The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar talks about how to get comfortable with uncertainty in an ever-changing world. 

It seems like a design flaw in our species that we live in a world of constant change yet most of us are not comfortable with uncertainty. 

In this episode, we talk to Maya Shankar about how to get better at dealing with change and to stop seeking what scientists call “cognitive closure.”

Shankar is a former Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. She also served as the first Behavioral Science Advisor to the United Nations, and is currently a Senior Director of Behavioral Economics at Google. She is the host of the Pushkin Industries podcast A Slight Change of Plans, which was named Best Show of the Year in 2021 by Apple. 

In this episode we talk about: 

Why humans are so uncomfortable with uncertainty and changeWhat a behavioral scientist actually does in the worldWhy even the host of a podcast about change isn’t immune to the uncertainties of life The benefits of cultivating a more malleable sense of selfWhy humans are such bad forecastersThe importance of auditing yourself when you’re undergoing a big changeHow to take advantage of big reset momentsThe concept of cognitive closure and why encouraging an open mind can make us more resilient  

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/maya-shankar-466

Where to find Maya Shankar online: 

Website: mayashankar.com

Social Media:

Twitter FacebookInstagram

Books Mentioned:

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and HappinessStumbling on Happiness

Additional Resources:

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