Plato held the aristocratic opinion that only those who were relieved of having to worry about their daily subsistence were capable of gaining wisdom. Who are they? The wealthy and the political elite. But what is wisdom? And how can someone gain political power through wisdom? Perhaps some kind of training is necessary, but what … Read more
The Ancient Greeks emphasized the importance of temperance, but they were extreme in everything, in pure thought, in war, and in sin. Their Prototype was Prometheus who brought fire from heaven, and was rewarded with eternal torment. Pythagoras The nature of mathematical truths is different than those from other sciences, which were derived from false ideas about the world. Astronomy … Read more
Switch is a book about changing your behavior, by understanding the impediments to change in any circumstance. The authors divide the book into three parts: the rider, the elephant, and the path. Imagine that the conscious and rational part of your psyche is the rider, while the unconscious and emotional part of your is the … Read more
Mortimer Adler wrote a book called How to Read a Book, which makes the case for why reading, and gathering information, does not constitute knowledge. He breaks down the different types of reading styles, and the different types of books that exist. To Adler, a book’s primary purpose is to force you to think. Television and … Read more
In the well-known Biblical story, God tells Jonah to go talk to his people, and to tell them things they do not want to hear. Jonah refuses because he is too scared. While he is on a boat with others, a storm appears out of nowhere. He elects to be thrown off because he knows … Read more
Freud and his predecessors proposed that there is both a Dionysian and Apollonian side to each individual. You contain both Eros and Thanatos, construction and destruction, honesty and deception, organization and atrophy. This bipolar nature defines your behavior. When trying to accomplish something important, for example, you will be led astray by changing circumstances. But … Read more
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called ‘Ego’ – Nietzsche Without an ego, man is a coward without character, but with an inflated ego, he loses his sanity. If you seek praise, be wary of the dangers of succeeding. Too much praise can get to anyone’s head. Hitler, a semi-articulate speaker with … Read more
Knowledge is not understanding. We are better at inventing tools than understanding how to use them wisely. Globalization, genetic engineering, nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning are advancements that are not only proof of the greatness of the human intellect, but its capacity for self-destruction. Wise people cannot be sufficiently educated and educated people cannot … Read more
Your time is finite, and it does not care about how you choose to spend it, or which attitude you choose to have towards it. This leads to the paradoxical state you find yourself in. Despite how important your attitude towards time is in shaping your life, you rarely recognize it. Society has conditioned you … Read more
…the most commonly repeated and most expensive investment advice ever given in the boom just before a financial crisis stems from the perception that “this time is different.” This Time is Different places 200 years of financial crises under sharp scrutiny. Reinhard and Rogoff note that financial fallouts occur in clusters and with surprising consistency, … Read more