How Feelings Make Us Smarter
Hidden Brain

How Feelings Make Us Smarter

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 10, 202648 min
  • Interview
  • Relationships & psychology

Some people are remarkably good at reading the emotional temperature of a situation. They can pick up on what others are feeling, manage their own emotions, and respond skillfully. What's their secret? This week, we explore the science of emotional intelligence with psychologist Peter Salovey. Emotional intelligence is one of the most popular ideas in psychology. It's also a term that's widely misused and misunderstood. We explore these misconceptions in a bonus conversation with Peter Salovey for Hidden Brain+ subscribers. If you're not yet a subscriber, you can hear it with a free seven-day trial to Hidden B...

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In October 1967, the world's greatest chess minds gathered in Seuss, Tunisia,

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0:00

This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedanta. In October 1967, the world's greatest chess minds gathered in Seuss, Tunisia, to face off at the Interzonal Tournament, the high-stakes gateway to the World Chess Championship. The early games were dominated by the American prodigy, Bobby Fischer.

0:21

He was a 24-year-old grandmaster with an IQ rumoured to be at the genius level of 180. He was the favourite to win it all. But despite his overwhelming lead, the tournament quickly spiraled into a masterclass in self-sabotage. Bobby Fischer issued a series of escalating demands regarding his playing schedule.

0:48

When organizers refused to rearrange the event to suit him, he walked out, withdrawing from the tournament while in first place and throwing away years of work in a single fit of frustration. The walkout was a window into a profound emotional ineptness that lived right alongside Bobby

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