A friend told me a story about two philosophers arguing about the nature of reality. The first believed reality was objective. The second countered that it was subjective, “You can’t prove to me that this wall exists.” The first replied, “Well if it doesn’t exist, then walk through it.” The problem with the subjective philosopher […]
The “Single Flaw” Fallacy
A mistake I’ve made too often, is falling into “single flaw” thinking. This is where you spend time trying to find the single cause for your lack of success in some complex problem. For example, in the first couple years of trying to start a business, I was struggling to make an income. In that […]
Cynicism is Easy, Optimism Takes Guts
Just about every way you can measure, the world is a better place today than it was before. Life expectancy is up, poverty down, even most environmental indicators aside from greenhouse gases have improved. Yet this is never the story. The story is always how the world, despite the nearly consistent progress over the last […]
I’m 23
Today is my birthday. For the last five years, I’ve written a birthday post where I share what I’ve been up to in the last circle around the Sun. I’m continuing the tradition, to share what I’ve learned and what my hopes are for the future. While I believe it’s the growth you make as […]
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.