Hi, NSQers. Happy Independence Day. For our international listeners, this is a federal holiday

primarily dedicated to outdoor grilling and trying to avoid getting blown up by your

neighbors' illicit fireworks. While Angela and Stephen are off celebrating, we wanted to

play you one of our favorite early episodes from the NSQ Archives. We'll be back next week

with our regularly scheduled program, so enjoy and may you appreciate your pyrotechnics safely

and from a distance. I think I'm about to ask a truly stupid question. There are actually

stupid questions. I'm Angela Duckworth. I'm Stephen Dobner and you're listening to no stupid questions.

Today on the show, comparing yourself with others can be emotionally damaging, so how can we stop

doing it? Isn't that interesting that when I clicked on my Amazon ranking, I immediately went to

his Amazon ranking. Also, how can we stop confusing correlation with causation? If he hadn't been

blinded and in his left eye, he never would have become a scientist. Angela Duckworth. Stephen Dobner.

So I've not read deeply on the following topic I'm guessing you have, but what I have read

suggests that it is a bad idea to constantly compare yourself to other people. So assuming that

is bad, tell me if I'm wrong, but assuming that is bad, how can I stop? I think it is often bad

to compare yourself to other people. Maybe I would go so far as I say, usually bad, but it's

basic human instinct. That means we should ask ourselves first, why do we do that? Because anytime

we instinctively do something, there's usually a function behind it. Okay. Why do we do that?

Seriously. You know who doesn't do it? Children. Children are very egocentric all the way up to

the beginning of adolescence when they become the opposite. When you enter adolescence, all you

want to do is compare yourself to other people, how tall you are, how good-looking you are,

how popular you are, how smart you are. The raging desire for social comparison is at its peak

during adolescence. It doesn't leave us entirely in adulthood. We look to the left, we look to the

...