I hate to burst your balloons.

No, you don't.

Because your balloons are so bright and scary.

And you're a little thumbtack.

I'm Angela Duckworth.

I'm Stephen Dubner.

And you're listening to no stupid questions.

Today on the show, how much better do you really want to be?

The secret to looking successful is just

around yourself with people who are quite dumb.

Also, why do we pad our speech with so many filler words?

I don't think I quite had the balagraph.

I'm getting rid of the spoon.

So, Angela, there is a question that often gets asked about money,

but that I would like to ask you about ability or talent instead.

That probably doesn't make that much sense yet, does it?

Not yet, but why don't you keep going?

Here's what I mean.

This research literature goes back, I believe, to the 1990s,

where people are asked, would you rather earn X amount of dollars?

Let's say $50,000, while everyone else around you is earning,

let's say $45,000, or would you rather earn, let's say, $55,000,

...