The Paradox of Future Self

Who Are We Today, and Who Will We Be Tomorrow?

Recently I was listening to the Ted Radio Hour podcast and the episode focused on our future selves and how it’s really hard for us to plan for them. One major talk they included was a talk in 2022 by Shankar Vedantam on this topic, You don't actually know what your future self wants, it is about the illusion of continuity, which is the idea that we are the same person today as we will be in the future. However, the author argues that this is not true, as we are constantly changing and evolving, both physically and mentally. Our future selves may not share the same views and preferences as our current selves.

Shankar shares his own personal experiences of how he has changed over time, from being a soccer fan to a podcast host. He also tells the story of John and Stephanie Rinka, who made a promise to each other that they would not prolong Stephanie's life if she ever got a terminal illness. However, when Stephanie was diagnosed with ALS, she changed her mind and wanted to be put on a ventilator. This shows how our future selves may not share the same views and preferences as our current selves.

He shows that it is really hard to plan for the future, whether it’s the extra dessert you down or the decision you make to cut a corner because time is of the essence at work. We are also making large decisions today that will directly impact our future selves tomorrow. As a result we should be aware of the illusion of continuity and make conscious decisions about the kind of person we want to become. He also suggests that we should be open to change and be willing to adapt to new situations.

Some self-awareness we can take on to help our future selves out are:

• Our current selves may not share the same views and preferences as our future selves.

• We should be aware of the illusion of continuity and make conscious decisions about the kind of person we want to become.

• We should be open to change and be willing to adapt to new situations.

The story also raises some interesting questions about the nature of identity and the relationship between our current selves and our future selves. It is a reminder that we are not static beings, but rather that we are constantly evolving and changing.

So the next time you are going for that extra dessert, planning on skipping a run or building a feature that you know will incur tech debt in the future, it will be good to ask ourselves, what will future us think of that decision? How can we be better to our future selves?