The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius
So I'm going to pull a sneaky trick on you. Do you want to do great work, or not? Now you have to decide consciously. Sorry about that. I wouldn't have done it to a general audience. But we already know you're interested.
Don't worry about being presumptuous. You don't have to tell anyone. And if it's too hard and you fail, so what? Lots of people h
... See moreHow to Do Great Work
When people hear about geniuses, especially the iconoclastic ones such as Feynman, there’s a tendency to focus on their gifts and not their efforts.
Scott Young • Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career
No, my worry is that, especially now that you’re out of college, you won’t put enough really excellent stuff into your brain. I’m talking about what you might call the “theory of maximum taste.” This theory is based on the idea that exposure to genius has the power to expand your consciousness. If you spend a lot of time with genius, your mind will
... See moreDavid Brooks • A Commencement Address Too Honest to Deliver in Person
If you do not work on an important problem, it's unlikely you'll do important work. It's perfectly obvious. Great scientists have thought through, in a careful way, a number of important problems in their field, and they keep an eye on wondering how to attack them. (...) By important I mean guaranteed a Nobel Prize and any sum of money you want to ... See more