Who Are You, Really?
6/8/20261 hr 37 min
You’re not the same person with your friends as you are with your co-workers or your kids. So who are you, really? This week, political scientist Eric Oliver explores why we often feel divided within ourselves, and how we can learn to live more peacefully with those contradictions. Then, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman answers your questions on the science of intelligence.
Should you worry about your memory? For many of us, forgetting a name or losing your keys feels like a small failure. But what if forgetting is actually one of the most important things your brain does? Check out our new video on the surprising (and reassuring!) science of forgetting to learn more.
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First 90 secondsShankar Vedantam· Host0:00
This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. In the enchanted world of Harry Potter, the young wizard discovers a mysterious artifact known as the Mirror of Erised. [gentle music] Carved into its frame is a cryptic inscription. The words make no sense. You have to read them backward to reveal the mirror's true purpose. "I show not your face, but your heart's desire." When young Harry looks in the mirror, he sees himself ensconced in the loving embrace of a family he never knew. When his friend Ron gazes into the glass, he sees himself finally stepping out of the shadows and outshining others. The vision presented by the Mirror of Erised is alluring but treacherous. Albus Dumbledore, the wise headmaster of Harry's school, warns that, "Men have wasted away in front of it, even gone mad." The danger lies in the lure of a single perfect image, a vision of the self so captivating that viewers lose themselves in it. Many of us spend decades searching for a Mirror of Erised. We ask ourselves, "Who am I really? What do I really want?" These questions are the prelude to the thing we really desire. Once I know