0:00:19.017,0:00:20.858
I'm really excited to be here;

0:00:20.858,0:00:22.600
I'm excited to talk with you all,

0:00:22.600,0:00:25.691
share some of what I know, [br]some of what I've learned.

0:00:25.991,0:00:27.942
But I'm also kind of confused.

0:00:27.942,0:00:32.892
Because in my mind, TED Talks,[br]TEDx Talks, TEDxYouth Talks,

0:00:32.892,0:00:36.576
they're given by people[br]with a path and a vision.

0:00:36.576,0:00:40.977
And I still have no idea [br]what I want to be when I grow up.

0:00:41.137,0:00:43.897
I've been putting off having to choose.

0:00:44.527,0:00:47.832
When I was very small,[br]I was told that I was smart.

0:00:48.072,0:00:49.663
And not just any kind of smart:

0:00:49.663,0:00:53.593
I was told that I was scientifically[br]and mathematically inclined,

0:00:53.593,0:00:55.716
as opposed to someone like my brother

0:00:55.716,0:00:59.812
who was deemed talented[br]in things like language and art.

0:01:00.942,0:01:03.472
I was told, "Girls can too,"

0:01:03.472,0:01:05.296
which was a phrase meant to inspire me

0:01:05.296,0:01:08.902
to keep studying mathematics[br]and go into the hard sciences.

0:01:09.152,0:01:12.040
I was told about my dad's work[br]for the Air Force,

0:01:12.190,0:01:15.858
about how he always wished[br]he had completed his pilot's license,

0:01:15.858,0:01:19.057
and how when he was a kid,[br]he used to build rockets.

0:01:19.617,0:01:23.564
I was told bedtime stories[br]of Shannon Lucid and Sally Ride,

0:01:23.564,0:01:26.432
and if I wanted to stay up late[br]to watch a shuttle launch,

0:01:26.432,0:01:27.940
my parents let me.

0:01:28.290,0:01:30.882
It's no surprise that I wanted[br]to be an astronaut.

0:01:31.004,0:01:32.013
At five,

0:01:32.013,0:01:35.530
I could have told you I wanted to earn[br]my bachelor's degree from Annapolis,

0:01:35.530,0:01:37.128
become a jet jockey,

0:01:37.128,0:01:39.081
and then apply to NASA.

0:01:39.451,0:01:43.111
Everyone was so proud[br]and so impressed at this little kid

0:01:43.111,0:01:46.426
with this well-thought-out[br]and well-researched life.

0:01:47.236,0:01:51.096
But when I was 14,[br]I stopped really caring about school.

0:01:51.446,0:01:53.993
Our country was two years into a new war,[br]

0:01:53.993,0:01:56.713
and as I started to learn[br]more about the military,

0:01:56.713,0:02:00.017
I realized I didn't want to be[br]a part of that system.

0:02:00.467,0:02:04.022
Despite being one of the most common paths[br]to becoming an astronaut,

0:02:04.022,0:02:07.090
I started to find[br]I didn't want to go Annapolis,

0:02:07.310,0:02:09.073
I didn't want to be a jet jockey,

0:02:09.073,0:02:11.657
I didn't want to become an astronaut.

0:02:12.366,0:02:13.409
This thing,

0:02:13.409,0:02:17.422
this goal that I had been pointed at[br]by parents and teachers and friends,

0:02:17.422,0:02:19.596
this piece of my identity,

0:02:19.596,0:02:22.311
was suddenly gone.

0:02:22.981,0:02:25.194
I had lost my destiny.

0:02:25.514,0:02:27.525
I felt like such a disappointment,

0:02:27.525,0:02:30.167
like whatever I did[br]for the rest of my life,

0:02:30.167,0:02:31.615
no matter how well I did it,

0:02:31.615,0:02:37.229
it would always be in the shadow[br]of this monumental failure,

0:02:37.509,0:02:39.883
a failure to even get started.

