Tiny Experiments, Big Shifts: Anne-Laure Le Cunff on Embracing Uncertainty
Anne-Laure Le Cunff has built her career on this belief. An award-winning neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and the founder of Ness Labs, she has inspired more than 100,000 curious minds each week through her newsletter. Her research at King’s College London explores the psychology and neuroscience of curiosity, and her bestselling book, Tiny Experiments, offers a practical framework for turning life’s uncertainties into opportunities for growth and discovery.
Before diving into neuroscience and entrepreneurship, Anne-Laure worked at Google on digital health projects. Today, her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Financial Times, and WIRED, reflecting her unique ability to translate complex science into ideas that reshape how we live and work.
In this interview, Anne-Laure shares why embracing uncertainty matters, how cognitive scripts shape our daily choices, and why shifting from Chronos (clock time) to Kairos (meaningful time) can completely change the way we live.
5 Questions with Anne-Laure Le Cunff
1. You talk a lot about how important it is to get comfortable with uncertainty. What are some common ways people try to avoid it, and how can we move through that instead of getting stuck?
People often try to control outcomes, which means they over-plan or stick to rigid routines and linear goals as a way to avoid uncertainty. These strategies reduce discomfort in the short term but limit their growth in the long term. That’s why I encourage people to experiment in small, low-stakes ways as a way to work with uncertainty instead of against it. Just like a scientist, it’s about developing an experimental mindset where uncertainty becomes an opportunity for discovery.
2. What exactly are cognitive scripts, and how do they show up in real life? Can you share a few examples of how these patterns play out in the everyday?
Cognitive scripts are pre-learned patterns of thought and behavior that we unconsciously follow in certain situations. For example, always defaulting to “safe” career choices, or believing you must be productive every minute of the day. They show up as automatic responses that feel natural but may keep us stuck. Noticing and testing our assumptions around these scripts through tiny experiments can help reveal better alternatives.
3. You mention the idea of generativity in the book. What does that actually mean, and how can someone start living a more generative life?
Generativity means making, sharing, or contributing in ways that expand possibilities for yourself and others right now, not only in some distant future. It’s less about what outlasts you (your legacy) and more about an ongoing, active orientation toward growth in everyday life. It’s about shifting focus from individual achievement to actions that benefit others and create positive ripple effects.
4. There are two types of time: Chronos and Kairos. What’s the difference between them, and how can that shift the way we live or make decisions?
Chronos is quantitative time, such as minutes, hours, deadlines. Kairos is qualitative time: moments of meaning and depth. For example, thirty minutes of Chronos time spent in back-to-back meetings may feel empty, while a five-minute exchange in Kairos time with a friend can shift your perspective forever. When we only track Chronos, life feels like a checklist. When we honor Kairos, we notice the moments that actually move us, connect us, or change us, and we start making choices that create more of them.
5. You’ve gone from working at Google to studying neuroscience and launching your own projects. How did the idea of “tiny experiments” help you make those big changes in your life?
When I shifted from Google into neuroscience and creative projects, I treated this liminal space as a series of tiny experiments: trying things out in manageable ways, paying attention to what I learned, and letting the results shape the next step. Each experiment – whether it worked or not – added information I could build on. Over time, those experiments stacked up into a meaningful shift.
