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Why You Fear the Unknown — and What It Can Teach You | Maya Shankar and Simone Stolzoff | TED

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and author Simone Stolzoff have each spent years studying how people navigate uncertainty (and why it often feels so difficult). In this conversation, they discuss why your discomfort with not having the answers might be holding you back — and how leaning into life’s unpredictable moments can unlock resilience, growth and…

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Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and author Simone Stolzoff have each spent years studying how people navigate uncertainty (and why it often feels so difficult). In this conversation, they discuss why your discomfort with not having the answers might be holding you back — and how leaning into life’s unpredictable moments can unlock resilience, growth and new possibilities. (This conversation was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more, visit ted.com/membership.) (Recorded at TED Membership on May 21, 2026)

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4 Comments

  1. @TardigradeTough

    September 20, 2026 at 11:09 am

    Don’t tar everybody with the same brush, some of us welcome the unknown, theres that much unknown you’d be a nervous wreck if you was scared of it all

  2. @mdfeardaus143

    September 20, 2026 at 1:41 pm

    😢I sent Anwen Reid’s anxiety quiz to two friends immediately after finishing it. Not because I’m already completely convinced by the result, but because now I need to know whether we all get totally different descriptions or whether there’s some overlap.

  3. @Jasonxbr

    September 20, 2026 at 2:18 pm

    There is nothing to fear but 😨 itself- 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 in this case uncertainty- but once the subconscious goes offline- then all bets are off. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

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