The Illusion of Continuity: How Our Future Self May Surprise Us / TED talk
Summary of the TED talk "You Don’t Actually Know What Your Future Self Wants" by Shankar Vedantam
As we look back on our lives, it’s clear how much we’ve changed and evolved. But when we look to the future, we tend to imagine ourselves remaining the same. Our future is not just unknown, it is often “unknowable”, and this brings up the concept of the “illusion of continuity” – our tendency to imagine that we will remain the same people in the future, even as the world around us changes. This illusion can have profound consequences, as it leads us to make decisions and form opinions that may not align with our future selves.
The story of John and Stephanie, who got married at 22 and 19, respectively, is an example of this. Stephanie was a nurse, who visited terminally ill patients, and would often return home shaken. When she was a young, healthy nurse, she was certain that she would not want to prolong her suffering if she were to face a terminal illness because she valued quality of life over quantity. However, when she was faced with such a situation later in life, she changed her mind and wanted to live as long as possible. Similarly, the speaker, who was once a passionate soccer fan, now finds himself a journalist and a host of a podcast on human behaviour.
The illusion of continuity can also be seen in our attitudes towards end-of-life decisions. We may make blanket statements about what we would want in the event of a terminal illness, but our actual preferences may change as we age and face different life experiences. It’s important to remember that our opinions and preferences are not set in stone and are subject to change as we grow and evolve. By acknowledging the illusion of continuity, we can be more mindful of the choices we make and better prepared for the future.
About the speaker:
Shankar Vedantam is a creator of a podcast “Hidden brain” about the human behaviour and how to apply psychological science to ourselves. He also wrote the books “The Hidden Brain” and “Useful Delusions”.
