Unifying The Future: Information And Explanations
What good is information without an elucidating explanation? Why hasn't our immense information wealth translated into solutions to the Great Problems? If...
Pragmatic Mindfulness
Does mindfulness help you get things done? Is it not just another flavour of 'balanced living'? Was Einstein a mindful man?
It could be an...
Beings At The Whim Of Our Circumstances, Or Exclusively Thought-Evolved? How About Neither
Feathers in the ferocious hurricane Nature or creators of our own destiny? Are humans no more than typical scum on a...
What’s One Thing You Believe That Others Don’t?
And what makes you believe we should we believe you?
Because of its apparent prevalence, my answer will seem strange. Surely the truth is important,...
Emotion Matters
Disparaging emotion in yourself or in others is a perilous game
From an empirical standpoint, emotion—more specifically, emotional investment—is crucial for the development of a...
Incompetent, Undisciplined, And Seeking Attention? Call The Equality Police
Ignoramus intelligentsia and the consequences of enforced equality
My brother, one of the most athletic students in his year group, hasn't been selected to represent...
If Curiosity Were A Hammer, Questions Would Be The Chisel: Stonemasonry And Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the product of two interdependent elements. First is the ability to criticise ideas, opinions, actions, trends, and so on. Underdeveloped critical...
Beware The Head-Turning Smooth Talker
The secret weapon of the charlatan is the one they display the most: head-turning, hypnotising, inspiring, attention-grabbing, confidence covers up conniving motive. Hence, we...
The Beginning of Infinity: David Deutsch on the Potential of Human Knowledge, Planetary Colonisation,...
I try to read only books that either stretch or confuse me, or that fiercely challenge both my intellectual capacity and sentiments. What this...
Nassim Taleb On What It Means To Be A Philosopher, The Importance Of Antimodels,...
Nassim Nicholas Taleb tells you not to read anything from the past hundred years. The degree to which one should follow this advice, however,...
The Practical Wisdom Of Jordan Peterson: 11 Ways To Get Your Shit Together (and...
Sort yourself out, says Peterson. But how does one do that, exactly? What does sorting yourself out look like in practice? What can you...
You Are Either Improving Or Declining: On The Illusion Of Stasis
The Idea of a State of Stasis Is Silly. The Nature of Life is Chaos. Everything is Falling Apart.
Stasis, equilibrium, balance, symmetry, equality, equipoise...
If You’re Trying To Achieve The Blissful State, Stop: Nirvana Is The Death Of...
The blissful, tranquil, enlightened, higher-conscious, nirvana-like state is incompatible with your goals, with the pursuit of virtue, with reason, with science, with society, with...
Should You Try To ‘Outdo’ Yourself? Is There A Place For Comparison To Your...
There are positive and negative effects from trying to ‘outdo yourself’. On the one hand, it is a good thing to be trying to...
Is ‘Faking’ Confidence Worth It?
Can you fake confidence, and if so is it worth it? Is faking confidence essential in the beginning? Is the very idea of fake...
Is Courage More Important Than Education (Or Intelligence)?
Education and/or Intelligence, and Psychological Bravery, are in large part interchangeable traits; and when it comes to understanding what causes success, in the abstract...
On The Consequences Of Success, And An Alternative Way Of Measuring It
Defining—and therefore, measuring—success is a controversial, foggy and confusing matter. How about by the amount of freedom, options, skill, and sense of meaning your...
If Free Will Is An Illusion, Are We Doomed?
Free Will is an illusion. Does that now mean we are helpless when it comes to self-improvement, the pursuit of virtue, wisdom, long-term thinking,...