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Who are we? We may believe that we are an independent, coherent self – an individual inside our head who thinks, watches, wonders and dreams. But this is an illusion, argues Bruce Hood, professor of developmental psychology at Bristol University and the 2011 Royal Institution Christmas lecturer. In The Self Illusion, he reveals that we learn to become our self as children, while as adults we develop and elaborate this story – a narrative that our brain creates. Prof Hood concludes that the ‘self’ is an illusion we must continue to embrace to live happily in human society. And be prepared: he is planning to challenge the brains of the audience with a few puzzles.