Counterintuitive Facts (43): You Have No Idea What You Actually Want

I. You think you're an independent thinker who clearly knows what you like. You like that Hermès bag because of the leather quality? You want that investment bank executive position because you love financial models? You fell in love with that girl because she's truly your soulmate? Or because your best friend also likes her? French philosopher René Girard smirks and tells you: All lies.

II. Humans cannot directly generate desire. This is a chilling truth. Our desires aren't endogenous. They are triangular: subject (you), object (what you want), mediator (person you imitate). You don't want that thing. You want to become the person who has that thing.

III. An experiment: Put two children in a room full of toys. First child casually grabs a toy car.