The Nature of Explanation
We unconsciously construct mental models of the world and these models help aid our thinking. This idea is not new. In fact, in 1943 Kenneth Craik proposed that thinking is the manipulation of …
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The Most Productive Change You Can Make In Your Working Habits
In an increasingly interconnected world, finding focus and enabling time to do work is becoming harder and harder. Demands are outstripping our capacity at an alarming rate. It’s time to start …
The three types of specialist
The success of any revolution requires, as Kurt Vonnegut writes in Bluebeard, three types of specialists. Slazinger claims to have learned from history that most people cannot open their minds to new …
2013 Summer Reading List — Curated Recommendations For a Curious Mind
I bet you’d like to read more this summer. Wouldn’t we all. Well, stop talking about it and start finding some books already. Here is a curated list of multi-disciplinary books that can …
The Most Effective Way to Retain What You Read
One of the keys to getting smarter is to read a lot. But that’s not enough. How you read matters. But reading is only one part of the equation. It’s nearly worthless if you can’t …
The Honeybee Conjecture: What Is It About Bees And Hexagons?
Why is every cell in this honeycomb a hexagon? More than 2,000 years ago, Marcus Terentius Varro, a roman citizen, proposed an answer, which ever since has been called “The Honeybee …
The Power of I Don’t Know
It’s ok to say I don’t know. “There seems to be a widespread presumption that writing is prescriptive (or proscriptive) rather than simply observational or meditative,” writes Tim Kreider …
What Can One of The Great Coaches of All Time Teach You About Leadership?
History will judge Bill Belichick as one of the greatest coaches ever. Not just in the NFL, where he coaches the New England Patriots, but in all of sports. He’s also incredibly smart. In his …
Philip Roth — One Skill That Every Writer Needs
In his book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, Mason Currey explores Philip Roth. Roth is full of insight. His comments on writing, taken from Reporting: Writings from The New Yorker, stuck with me. …
Assertive Inquiry
You might be surprised at what A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble’s former CEO, can teach you about conversations. This excerpt is from his book (kindle edition). In any conversation, …
Susan Sontag — How I Write
Mason Currey’s recently published Daily Rituals: How Artists Work mentioned the routines, quirks, and rituals of plenty of creative minds—novelists, painters, poets, philosophers, filmmakers, …
The Buffett Formula: Going to Bed Smarter Than When You Woke Up
Your mind grows stronger or weaker each day, depending on how you use it. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger built their extraordinary success on a foundation of continuous learning. They showed …
William James on Habit
William James offers three maxims to aid the successful formation of new habits. *** In his book, Daily Rituals, Mason Currey explores William James’s thoughts on Habit. “Recollect,” …
Warren Buffett: The Three Things I Look For in a Person
Students often go to visit Warren Buffett. And when they do, he often plays a little game on them. He asks each student to pick a classmate. Not just any classmate, but the classmate you would choose …
Hemingway’s Routine
In his book, Daily Rituals, Mason Currey dug into Hemmingway’s 1958 Paris Review interview: When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. …
Daily Rituals: How Artists Work
I know it sounds strange but I love learning about how people go about creating things. So you can imagine my delight when I came across Mason Currey’s new book Daily Rituals, which describes …