Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol

Consider the game of peekaboo. The love of the game is universal: Some version of it is believed to exist in virtually every culture.69 The language is different, but “the rhythm, dynamics, and shared pleasure” all are the same.70 A familiar face first appears and then disappears behind someone’s hands. The baby sits there, puzzled and slightly alarmed, wondering what’s going on. But then the hands are drawn apart, revealing the face and restoring order to the world. Laughter follows. But laughter doesn’t follow—not to the same extent at least—when more uncertainty is introduced.71 In one study, infants smiled less when a different person appeared instead of the same one. Smiling also decreased when the same person reappeared, but in a different location. Even infants as young as six months old had some expectations of certainty as to the identity and location of the person. When these variables changed unexpectedly, so did the infants’ enjoyment.