0:02:40.843,0:02:43.873
Luckily, the grownups[br]weren't completely wrong.

0:02:43.873,0:02:47.799
I still depend on mankind's number one[br]evolutionary advantage:

0:02:48.389,0:02:49.805
our brains.

0:02:49.805,0:02:52.438
We don't have the biggest brains[br]in the animal kingdom,

0:02:52.438,0:02:54.121
not by a long shot.

0:02:54.121,0:02:56.976
But this is the prefrontal cortex,

0:02:56.976,0:03:01.361
and we've evolved to have really big ones[br]when compared to the rest of our brains.

0:03:01.621,0:03:03.335
The prefrontal cortex is responsible

0:03:03.335,0:03:07.995
for everything that we think[br]that make us different from other animals.

0:03:08.335,0:03:10.797
It's responsible for executive function.

0:03:11.207,0:03:13.659
It's responsible[br]for our ability to empathize,

0:03:13.659,0:03:15.715
our ability to think ahead and plan,

0:03:15.715,0:03:17.819
predict what's going to happen[br]in the future.

0:03:17.819,0:03:20.039
It's responsible for social control.

0:03:20.639,0:03:26.217
Our really big prefrontal cortexes[br]makes us problem-solving machines.

0:03:26.497,0:03:28.397
We're decisions makers.

0:03:28.667,0:03:30.486
When presented with a list of options,

0:03:30.486,0:03:34.456
we're not only able to quickly[br]and efficiently make a choice,

0:03:34.456,0:03:36.892
but we're able to generate new options

0:03:36.892,0:03:39.871
from outside of[br]the originally defined set.

0:03:40.381,0:03:43.247
Think of all of the choices[br]that you're making right now,

0:03:43.247,0:03:45.067
just sitting in this theater.

0:03:45.487,0:03:48.317
You're choosing not to get up[br]and start dancing.

0:03:48.757,0:03:50.547
You're choosing to listen.

0:03:50.997,0:03:53.069
You're choosing not to wet your pants,

0:03:53.069,0:03:54.192
(Laughter)

0:03:54.192,0:03:55.297
I hope.

0:03:55.297,0:03:56.377
(Laughter)

0:03:56.377,0:03:57.423
Most of these choices

0:03:57.423,0:04:01.599
your brain makes without you having[br]to devote any conscious awareness to them.

0:04:01.827,0:04:04.912
But some choices, like what to be[br]when you will grow up,

0:04:04.912,0:04:07.125
are a much, much bigger deal.

0:04:07.125,0:04:09.228
Since closing the door[br]on being an astronaut,

0:04:09.228,0:04:12.885
my education background[br]has been in economics, political science,

0:04:12.893,0:04:16.876
mathematics, neuroeconomics[br]and neurobiology.

0:04:16.876,0:04:17.891
Which basically means

0:04:17.891,0:04:20.456
when I was presented[br]with a list of majors in college,

0:04:20.456,0:04:22.279
I just refused to make a decision

0:04:22.279,0:04:25.459
and looked for the box[br]marked "All of the above."

0:04:25.459,0:04:26.526
(Laughter)

0:04:26.526,0:04:28.827
But I'm going to let you in[br]on a little secret.

0:04:28.827,0:04:34.130
It turns out that economics,[br]neuroscience and political science

0:04:34.130,0:04:37.390
all actually study the exact same thing,

0:04:37.610,0:04:41.071
which is, Why do people make[br]the decisions that they make,

0:04:41.071,0:04:44.421
sometimes even working[br]against their own best interest?

0:04:44.791,0:04:49.288
We see people working minimum-wage jobs[br]voting against minimum-wage hikes.

0:04:49.938,0:04:53.703
We see parents refusing to vaccinate[br]their otherwise healthy kids

0:04:53.703,0:04:57.380
despite the fact that[br]that is evolutionary disadvantageous

0:04:57.380,0:05:00.407
at both the individual[br]and societal levels.

