Do schools and universities really kill creativity?
Misaligned incentives, approximate thinking, and conflicting goals, can explain why the education system is perceived to be a creativity killer.
Category: Knowledge
Abraham Lincoln was a great leader who did a lot for equality! or Was/Did he? Are you making some unseen assumptions based on the small part of the story you know?
This is a discussion about conflation, politics, and assumptions..
I wrote a blog post about a few interesting books, including one titled “How the World Thinks”. A reader objected, saying that thinking is done by people… So, does ‘the World’ think?
What should I read?
With the millions of books out there, seekers of knowledge (and wisdom) will – expectedly – ask the question.. Where should I start?
The answers are usually disappointing. Why should you care about someone’s recommended readings list, after all?
Here’s an attempt to tackle this.
How much can we ‘compress’ wisdom? Are there general lessons that we can infer from history? from the intersections between different thinkers from around the world? Is there such a thing as ‘the greatest ideas of all time?
This post compiles ideas from 4 key books to reflect on history, philosophy, Wisdom and the applicability to our work and every day life.
There is a lot of effort trying to understand and wisdom… What if – in the spirit of ‘via negativa’ – we tried to understand intelligence and wisdom, by reflecting on stupidity??
Ayn Rand and Approximate Thinking – Again : A collection of strange quotes by Ayn Rand can cast further light on the reasons behind the distribution success of “Atlas Shrugged”, as discussed in “Fuzzy on the Dark Side“.
Book, Blog, or Podcast – Which should a wise person chose?
Before SBF decided to magically evaporate the money of FTX depositors, he was on a quest to impress investors. This quest included his wisdom on books… and why we don’t need them. This, however, is not unique. Many are jumping into this argument..
The differences between reading books, blog posts, or listening to podcasts should be clear to interested in using these media to gain knowledge and develop their skills.
Ayn Rand and Approximate Thinking?
Many people complain about the simplistic (and sometimes infantile) nature of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”… Still, the book is only less successful (in terms of distribution) than the bible. What explains this? I argue that it is the conflation of identities and political ideologies with ideas and thought.
Ultimately, laziness and approximate thinking are what made John Galt great! This is really the secret behind Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”.
The ‘broadest pattern in history’ is a pattern of diffusion of innovation (cultural and technological innovation). The outcomes of the flow of innovation in culture, political and economic organization, and technology, are what caused – eventually – a giant rift between the ‘old world’ and the new one, and between different political entities.
A discussion based on the book by J. Diamond (Link below).
