Atul Gawande: Why We Fail
“Failures of ignorance we can forgive. If the knowledge of the best thing to do in a given situation does not exist, we are happy to have people simply make their best effort. But if the …
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Beyond Email: What Knowledge Workers Really Create
Knowledge workers often think they produce emails (and meetings), but this misses something fundamental. As Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman explained to journalist Jason Zweig, what knowledge workers …
The Top 3 Most Effective Ways to Take Notes While Reading
There are three steps to effectively taking notes while reading: At the end of each chapter write a few bullet points that summarize what you’ve read and make it personal if you can — …
Temperament is more important than IQ
During a recent interview Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger had some interesting comments on how to outsmart people who are smarter than you. Munger: We’ve learned how to outsmart people who are …
Decisions Under Uncertainty
If you’re a knowledge worker you make decisions every day. In fact, whether you realize it or not, decisions are your job. Decisions are how you make a living. Of course, not every decision is …
Avoid Organizational Empty Suits at All Costs
Empty suits share three things in common. First, they are blind to the limits of their own knowledge. Second, they oversimplify the problem. Finally, they never utter the phrase “I don’t …
The Science of Sleep
Sleep is way more important than we realize. It’s also, according to David Randall in Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, “the largest overlooked part of your life and …
In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World
Equations are the lifeblood of mathematics, science, and technology. Without them, our world would not exist in its present form. However, equations have a reputation for being scary: Stephen …
The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are
“Friendships are the least institutionalized and most voluntary social relationship we have.” In Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are, Carlin Flora explores …
A History of Genius
“Geniuses … were believed to possess rare and special powers: the power to create, redeem, and destroy; the power to penetrate the fabric of the universe; the power to see into the future, …
Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
In Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect, neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman, sets out to “get clear about ‘who we are’ as social creatures and to reveal how a more accurate …
Richard Feynman on Curiosity
Following, beauty, and honors, the final part of Canadian filmmaker Reid Gower’s trilogy on Richard Feynman, covers curiosity. The world is strange. The whole universe is very strange, but you …
Books that Changed My Life
Here is a short list of books that literally changed the way I see the world. 1. Man’s Search For MeaningA gift from a friend. As hard as you think your life is, it pales in comparison to …
The Three Disciplines of Stoicism: Life Lessons from a Roman Emperor
The stoics used their understanding of perception, action, and will to create an operating system for life. The Three Disciplines A common thread central to the philosophy of the meditations and …
The Secrets of Happy Families
Bruce Feiler’s book — The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More — explores the hidden secrets of improving your …
Reason is the Enemy of Greatness
“There can be no great genius without a touch of madness.” — Seneca This is a beautiful passage from Giacomo Leopardi’s Zibaldone on the conflict between reason and nature. Reason is the …