Reading Fiction Stretches Our Imaginations
Aristotle claimed that poetry—at the time, he meant the epics of Homer and other tragedies, which we now call fiction—was better than history. He argued that fiction tells us what is possible, whereas …
Culture
Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
“The decision to reject one paradigm is always simultaneously the decision to accept another, and the judgment leading to that decision involves the comparison of both paradigms with nature and …
Kurt Vonnegut: The Shapes of Stories
In this short lecture, Kurt Vonnegut explains the different shapes that stories can take using a chalkboard. Now let me give you a marketing tip. The people who can afford to buy books and magazines …
Marshall McLuhan — The Man, The Mystery, The Life
Marshall McLuhan rocketed from an unknown academic to rockstar with the publication of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man in 1964. Understanding Media contained the simple prophecy that …
The Science of Obesity
One thing that has always baffled me is how we get fat. Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes unearths the biological truth around why we’re getting fat. In the process, Taubes dispels many accepted …
The Art and Science of Asking Better Questions
At the recommendation of Warren Buffett’s Biographer, Alice Schroeder, I’ve been reading The Craft of Interviewing. Schroeder seems pretty crafty at knowing when, what, and how to ask …
Jeffrey Pfeffer: Why Performance Won’t Get You Promoted
If you’re going to play the game you should at least educate yourself on the unwritten rules. If you don’t, you’ll always be at a disadvantage. In an NPR interview (audio below), Stanford …
Behavioral Economics Reading List
Are you looking for good books to read on Behavioral Economics or Behavioral Psychology? This is a list of my best Behavioral Economics books of all time. If you only want to read a few, check out the …
Gresham’s Law: Why Bad Drives Out Good As Time Passes
Whenever coins containing precious metals have been used along with base metal coins of the same denomination, both legally accepted as tender, the bad coins have driven the good coins out of …
In The Arena: Citizenship In A Republic
It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, …
The Famous Game Show Problem
Ahh, the famous game show problem (also known as The Monty Hall Problem). This is a probability puzzle you’ve heard of: Suppose you’re on a game show, and you’re given the choice of …
Bertrand Russell: On Avoiding Foolish Opinions
Want to steer clear of foolishness? Bertrand Russell has some timeless advice that can help. While it won’t make you infallible, his practical tips can go a long way in identifying and avoiding …
The Psychology of Pirates: How to Choose a Ransom
Reading The Invisible Hook really got me hooked on learning more about pirates. How do pirates decide what ransom to ask for? The answer, from an interview with an actual pirate, might surprise you. …