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
A competitor needs to be process-oriented, always looking for stronger opponents to spur growth, but it is also important to keep winning enough to maintain confidence. We have to release our current ideas to soak in new material, but not so much that we lose touch with our unique natural talents. Vibrant, creative idealism needs … Read more
“The man of knowledge of our time is bowed down under a burden he never imaged he would ever have: the overproduction of truth that cannot be consumed.” The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a great book that set the foundation for terror management theory. Becker’s controversial premise is that man’s original repression is the … Read more
What Jung does when he compares primitive man with civilized man, is he gives a historical perspective of the situation of all of mankind in the current moment. This is opposed to taking a snapshot in time and comparing different groups of people together, such as different races or sexes. Jung describes to us a … Read more
Debates can be illuminating, or they can be a waste of time. When is a debate illuminating? When there is a mutual attempt to explore the truth. The form that professional debates take, whether presidential or academic, are rarely an exploration of the truth. And the form that casual debates take, like the one your … Read more