Chapter 3: Turn Shit Into Sugar – Opportunism (The 50th Law)
[I]N NOOKS ALL OVER THE EARTH SIT MEN WHO ARE WAITING, SCARCELY KNOWING IN WHAT WAY THEY ARE WAITING, MUCH LESS THAT THEY ARE WAITING IN VAIN.
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Chapter 10: Confront Your Mortality – the Sublime (The 50th Law)
Seneca* WHEN I NEARLY DIED IT MADE ME THINK—THIS CAN HAPPEN AGAIN ANY SECOND. I BETTER HURRY AND DO WHAT I WANT. I STARTED TO LIVE LIKE I NEVER LIVED BEFORE. WHEN THE FEAR OF DEATH IS GONE, THEN NOTHING CAN BOTHER…
Remind Yourself: This is Water (Week 11 of Wisdom)
In a memorable graduation speech, the writer David Foster Wallace explained the real purpose of a liberal arts education.
Social Media as Serial Socialization
Think about what Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram really are. They aren’t antisocial applications. They are forms of serial socialization. Imagine living on earth around 3000 years ago, you would…
Chapter 12: Humility (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
In this chapter, Harari tells us that humility is a quality that most cultures lack. There are Indians that believe that the invention of nuclear science should be credited to them.
Chapter 13: God (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
There are two definitions of God, one is the campfire god that people talk about when they wonder about the universe and its origins. This God is unknown, mysterious, and philosophical. The other God is the one…
Chapter 11: War (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
There was a time when wars made sense to some politicians – it was when wars were profitable and easy. In 1914, the British controlled the Nile Valley and the Suez Canal for decades without much push back. The U.
The Point of Philosophy
What is the point of philosophy? It is not to get rich (clearly). It is not about truth (how do you define truth anyway?), it is not about wielding power, or sharpening the axe, or impressing people, or making a…
The Escalating Danger of War: How Likely is Nuclear War Given Recent events in Russia and Ukraine?
With the deteriorating situation in Russia and Ukraine, many people are wonder how likely it is that nuclear war could break out. While the risk may be small, the consequences would be catastrophic, making it…
Science, Politics, and Gnosticism Summary (7/10)
“Science, Politics, and Gnosticism” is an essay written by political philosopher Eric Voegelin in which he critiques the philosophical movement of Gnosticism and its influence on modern society.
The Importance of C.K. Chesterton’s Ideas
There are few thinkers who have had as much influence on the development of Western thought as G. K. Chesterton. His ideas on everything from philosophy to politics to religion have shaped the way generations of…
The Maps of Meaning Lectures
I summarized the most important ideas of each lecture because many are truly worth remembering. - Maps of Meaning 1 The introduction to Peterson’s lectures by following his arguments that start with a historical…