Can you really trick your taste buds? In this episode of Future IQ, Navin and Shrikant dive into the fascinating world of taste perception, revealing how color, smell, appearance, and texture influence what you think you’re eating. Whether it’s the crunch of a chip or the color of your plate, your sense of taste isn’t as reliable as you think. From surprising taste psychology research to real-world examples of taste trickery, learn 6 science-backed ways your senses can fool your brain—and how chefs and food scientists use these hacks every day.

Do your beliefs shape what you see, hear, and think? Discover how your brain edits reality using Bayesian priors, the placebo effect, and weird brain tricks like the McGurk effect. This isn't just about illusions — it's about how your entire experience of the world is filtered through what you already believe.

In this episode of Future IQ, we explore how your mind doesn't passively receive information — it actively predicts it. What you see, what you hear, even what you taste can all be shaped by your past experiences, expectations, and unconscious biases. From System 1 and System 2 thinking, to real-life studies on motivated reasoning, political beliefs, and placebo responses, we show how your brain decides what’s “true” before you even realize it.You’ll learn why two people can see the exact same thing but believe completely different stories, and how something as simple as a McDonald’s logo can actually change the way food tastes.

We’ll explore why some beliefs become so strong they get “stuck,” refusing to change even when new evidence appears. You’ll also see how politicians use subtle signals — known as dogwhistles — to activate people’s beliefs without ever saying things outright. And most importantly, we’ll uncover why facts alone often don’t change minds but feelings do.

Do you really believe in facts? Or are you just believing what you want to believe? In this episode, we talk about something called Bayesian Updating – a fancy way of saying how your brain mixes your past beliefs (priors) with new evidence to make decisions. But here’s the twist: your priors (like what your family, school, or culture told you) can change how you see the evidence! We use a fun example with an aptitude test and talk about how your bias can sneak in, even if you think you're being smart.

Learn why people sometimes ignore good data, how your brain builds beliefs, and why you should always check if your thinking is based on facts or old stories. This episode connects to lots of cool Future IQ topics like bad decisions, groupthink, preference falsification, and costly signaling. So if you understand this, the rest will make WAY more sense!

Some people say cow pee can cure COVID and that the Ganga river is always clean, even if there’s poop in it. That sounds kinda crazy, right?? But many people believe it — even important people like politicians and scientists!In this episode, we talk about why people believe weird stuff and how sometimes, being part of a group makes you say silly things just to fit in. Like saying Ronaldo is better than Messi (even if you secretly like Messi more). We also talked about how telling the truth can get you in big trouble and how your brain tricks you to make you think your group is always right.It’s kinda funny and kinda scary. But mostly really interesting. Come listen!!

Have you ever waited until the last minute to do your homework and finished it faster than you thought? Well, that’s because of something called Parkinson’s Law! It means you work better and quicker when you give yourself less time to finish something! In this episode, we’ll talk about why having a deadline is like having a superpower. You’ll learn how deadlines can help you stop procrastinating, get rid of distractions, and even make your brain work faster! So, let’s find out how to make deadlines your secret weapon for getting things done!

Want to be more productive and less stressed? This episode shows you how simple checklists can help you get things done faster, reduce mistakes, and focus better. Learn how habits like creating to-do lists, using the Eisenhower Matrix, and following systems like Getting Things Done (GTD) can make your life easier. Whether you’re trying to reduce stress, stay organized, or get more work done in less time, checklists are a game-changer! Listen now to see how you can use this simple trick to organize your day and be more efficient.

In this episode, we talk about how sometimes people get promoted to jobs they're not good at. It’s called the Peter Principle, and it happens when someone is really good at their current job but gets promoted to a higher role where they struggle. We also discuss how many businesses end up with people who aren’t really good at their jobs because of this. It might sound funny, but it happens a lot! We’ll explain how promotions can go wrong and why sometimes people stay in jobs they’re not ready for. Don’t worry, we also share some funny ideas on how to fix it!

In this episode, we explore the question, "Why don’t Indian women work?" India has one of the lowest rates of women working, and it’s holding back our economy. Only 30% of women in India are part of the workforce, which is much lower compared to countries like China, Indonesia, or even Bangladesh. We talk about why this is happening, what has been tried to fix it, and what might actually work to help more women get jobs. We also discuss why it's so important for women to work, not just for the economy but also for their own well-being and safety. Listen to find out how India can improve and make things better for women in the workforce.

Do you know what a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) is? How and why are such trials conducted? Today, the 28th of Feb is World Science Day and hence in true FutureIQ style, it seemed fitting to talk about one of the pillars of good science - RCTs.In this episode, we speak about the need for RCTs and how they came about to be. What are the different groups/phases within Randomized Controlled Trials? How does the Placebo effect play a role within RCTs? Along with giving several examples, we also explain the different variables and baises that are addressed through RCTs such as Observer Bias, Confounders Bias and Selection Bias.While RCTs are a pretty common and standardised practice within epidemiology, there are natural questions that arise about the ethics of the practice as well. How fair is it to the participants of the trial? And where does the line of morality lie in finding the balance for the greater good of the world?

In this episode, we will talk about why we make wrong decisions without realizing it—and why we stubbornly stick to them! Have you ever made a choice, felt totally confident about it, and later realized you were missing key information? Turns out, most of us do this all the time! A study from top universities reveals how overconfidence, bias, and selective information shape our thinking—and why even when given the full picture, 2 out of 3 people refuse to change their minds.
We’ll break down how these mental traps work, how they’re used to manipulate us, and—most importantly—how to outsmart them. You’ll also hear real-life examples of how misinformation spreads and how to make smarter, more informed decisions. If you’ve ever wondered why people believe things that aren’t true (or if you might be doing it too!), this episode is for you!