You and Betty and the Nancy's and Bill's and Joes and Jane's will find in the study of science

a richer, more rewarding life.

Welcome to Inquiring Minds. I'm Indravis Gantus. This is a podcast that explores the space

where science and society collide. We want to find out what's true, what's left to discover,

and why it matters.

Basketball was probably the only sport I ever thought I was any good in. And maybe I really wasn't. But I did happen to

secure a spot as a starting forward on my high school basketball team, even in ninth grade. Now,

it's not like the gators at Loretto Abbey High School in Toronto, were really that good at basketball. So

don't be too impressed. But it was a feat that I was really proud of. And I remember there

were a couple of games in particular where I felt like I had what we call the hot hand. I just

couldn't miss. I couldn't wait to get the ball because I knew that as soon as I got it, it would go

through that net. It only happened a few times, but those times were magical. And then, when I got to grad school

and I read about the fact that the hot hand was probably all just in my head, I felt a little

bit deflated. But that's also why I got super excited when Ben Cohen, he's the Wall Street

Journal reporter on the NBA, wrote a book called The Hot Hand, The Mystery and Science of Streaks. We recorded this

interview before the NBA canceled their season and before the virus seems to have invaded every

one of our conversations. And so I hope you'll enjoy this discussion on the hot hand. Does it

exist? If it does, what is it and what does it mean for us?

And how might we use it to our advantage? Ben Cohen, welcome to inquiring minds. Thank you for having me.

So reading the opening of your book brought me back to some pivotal moments of my childhood

that I hadn't thought about

in many, many years. I used to play basketball in high school. I loved it. I'm tall. I'm

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