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Okay, here's today's show.
This is Hidden Brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
When children are very small, their minds are often an open book.
They say what they mean.
They blurt out things.
This can come across as both cruel and charming.
The little boy laughs aloud when someone slips on a banana peel and gets hurt.
The little girl tells her uncle that his face is ugly.
In Hans Christian Andersen's famous folktale, The Emperor's New Clothes,
a child is the only one who speaks truth to power.
The king has been taken in by con men who pretend to clothe him in marvelous robes that are actually non-existent.
The king's courtiers marvel at their majesty's fine garments, even though he is walking around naked.
Finally, a small child blurts out what everyone can see, but no one wants to say aloud.
The king is a fool.
The folktale has many parallels in real life.
Authoritarian leaders throughout history have surrounded themselves with yes-men
who tell them their every action is wise and brave.
When we listen to stories like the emperor's new clothes, most of us identify with the child.