0:05:00.877,0:05:05.004
We see teenagers who've been bombarded[br]with anti-smoking information

0:05:05.004,0:05:06.437
their whole lives,

0:05:06.437,0:05:09.707
who know the risks[br]associated with smoking,

0:05:09.707,0:05:11.337
start anyway.

0:05:11.577,0:05:16.861
And we as a society are so confused[br]about why people would do these things

0:05:16.861,0:05:19.466
that we use science and social science

0:05:19.466,0:05:21.762
and TED Talks and crystal balls[br]and mathematics

0:05:21.762,0:05:23.736
to figure out why.

0:05:24.026,0:05:26.640
Why would people do these things?

0:05:27.170,0:05:28.882
And everybody does this.

0:05:28.882,0:05:33.554
No one is immune from these breaks[br]in what economists call "rationality."

0:05:33.713,0:05:39.211
We all have things that can show us[br]predictably biased choices.

0:05:39.511,0:05:41.324
I'm going to give you an example.

0:05:41.324,0:05:42.537
Let's play a game.

0:05:42.537,0:05:45.239
I'm going to flip a coin -[br]it's a fair coin.

0:05:45.239,0:05:48.969
If the first flip comes up heads,[br]you get two dollars.

0:05:49.279,0:05:50.290
I flip it again;

0:05:50.290,0:05:52.961
if it comes up heads a second time,[br]you get four dollars.

0:05:53.205,0:05:55.616
A third time, eight dollars.

0:05:56.626,0:06:00.439
Fourth, 16, until the coin comes up tails.

0:06:00.439,0:06:02.133
And then I pay you your money.

0:06:02.133,0:06:05.786
So if the coin comes up heads five times[br]in a row before the first tails,

0:06:05.786,0:06:07.928
you get 32 dollars.

0:06:08.358,0:06:11.438
If it come up 20 times in a row[br]before your first tails,

0:06:11.438,0:06:13.841
you get over a million dollars.

0:06:14.611,0:06:15.801
So think to yourself,

0:06:15.801,0:06:19.531
how much would you be willing to pay[br]to play this game?

0:06:20.751,0:06:22.125
If you're like most people,

0:06:22.125,0:06:25.130
you'd be willing to pay[br]less than 25 dollars.

0:06:25.620,0:06:27.893
But if you played this game forever,

0:06:27.893,0:06:31.017
you would be expected to make[br]an infinite amount of money,

0:06:31.017,0:06:33.882
no matter how much you paid per game.

0:06:33.882,0:06:36.297
This game has an infinite expected value,

0:06:36.297,0:06:40.862
and yet everybody has a point,[br]a number usually really low,

0:06:40.862,0:06:43.714
that they'd no longer[br]be willing to pay to play.

0:06:44.874,0:06:46.222
Here's another one.

0:06:46.462,0:06:49.000
It's like getting your eyes[br]checked at the eye doctor:

0:06:49.000,0:06:52.676
I'm going to present A or B, and you'll[br]tell me which one you think is better.

0:06:52.676,0:06:54.774
So A, I give you a million dollars,

0:06:54.774,0:06:56.044
just like that.

0:06:56.044,0:06:58.787
Cold million, you walk away,[br]go home, it's wonderful.

0:06:59.017,0:07:00.289
Or B,

0:07:00.769,0:07:02.610
you can take a gamble.

0:07:03.250,0:07:06.462
There's an 89% chance[br]of winning a million dollars,

0:07:06.462,0:07:11.930
a 1% chance of winning nothing -[br]you walk home empty-handed -

0:07:11.930,0:07:15.864
and a 10% chance[br]at winning five million dollars.

0:07:16.304,0:07:17.935
Which would you choose?

0:07:18.505,0:07:21.257
If you're like most people,[br]you'd actually choose A -

0:07:21.257,0:07:22.769
no risk, no gamble,

0:07:22.769,0:07:25.111
you just walk away with the cold million.

