about these mysteries and about his book Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. House's insights illuminate not just what we know and don't know about our minds--he also helps us understand what it means to be human.