I really enjoyed the first season of HBO’s Westworld. I’m a fan of the robots-who-might-be-conscious-vs-exploitative-humans trope in all its many incarnations, but I felt this show did a particularly good job. The reason I liked it most was the constant uncanny valley between spontaneous and scripted behavior. Without spoiling anything, the show does a masterful […]
Don’t Be Busy
Being busy and working every available minute seems to get a lot of press, but is it actually effective? I’m most productive when I’m not busy. Learn how.
What if This Were Your Only Chance?
I’ve traveled to a lot of cities. I’ve also lived for more than a few months in several of them. It would seem obvious that the places I know best be the ones that I spent the most time in. But strangely, this often isn’t the case. I did far more sightseeing and tourist activities […]
What’s Wrong With Just Reading Book Summaries?
I was having a conversation with a friend who likes to read book summaries. He’s not a big reader, but still wants the ideas from great books, so he goes out of his way to read the summaries of lots of books to get the gist of their main ideas. I do occasionally read book […]
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.