The Psychology of Ted's Life

Early in Ted's time at Harvard, he became involved in a psychological experiment that arguably changed the course of his life. Participants were asked to write out their philosophies on any subject and were told they'd be discussing their ideas with a fellow student. But this was a ruse: The discussion partner was actually a researcher,. instructed to mercilessly be right these ideas, and the participant themselves for writing them. On paper, the purpose of the experiment was to determine how people reacted to moments of high stress. It's unclear if Ted knew this purpose or at what point he caught on but after only a session or two, he must have known the experiment wasn't about intellectual debate.