#automaticbehavior

You’ve probably joked about people who seem like video-game characters: they show up, follow a script, react the same way every time, and vanish. Calling someone an “NPC” (non-player character) is funny — but there’s a real, simple explanation behind that feeling: most of us run a lot of our lives on autopilot. That’s not because people are empty or fake. It’s because our brains and bodies are…