Category: Uncategorized

Arthur Jensen on Giftedness and Genius

Genius requires giftedness (consisting essentially of some special aptitude or talent, such as mathematical, spatial, musical, or artistic talent). But obviously there are other antecedents that are elusive to us. Nonetheless, we do know of at least two key attributes, beyond ability, that appear to function as catalysts for the creation of that special class…
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Rapid Innovation

When people ask me why I prefer to invest in software-based innovation vs other important areas like biotech, hardware, energy, etc, I always point to the speed at which software can be built, released, and iterated on.  This is a personal comfort thing for me. I am not saying that these other areas are not…
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The End of Physics

In the 20th century, scientists sought out the building blocks of reality: the molecules, atoms and elementary particles out of which all matter is made; the cells, proteins and genes that make life possible; the bits, algorithms and networks that form the foundation of information and intelligence, both human and artificial. This century, instead, we…
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How To Think For Yourself

There are some kinds of work that you can’t do well without thinking differently from your peers. To be a successful scientist, for example, it’s not enough just to be correct. Your ideas have to be both correct and novel. You can’t publish papers saying things other people already know. You need to say things…
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You’re Only As Good As Your Worst Day

We tend to measure performance by what happens when things are going well. Yet how people, organizations, companies, leaders, and other things do on their best day isn’t all that instructive. To find the truth, we need to look at what happens on the worst day.  Farnam Street

Two ways of productivity

The techniques that follow work together as an integrated set for me, but they probably won’t for you. Maybe you’ll get one or two ideas — probably out of the ideas I stole from other people. If so, I have succeeded. Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity https://pmarchive.com/guide_to_personal_productivity.html The big thing is I’ve basically done a complete…
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A guide to wealth and happiness

“I was born poor and miserable. I’m now pretty well-off, and I’m very happy. I worked at those. I’ve learned a few things, and some principles. I try to lay them out in a timeless manner, where you can figure it out for yourself. Because at the end of the day, I can’t quite teach…
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Being smart is not enough

When hiring a team, we tend to favor the geniuses who hatch innovative ideas, but overlook the butterflies, the crucial ones who share and implement them. Here’s why it’s important to be both smart AND social. Farnam Street

Are ideas getting harder to find because of the burden of knowledge?

Filtering is a superpower.– The people you don’t hang around. The opportunities you don’t accept. The distractions you don’t allow. The relationships you don’t have. The news you don’t read. The content you don’t consume. The calls you don’t return. The emails you don’t answer.– Saying no turns filtering into action. Matt Clancy https://mattsclancy.substack.com/p/are-ideas-getting-harder-to-find?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=twitter

The difference between amateurs and professionals

There are a host of other differences, but they can effectively be boiled down to two things: fear and reality. Amateurs believe that the world should work the way they want it to. Professionals realize that they have to work with the world as they find it.