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From heirlooms to collectables to clothes, our self-image tends to extend well beyond our skin and into our things. While just how attached to possessions people are varies by culture, decades of research has shown that connecting with objects is a hard-wired part of being human. Scripted by Christian Jarrett, deputy editor of Aeon’s sister publication, Psyche, this playful TED-Ed animation takes a brief dive into what’s known as the ‘endowment effect’ – or the tendency of humans to place a disproportionately high value on the things they view as their own. Drawing from some of the most fascinating and telling studies conducted on the topic, the short video touches on the many (sometimes surprising) ways in which we imbue our things with meaning.
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Stories and literature
What makes John Keats’s ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ so enduringly powerful?
10 minutes
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Human evolution
Far from frivolous, cuteness is a powerful – and still mysterious – force of nature
6 minutes
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Family life
On a whirlwind morning, a couple learns if they’re facing an unplanned pregnancy
7 minutes
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Philosophy of mind
Do we have good reasons to believe in beliefs? A radical philosophy of mind says no
5 minutes
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Philosophy of religion
How a devout Catholic philosopher approaches the problem of evil
8 minutes
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Love and friendship
When drawing your muse hundreds of times becomes an exercise in love
7 minutes
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Thinkers and theories
Is simulation theory a way to shirk responsibility for the world we’ve created?
13 minutes
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Family life
In Rwanda, Sébastien finds traces of personal history in the wake of national tragedy
21 minutes
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Love and friendship
A decade after his wife was swept away in a tsunami, Yasuo still searches the sea
9 minutes