What is the biggest source of failed goals, dreams and ambitions? Is it luck? That you just didn’t have the right cards, and so there was nothing you could have done? Is it talent or method? If you were just smarter and used the right technique, you could have made it work? I’d like to […]
(A Little) Conformity is a Good Thing
In North America, we give a lot of lip-service to the idea of non-conformity being a good thing. Think outside the box. Be a rebel. Don’t be a sheep. Except, in practice, people are extremely conformist. Think of all the things we do in, not because we thought for ourselves it was a good idea, […]
Ultralearning Environments: Why Where You Learn Determines How Much You Learn
Why are we suddenly getting much better at Tetris? Author and vlogger, John Green, raises this very interesting question in a recent video. Tetris was released for the Nintendo in 1984. At that time, far more people were playing Tetris than there are today. And yet, performance on Tetris is better now, than it was […]
Hustle or Mediocrity?
Alexis Ohanian, founder of Reddit, recently spoke out against what he calls “hustle porn”: “This idea that unless you are suffering, grinding, working every hour of every day, you’re not working hard enough … this is one of the most toxic, dangerous things in tech right now,” … “It’s such bullshit, such utter bullshit. It […]
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.