This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanthan.

In the popular imagination, leaders are visionaries.

They're single-minded.

Like Morpheus, in the Matrix films,

they know exactly how to rally the troops when catastrophe looms.

Tonight, let us make them remember.

This is Zion, and we are not afraid!

Or take the Wolf of Wall Street, in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a ruthless stock trader.

At one point, he gives a motivational speech to his sales team.

Are you behind on your credit card bills?

God, pick up the phone and start dialing.

Is it landlord ready to evict you?

Good! Pick up the phone and start dialing.

I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich!

In Hollywood's imagination, leaders often have messianic vision and unshakable conviction.

I can't accomplish a god damn thing of any human meaning or worth until we cure ourselves of slavery and end this pestilential war!

Especially in the United States, we celebrate certainty and look down on those who express doubt, caution and hesitation.

This week on Hidden Brain, we examine the psychological origins and the unforeseen consequences of certainty.

And we'll explore the magic that happens when we replace certitude with curiosity.

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School.

He's the author of Think Again, the power of knowing what you don't know.

He's interested in the question of obstinacy.

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