I’ve been recording a lot of podcast interviews for my upcoming book, Ultralearning. One of the recurring themes I’ve noticed in our conversations is that how people feel about learning is the overwhelming cause of the results they experience. Yes intelligence, talent, great teachers and schools all matter. But if you feel like learning something […]
Useful Mental Model: Exponential Growth
Some ideas are so powerful and useful, that once you understand them deeply you start to see them everywhere. One of those ideas is exponential growth. Exponential growth occurs in many systems, from animal populations to investment accounts. Our brains don’t seem very apt for reasoning exponentially. Instead, we tend to extrapolate things in ways […]
Learning to Code is Easy: Here’s How to Teach Yourself
Few skills scare people away like coding. Television portrayals make it seem like writing computer code is a genius-level activity, as weird symbols race across the screen and techno music blares in the background. But the truth is that coding is actually pretty easy. I’m not saying this to dismiss the work of brilliant programmers. […]
How to Worry Less What Other People Think Of You
Human beings are social animals, and so it’s by design that we’re obsessed what other people think of us. Being ostracized was a death sentence in premodern times, so it wasn’t an irrational fear. Yet, worrying what people think of you can be a huge obstacle to doing things. We live in a world with […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.