the intellectual life

Good questions compress the search space, increasing the density of viable opportunities per unit of effort. They reduce opportunity cost: the better the initial inquiry, the lower the probability of burning resources chasing irrelevant possibilities.

Good questions are compression devices which shrink search space. Bad questions are expansion... See more

Our societywide obsession with speed and efficiency has given us a flawed model of human cognition that I’ve come to think of as the “Matrix” theory of knowledge. Many of us wish we could use the little jack from “The Matrix” to download the knowledge of a book (or, to use the movie’s example, a kung fu master) into our heads, and then we’d have... See more

The way to come up with new ideas is not to try explicitly to, but to try to solve problems and simply not discount weird hunches you have in the process

When I have a piece of writing in mind, what I have, in fact, is a mental bucket: an attractor for and generator of thought. It’s like a thematic gravity well, a magnet for what would otherwise be a mess of iron filings. I’ll read books differently and listen differently in conversations. In particular I’ll remember everything better; everything... See more

The genius of thought, in this view, lies not in conquering intellectual territory but in cultivating the patience and humility to dwell at its borders.

This humility in thought isn’t weakness but a profound form of strength: the capacity to stay present with what we cannot master or contain.

Genius is the supernatural virtue of humility in the domain of thought.

Follow curiosities down deep rabbit holes and emerge with unique ideas. Partake in vivid and varied adventures to build up a set of experiences that is unique to you. Run away from the areas in which you are average and towards those where you might be special.