In the 1998 movie The Truman Show, the lead character is Truman Burbank, played by Jim Carrey.

Truman lives in a meticulously constructed world, where every moment of his life is broadcast to a global audience.

Unbeknownst to him, his family, friends, and even his town are part of a massive reality TV set.

In the film, Truman begins to notice inconsistencies, and he slowly uncovers the truth, that he's the unwitting star of a 24-7 show.

Truman's experience is the ultimate exaggeration of a feeling we all get from time to time,

that other people are paying very close attention to our appearance, our choices, and our behavior. Truman's world is literally designed to allow strangers to watch his every move.

But in real life, most people are too preoccupied with their own lives

to notice our zits, bad hair days, minor mistakes, and awkward comments.

And if they do notice them, they usually quickly forget.

Truman's growing fear of and panic over being the center of attention is justified.

But ours usually isn't. When we're sure we're being scrutinized, science suggests it's typically not the case.

In this episode, we'll dive into why this disconnect occurs,

and you'll hear a story about a king who became terrified of a type of scrutiny

that never materialized.

I'm Dr. Katie Milkman, and this is Choiceology, an original podcast from Charles Schwab.

It's a show about the psychology and economics behind our decisions.

We bring you true and surprising stories about high-stakes choices, and then we examine how these stories connect to the latest research

in behavioral science. We do it all to help you make better judgments and avoid costly mistakes.

It is partly his dislike of the microphone that causes the speech impediment.

It must have been engendered when he made his first speech in Wembley Stadium.

It was a terrible failure and the scar has remained ever since.

Lionel Logue penned this diary entry in 1937,

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