Recently, I reached a milestone that I had been working on for a long time: bench pressing more than 200 pounds. There’s nothing particularly remarkable about that. Many people can lift a lot more than I can. What I thought was more interesting was how long it took. I started lifting weights when I was […]
How to Teach Yourself Math
Few subjects bring up as much remembered pain and anxiety as math classes. The confusing symbols, the difficult procedures and the dreaded graphs and charts. A few people are now even suggesting that learning math can be a traumatic experience, something survived, rather than learned. The painful history many people have with math is a […]
How to Make Stuff People Will Pay For
Every person earns a living by making stuff people will pay for. If you’re an entrepreneur, artist or programmer, that reality may be obvious. You create products, pieces or code and sell them to people who need them. But accountants, janitors and teachers are also makers. Accountants create understanding of financial flows for their clients. […]
Building Up Your Intellectual Immune System
Ideas are like viruses. They can hijack your mind and cause you to do dangerous things. Consider Ted Kaczynski. Despite being a brilliant math prodigy, he became convinced that the world was heading towards self-annihilation. The only solution was to return to a pre-technological, agrarian society. When his own exile from society failed, he started […]
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.