This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
There is comfort in the familiar.
That's why Marlon Wade likes to head over to his local barbershop.
Wrist action.
I just stop in.
It's on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, California.
He doesn't come for a cut.
No hair?
No hair.
I just wear the bald head.
He comes to shoot the breeze.
He points to one of the barbers, who's a friend.
That's my son's God brother.
That's one of my old school teammates.
We play baseball together.
Basically.
Marlin likes to hang with people who know and understand him, people he grew up with.
Some years ago, when Marlin was in the market for a new doctor, he looked for that same feeling of connection.
I had various choices.