0:07:25.671,0:07:28.549
Here's the next one: choice C.

0:07:28.809,0:07:33.317
There's a 89% chance[br]of getting zero dollars

0:07:33.317,0:07:35.946
and an 11% chance of getting a million,

0:07:35.946,0:07:40.306
or D, there's a 90% chance[br]of getting zero dollars

0:07:40.306,0:07:43.008
and a 10% chance of getting five million.

0:07:44.258,0:07:46.092
This time, if you're like most people,

0:07:46.102,0:07:48.917
you'd pick D and hope[br]for the five million.

0:07:49.547,0:07:51.105
But if we do some quick math,

0:07:51.105,0:07:55.679
we actually find that[br]the first two choices are equivalent.

0:07:55.774,0:07:57.835
and that when it's framed one way,

0:07:57.835,0:07:58.947
you pick A,

0:07:58.947,0:08:00.888
and when it's framed another way,

0:08:00.888,0:08:02.130
you pick D.

0:08:03.770,0:08:06.295
Just based on how the information[br]is presented to you,

0:08:06.295,0:08:09.823
I can get you to pick door number one[br]or door number two.

0:08:09.823,0:08:12.633
And the weird thing is[br]that making any other decision

0:08:12.633,0:08:15.183
probably feels really wrong.

0:08:15.873,0:08:19.198
It turns out that intuition[br]and economic rationality

0:08:19.198,0:08:20.814
don't always agree.

0:08:21.564,0:08:25.602
So these are just two economic examples[br]of biases in decision making.

0:08:25.602,0:08:28.002
It turns out that[br]there's actually a lot of factors

0:08:28.002,0:08:31.022
that can predictably bias[br]what we choose.

0:08:31.282,0:08:32.524
The first was an example

0:08:32.524,0:08:35.794
of inappropriately weighting[br]small probabilities.

0:08:36.264,0:08:38.459
There's less than a 3% chance

0:08:38.459,0:08:42.775
that you'll win at least $32[br]in the quarter-flipping game,

0:08:42.775,0:08:45.689
and as a result, we have a hard time[br]even taking into account

0:08:45.689,0:08:48.129
the chance of making a million.

0:08:48.639,0:08:52.307
This same bias is seen in people[br]who fail to vaccinate their kids.

0:08:52.307,0:08:57.020
If your unvaccinated child[br]only has a 5% chance of getting sick,

0:08:57.020,0:08:58.928
it's really hard to take into account

0:08:58.928,0:09:01.762
the possible consequences[br]of them not being vaccinated,

0:09:01.762,0:09:04.357
which could be as high[br]as the child's life.

0:09:05.157,0:09:07.910
The second example is of a framing effect.

0:09:07.910,0:09:11.183
This affects everything[br]from what cereal we buy at the store

0:09:11.183,0:09:14.415
to how we report judgments[br]of our own emotions.

0:09:14.415,0:09:17.206
For example, you're much more likely[br]to report being happy

0:09:17.206,0:09:19.807
if I ask, "Are you happy?"

0:09:19.807,0:09:23.169
than if I ask, "Are you unhappy?"

0:09:23.169,0:09:26.133
Other biases include[br]aversion to uncertainty

0:09:26.133,0:09:28.397
and making choices that try to avoid it.

0:09:28.397,0:09:30.731
We can miss out on[br]some really great opportunities

0:09:30.731,0:09:33.231
by trying to avoid unknown unknowns.

0:09:33.411,0:09:37.174
We're also biased by the number[br]of options that are presented to us.

0:09:37.174,0:09:41.459
Having a wide range of options,[br]it turns out, isn't always better.

0:09:41.459,0:09:43.445
It can make deciding harder

0:09:43.445,0:09:47.352
and actually affect both our levels[br]of happiness and anxiety.

0:09:48.057,0:09:50.161
So how do these biases[br]affect big decisions

0:09:50.161,0:09:52.416
like what to be when you grow up?

