Peter Bevelin: A Few Lessons From Sherlock Holmes
Peter Bevelin‘s first book, Seeking Wisdom from Darwin to Munger, is one of the best books you’ve probably never heard of. He’s just released another book, A Few Lessons from …
Psychology
The Best Way to Find More Time to Read
There is no question I’m asked more often than “how do you find the time to read so much?” or “how can I find more time to read?” Let me share with you how I find time to …
Marshall McLuhan: Old Versus New Assumptions
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), for those unfamiliar with him, rocketed from an unknown academic to rockstar with the publication of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man in 1964. The core of the …
Elements of Effective Thinking
Do you want to come up with more imaginative ideas? Do you stumble with complicated problems? Do you want to find new ways to confront challenges? Of course, you do. So do I. But when is the last time …
The Biggest Barrier to Accomplishing Great Things
At some point, we’ve all likely given up on trying to get better at a skill and settled for being mediocre as opposed to being great. But why do we do this? Why don’t we push on until we achieve …
How Charitable are you Supposed to be When Criticizing the Views of an Opponent?
“Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?” *** Philosopher Daniel Dennett’s book, Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking, already gave us how …
The 8 Causes of Plateaus
Have you ever found yourself trying really hard on something you care about? Maybe you’re learning how to play the piano. But the more effort you put in, the less you seem to get out of it. …
The Tyranny of Email — 10 Tips to Save You
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my habits recently and how they affect me. One thing I’ve placed an increasingly watchful eye on is email. Email seems pervasive in our lives. We check email on …
Understanding and Diagnosing Problems
We all know one, the Monday morning quarterback. They walk into the meeting room primed and ready for action. Ready that is, to apply the knowledge they know now to decisions of the past. And too …
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 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 …
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,” …
Pluralistic Ignorance: You’re Not Alone
Imagine you’re in a meeting with a lot of important people. The boss comes in, takes a seat, and starts talking “strategic market knowledge” this and “leveraging competitive …
The Work Required to Have an Opinion
The real cost of an opinion isn’t having it—it’s doing the work required to earn it. This work is what most people avoid. I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I …
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone—Especially Ourselves
In his book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone—Especially Ourselves, Dan Ariely attempts to answer the question: “is dishonesty largely restricted to a few bad apples or is …
The False Allure of Group Selection.
From Steven Pinker’s edge.org article The False Allure of Group Selection. Pinker argues that the more carefully you think about group selection, the less sense it makes, and the more poorly it …