Approaching the Future: How We Think About Tomorrow

When psychologist Walter Mischel published the findings of his famous marshmallow study, showing the impact of delayed gratification on a child’s future success, it changed how people raised their kids. But in the nearly 50 years since the study was published, questions have been asked about our ability to truly look ahead. Is teaching a child delayed gratification really all there is to making sure they succeed? How well can we predict the future?

Bina Venkataraman, author of “The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age” looks at the strategies we use, and how good we genuinely are at predicting the future. And although studies like Mischel’s may make us think we have it all figured out, Venkataraman says in reality we’re not as good as we think.