Get More Done By Working Less
In Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang argues that work and rest are not opposed but rather complementary to each other. “When we define ourselves by our work, …
Philosophy
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
We think that we’re in control. We believe that our conscious mind directs our thoughts and somehow controls our subconscious mind. We’re wrong. In Richard Restak’s The Brain Has a …
Friedrich Nietzsche on Making Something Worthwhile of Ourselves
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) explored many subjects, perhaps the most important was himself. A Farnam Street member directed me to the passage below, written by Richard Schacht in the introduction …
Philosopher Kahlil Gibran on Why The Best Thing To Give is Yourself
In 1923 the Lebanese-American artist, poet, and philosopher Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) published his masterpiece, The Prophet, which endures as a timeless classic meditation on living. While …
Charlie Munger on Getting Rich, Wisdom, Focus, Fake Knowledge and More
“In the chronicles of American financial history,” writes David Clark in The Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman on Life, Business, …
John Gray: Is Human Progress an Illusion?
“Straw Dogs is an attack on the unthinking beliefs of thinking people.” — John Gray *** We like to think that the tide of history is an inexorable march from barbarity to civilization, …
Krista Tippett: On Generous Listening and Asking Better Questions
Krista Tippett, whose wonderful book Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Art of Living distills many of her conversations, offers us a window into exploring ourselves and others, through generous …
The Most Respectful Interpretation
Many of us jump to negative conclusions rather than generous ones. Taking the most respectful interpretation of events changes how you see others and how they behave toward you. Consider this …
The 16 Best Books of 2016
Rewarding reads on love, life, knowledge, history, the future, and tools for thinking. Out of all the books I read this year, here is a list of what I found most worth reading in 2016. 1. The …
Epistemology: How do you know that you know what you know?
There is no definite way to confirm that we know anything at all. Only from our direct experience can we claim any knowledge about the world. *** The role of perception in knowledge It is hard to …
The Island of Knowledge: Science and the Meaning of Life
“As the Island of Knowledge grows, so do the shores of our ignorance—the boundary between the known and unknown. Learning more about the world doesn’t lead to a point closer to a final …
What Books Would You Recommend Someone Read to Improve their General Knowledge of the World?
Inspired by a reader’s question to me, I thought I’d ask our followers on Facebook and Twitter for an answer to the question: What books would you recommend someone read to improve their …
J.K. Rowling On People’s Intolerance of Alternative Viewpoints
At the PEN America Literary Gala & Free Expression Awards, J.K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, received the 2016 PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award. Embedded in her acceptance speech is …
Richard Feynman on Teaching Math to Kids and the Lessons of Knowledge
Legendary scientist Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was famous for his penetrating insight and clarity of thought. Famous for not only the work he did to garner a Nobel Prize, but also for the lucidity of …
The Four Tools of Discipline
“The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action.” *** Life is full of problems. We can moan about them, or we can solve them. Scott Peck argues in The Road Less …
Francis Bacon and the Four Idols of the Mind
Among the Enlightenment founders, his spirit is the one that most endures. It informs us across four centuries that wemust understand nature both around us and within ourselves, in order to set …