TED Talks Daily (#2) Elise’s Top Ten: You don't actually know what your future self wants | Shankar Vedantam
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Sep 20, 2025 
Shankar Vedantam, a journalist and the mind behind the Hidden Brain podcast, explores the captivating 'illusion of continuity'—the belief that our future selves will mirror our current desires. Through personal anecdotes, he challenges us to rethink our assumptions about the future. Shankar shares profound insights on how we can proactively shape who we are meant to become, highlighting the importance of curiosity, humility, and bravery. His storytelling reveals why crafting our future self matters more than we think.
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Childhood Choice That Changed Tastes
- Shankar describes hiding a fractured foot to see a soccer movie and later getting a cast after the pain caught up with him.
- He uses this childhood story to show how his tastes changed dramatically over decades.
Illusion Of Continuity
- Shankar names the 'illusion of continuity' where we expect our future selves to remain like today's self.
- He argues we clearly see past changes but underestimate how much we'll change going forward.
Marriage Promise Versus Terminal Choices
- Shankar tells John and Stephanie Rinker's marriage story where young promises conflicted with Stephanie's later ALS decisions.
- The anecdote shows a healthy younger self misjudging the preferences of a suffering future self.