How the myth of destiny distorts our decisions

Big Think Home

This content is locked. Please login or become a member.

Become a member Login
How the myth of destiny distorts our decisions
Brian Klaas
A detailed orange image of the Sun shows its surface texture and sunspots, against a black background.
10mins
The Big Think Interview
The solar revolution turning sunlight into synthetic fuel
Casey Handmer
An older woman with long gray hair wearing a dark jacket and shirt sits against a plain, light background, looking slightly toward the camera.
20mins
The Big Think Interview
Rome’s triumph was the ancient world’s most effective piece of propaganda
Mary Beard
Digital illustration of a human head in profile showing a translucent brain with layered neural pathways, set against a blue gradient background.
25mins
The Big Think Interview
Reboot your mind for flow, unanxiousness, and resilience
Steven Kotler, Wendy Suzuki & Robert Waldinger
A middle-aged man in a navy suit and light blue shirt gestures with his right hand while sitting against a plain light background.
7mins
The Big Think Interview
The hidden reason smart people stop growing
Robert Herjavec
A bald man wearing glasses and a peach-colored button-up shirt sits facing the camera against a plain white background, holding his right hand slightly raised.
32mins
The Big Think Interview
The neuroscience behind synesthesia
Richard E. Cytowic
Older man with gray hair wearing a dark suit, patterned tie, and blue shirt, gesturing with both hands, seated against a plain white background.
21mins
The Big Think Interview
The real lesson from the first time globalization died
Eric Cline
An older man with gray hair wearing a dark suit, blue shirt, and patterned tie, sitting against a plain light background.
22mins
The Big Think Interview
The collapse that accidentally built the modern world
Eric Cline
Bald man in a blue shirt gestures with both hands in front of him, palms facing each other, against a plain white background.
7mins
The Big Think Interview
The present is a story your brain assembles after the fact
Jim Al-Khalili
Bald man in a dark button-up shirt gestures with his right hand while looking at the camera, against a plain white background.
13mins
The Big Think Interview
The idea so strange Einstein thought it broke quantum physics
Jim Al-Khalili
A man sits on a chair against a white backdrop, with a background featuring repeated vintage images of a person riding a horse.
1hr 19mins
The Big Think Interview
The block universe: a theory where every moment already exists
Jim Al-Khalili
A man with short dark hair, wearing a dark t-shirt and smartwatch, gestures with his hands while standing in front of a plain white background.
23mins
The Big Think Interview
Why alien civilizations may bloom and die unseen
Brian Cox
A woman with long blonde hair sits on a chair against a plain white background, wearing a tan jacket and gesturing with both hands while speaking.
18mins
The Big Think Interview
A look into the mind of someone without empathy
Abigail Marsh
Bald man wearing glasses and a peach shirt sits on a chair against a white background, gesturing with his left hand while talking.
19mins
The Big Think Interview
The biological necessity of boredom in the age of screens
Richard E. Cytowic
A man in glasses and a suit jacket sits indoors, gesturing with his right hand. Exposed brick walls, a window, and a lamp are visible in the background.
16mins
The Big Think Interview
The tiny transistors remaking our global order
Chris Miller
A bald man wearing a dark sweater sits against a plain white background, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.
11mins
The Big Think Interview
Why relationships in 2026 carry impossible expectations
Alain de Botton
A man with curly hair, a beard, and glasses, wearing a green button-up shirt, gestures with his hand against a plain white background.
22mins
The Big Think Interview
Thinking too logically can actually hold you back
Dan Shipper
A lone silhouette of a person stands in a hazy, grainy environment, surrounded by darkness and indistinct shadows.
8mins
The Big Think Interview
What nihilism acknowledges that other philosophies don’t
Alex O'Connor
Bald man wearing glasses and a dark suit jacket sits against a plain white background, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.
25mins
The Big Think Interview
The computing revolution that secretly began in 1776
David Alan Grier
An older man with glasses and a light blue shirt sits and smiles while raising his hand with fingers spread, in front of a plain white background.
18mins
The Big Think Interview
Why modern fitness culture misunderstands human bodies
Daniel Lieberman
A man with short hair and a beard, wearing a light blue button-up shirt, sits indoors in front of a wooden wall.
21mins
The Big Think Interview
Why even the healthiest people hit a wall at age 70
Andrew Steele
A woman with long brown hair wearing a tan blazer over a dark shirt sits in front of a plain white background, looking at the camera.
7mins
Members
The Big Think Interview
Our intuitions about consciousness may be deeply wrong 
Annaka Harris
A man sitting in a chair.
25mins
The Big Think Interview
The real reason boys turn to extreme online role models
Richard Reeves
A man with glasses and a gray beard stands in front of illustrations of three classical columns, each with a different capital style.
22mins
The Big Think Interview
Why stoicism fails when treated like self-help
Massimo Pigliucci
Illustration of a human head made of cracked material with bandages, set against a cloudy sky background.
25mins
The Big Think Interview
The real reason some people adapt faster than others
George Bonanno
An older man sits on a chair in front of a white backdrop in a modern, brightly lit room with colorful pillows and minimalist decor.
16mins
The Big Think Interview
The happiness shortcut that hides in plain sight
Robert Waldinger

We like to believe that everything happens for a reason. But what if that belief is a comforting illusion? Political scientist Brian Klaas argues that randomness, not reason, drives much of human life.

The stories we tell ourselves about cause and effect aren’t reflections of truth, rather, they’re coping mechanisms to make chaos feel like order.

No transcript available for this video.

Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.
© Copyright 2007-2026 & BIG THINK, BIG THINK PLUS, SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by Freethink Media, Inc. All rights reserved.