0:09:52.806,0:09:55.237
We're going to do[br]some quick audience participation.

0:09:55.237,0:09:57.658
Raise your hand if you've ever been told

0:09:57.658,0:10:01.446
that you can be anything[br]you want to be when you grow up.

0:10:03.176,0:10:05.728
Yeah? You can put your hands down.

0:10:06.038,0:10:09.791
Being told that you can be anything [br]you want feels pretty good.

0:10:09.791,0:10:11.510
It feels like you can live your life

0:10:11.510,0:10:14.583
according to your own rules,[br]your owns wants, your own goals.

0:10:14.583,0:10:16.993
Like you can become[br]the person you want to be:

0:10:16.993,0:10:19.699
proud, successful, happy.

0:10:20.269,0:10:22.486
It give you a feeling[br]of agency over your life,

0:10:22.486,0:10:24.132
a feeling of freedom.

0:10:24.762,0:10:26.503
Life is an open field,

0:10:26.503,0:10:29.694
and you can go anywhere you want to go.

0:10:30.414,0:10:33.114
But humans don't have infinite time.

0:10:33.544,0:10:36.075
While you may be able[br]to do anything you want,

0:10:36.075,0:10:39.273
you probably won't be able[br]to do everything you want.

0:10:39.643,0:10:42.137
Having to choose between so many options

0:10:42.137,0:10:45.921
can be anxiety inducing[br]and detrimental to our happiness.

0:10:46.471,0:10:49.553
We as humans hate eliminating options,

0:10:49.553,0:10:52.995
even if we know that[br]that's not a path we want to choose.

0:10:53.215,0:10:55.291
We feel like we're losing out on something

0:10:55.291,0:10:58.551
simply by giving up[br]the possibility of something.

0:10:59.861,0:11:02.333
I want you to raise you hand[br]if you're even been told

0:11:02.333,0:11:05.404
anything similar to one of the statements[br]that I'm about to say.

0:11:05.404,0:11:07.834
Just put your hand up and leave it, okay?

0:11:08.418,0:11:13.538
If you put your mind to it,[br]you could be really great at blank.

0:11:14.838,0:11:16.609
Whatever that is for you.

0:11:17.009,0:11:19.160
If you dedicate your life to it,

0:11:19.160,0:11:20.922
you could help cure cancer

0:11:20.922,0:11:24.796
or do some other difficult[br]and yet very specific feat.

0:11:25.586,0:11:26.861
If you really try,

0:11:26.861,0:11:32.006
you could win a Nobel Prize[br]or an Olympic gold medal or an Oscar.

0:11:33.142,0:11:34.198
How about this one?

0:11:34.198,0:11:36.675
You'd make a really great astronaut.

0:11:36.675,0:11:38.391
(Laughter)

0:11:38.391,0:11:40.022
You can put your hands down.

0:11:40.302,0:11:43.703
These statements are very different[br]from the first statement.

0:11:43.703,0:11:46.523
Well, both are meant[br]to motivate and inspire.

0:11:46.733,0:11:50.003
The first instills a sense[br]of freedom and agency.

0:11:50.003,0:11:54.044
The second implies a responsibility[br]to the path that's been laid out.

0:11:54.914,0:11:56.521
If this person is right,

0:11:56.521,0:12:00.518
and I could help cure cancer[br]if I just devote my entire life to it,

0:12:01.078,0:12:04.762
then is it bad if I want to become[br]a professional cellist?

0:12:05.232,0:12:07.958
If I truly could win a Nobel Prize,

0:12:07.958,0:12:11.645
am I depriving the world[br]by focusing on painting?

0:12:12.809,0:12:14.735
If I can be the next Meryl Streep,

0:12:14.735,0:12:18.055
is it wrong that I want to code[br]for a tech startup?

0:12:19.075,0:12:22.268
If we're told that we can be[br]anything we want to be,

0:12:22.268,0:12:23.772
then we make our own decisions,

0:12:23.772,0:12:26.620
bearing the stress and the anxiety[br]that come with that.

