The Genius Life 542: The Science of Navigating Change, Grief, and Uncertainty | Maya Shankar, PhD
Jan 14, 2026
Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar, host of A Slight Change of Plans and author of The Other Side of Change, dives into the challenges of navigating change and uncertainty. She explains why uncertainty can feel more distressing than bad news and shares her personal experience with loss, emphasizing the need to relinquish the illusion of control. Maya advocates for defining identity by core purpose and introduces self-affirmation strategies to help regain perspective. Her insights reveal that change can lead to growth and meaningful revisions of self-identity.
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Why Uncertainty Feels Worse Than Bad News
- Humans prefer certainty even when the certain outcome is worse than an uncertain one.
- Maya Shankar explains our brains evolved an illusion of control to avoid nihilism and maintain motivation.
Personal Loss That Sparked The Book
- Maya describes two miscarriages with a surrogate and how standard platitudes felt useless in her grief.
- That pain spurred her to research science-backed strategies to actually change responses to change.
Losing The Violin, Finding The Why
- Maya lost her ability to play violin after a tendon injury at 15 and grieved the loss of that identity.
- Reframing the violin's core meaning (human connection) helped her find new outlets like podcasting and research.