0:12:27.270,0:12:29.356
When someone else sets our path,

0:12:29.356,0:12:31.984
we don't have to worry[br]about closing doors,

0:12:32.194,0:12:34.421
but we lose a sense of autonomy.

0:12:34.421,0:12:37.858
And taking any other path[br]than the one laid out for us

0:12:37.858,0:12:41.606
feels like we're letting someone down[br]or doing something wrong.

0:12:42.297,0:12:45.942
The pressure that comes with being told[br]that you could be great at something,

0:12:45.942,0:12:48.238
that you have the potential[br]to win a Nobel Prize

0:12:48.238,0:12:51.375
or save the polar bears[br]or be an astronaut,

0:12:51.375,0:12:52.738
can actually prevent you

0:12:52.738,0:12:55.841
from doing something[br]that you really want to do.

0:12:56.691,0:13:00.980
Almost every smart, talented[br]or hardworking person I know

0:13:00.980,0:13:03.784
has felt this pressure[br]at some point in their lives.

0:13:04.214,0:13:07.567
Even if they don't know exactly[br]what they want to be when they grow up,

0:13:07.567,0:13:10.385
being told that they could be great[br]at a specific thing

0:13:10.385,0:13:13.606
makes them feel responsible[br]for achieving that goal.

0:13:14.066,0:13:16.694
It's a responsibility[br]that is placed on them,

0:13:16.694,0:13:21.574
often accidentally,[br]by parents or teachers or friends,

0:13:21.574,0:13:24.629
and if it's internalized,[br]it can be destructive,

0:13:24.629,0:13:27.325
fueling anger or resentment.

0:13:28.105,0:13:30.994
The possible anxiety[br]of having too many choices

0:13:30.994,0:13:35.317
doesn't seem so bad when it comes[br]with the freedom to set your own path.

0:13:36.677,0:13:37.866
I don't have the answers

0:13:37.866,0:13:40.886
on how to decide[br]what to do with your life,

0:13:40.886,0:13:44.505
what doors to close[br]or what opportunities to pursue.

0:13:44.905,0:13:47.981
But it can help to recognize[br]that you have choices,

0:13:47.981,0:13:49.871
no one sets your path but you.

0:13:49.871,0:13:53.095
But in case the anxiety[br]does start to get paralyzing,

0:13:53.095,0:13:55.010
I want to leave you with this:

0:13:55.200,0:13:58.050
No matter what you choose[br]to do with your life -

0:13:58.050,0:14:02.210
and you can do anything,[br]including nothing at all -

0:14:02.210,0:14:04.728
you are still important,

0:14:04.728,0:14:06.297
you are still worthy of love,

0:14:06.297,0:14:09.484
and there will still be[br]people who love you.

0:14:10.424,0:14:14.102
Being smart or talented is a privilege.

0:14:14.102,0:14:17.711
It allows you to do something,[br]possibly multiple things,

0:14:17.711,0:14:21.661
better, faster or easier[br]than the average person.

0:14:22.141,0:14:26.563
But being smart or talented[br]is not a responsibility.

0:14:26.873,0:14:29.335
It's not your job to save anyone;

0:14:29.335,0:14:31.688
it's not your duty to fix anything;

0:14:31.688,0:14:34.813
it's not your responsibility to create.

0:14:35.463,0:14:40.398
You, just like everybody else[br]in this world, have only one job:

0:14:41.078,0:14:42.433
love.

0:14:43.063,0:14:44.651
Love yourself,

0:14:44.651,0:14:47.780
do your very, very best to love others,

0:14:48.050,0:14:51.008
and whatever it is[br]you decide to do with your life,

0:14:51.248,0:14:53.146
do it for love.

0:14:53.876,0:14:56.361
If you follow that, you can't go wrong.

0:14:56.361,0:14:57.435
Thank you.

0:14:57.435,0:14:59.652
(Applause)