The enduring wisdom of a disabled man born into slavery nearly 2000 years ago

March 1, 2022

Imaginary portrait of Epictetus. (Imagine is in the public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Epicteti_Enchiridion_Latinis_versibus_adumbratum_(Oxford_1715)_frontispiece.jpg)

This is a cross-post from my post on the Clearer Thinking blog (from March 1, 2022). The post first appeared on this site on December 3, 2022. Epictetus, born ~50AD, was a disabled man born into slavery in Phrygia (present-day Turkey). Nothing that he wrote down survives; we know about him only through the words of other scholars. But he was so wise that his ideas reverberate through society today. This article summarizes some parts of his incredible life and the impact that he had on the wo...

Human behavior makes more sense when you understand “Anchor Beliefs”

November 21, 2021

Photo by Kris-Mikael Krister on Unsplash

There's an important type of belief most of us have, which we call "Anchor Beliefs." These beliefs are, by definition, those beliefs we hold that are almost impossible to change. To the believer, an Anchor Belief doesn't feel like a mere belief - it feels like an undeniable truth. These beliefs are often too deeply rooted to change, and the cost of giving them up may be extremely high (e.g., questioning the belief might cause you to lose your family, friends, livelihood, or your understand...

Is Learning From Just One Data Point Possible?

May 8, 2021

From a scientific or statistical standpoint, it seems ridiculous to think one data point can teach us much. Even a study with ten data points is laughably small. It's also really common to see people over-react to a single experience they've had (e.g., "I know I don't like Taiwanese food because I tried it once") or to an anecdote (e.g., "I'm convinced this supplement will work because my friend took it and says it worked"). And yet, in some contexts, one data point can teach us a LOT. He...

The Power of “Familiar Yet Different”

September 18, 2020

When trying new things, what we like (or benefit from) most is usually familiar to us, yet somehow also distinct. 1. Music: we prefer songs that are similar to others we like but that feel novel. If a song is too similar to what we know, then it's derivative or boring (like listening to the same music on loop), but if it's too novel, it is usually unappealing or dissonant. Music from other cultures can be hard for us to appreciate until we've listened to enough of it. 2. Learning: we lear...

Ten pros and cons of starting a startup

September 3, 2020

Should you become an entrepreneur? Here's the honest truth (as I see it). 1. Autonomy Pro: you're the boss and decide what to do. Con: you HAVE to always decide what to do. There will be a huge array of options at any given moment, and you'll never know for sure which to work on. You can seek advice, but ultimately YOU are the one who must decide. 2. Lifestyle Pro: since you're the boss, you'll have flexibility in your hours. Cons: you'll inevitably be working a lot of...

Idea-Inducing Questions

August 2, 2020

Struggling to come up with an idea for a blog post? Want to post ideas on social media but can't think of what to write about? Want to come up with interesting topics for an intellectual discussion or meetup? Use my lists of "Idea-Inducing Questions" to generate nearly endless ideas to write about, think about, or discuss! Questions about learning and truth-seeking • Recently learned: what's a powerful idea, concept, or mental model that you've been learning about recently that you...

Stability vs Acceleration

September 30, 2018

Photos by David Maltais on Unsplash (left) and Mads Eneqvist on Unsplash (right)

Written: September 30, 2018 | Released: August 13, 2021 I think one of the big choices to be made in life (once basic needs are well met) is whether to try to optimize more for a life of stability or for a life of acceleration. There is a tension between these two types of lives because they imply making different decisions in many realms. From what I can tell, the significant majority of people on this planet (even among those who have their basic needs already well met) seek a life that...

Redesigning High School from Scratch

June 10, 2017

If you were redesigning high school education from scratch, what material would you include in the curriculum (assuming it's a well funded high school), that is generally not taught in high schools today? Some classes that I might want to include are: Thrive: staying happy and healthy. This could include: Cognitive-behavioral therapy skills training (to help ward off depression and anxiety)Emotional control strategies from dialectical behavioral therapyBehavioral activati...

How Can We Learn From Our Mistakes?

January 14, 2012

Suppose that you'd like to make fewer mistakes. How do you go about actually learning from the ones you've already made, rather than repeating them? The first step is to admit to yourself that you've made a mistake. Trivial errors, like accidentally putting the container of orange juice in the freezer, are easy enough to come to terms with. But for more serious matters, or matters that involve pride or shame, our minds often recoils at the pain caused by acknowledging we've screwed up. We mak...

Novel Ways of Carving Up Knowledge

July 26, 2011

Normally we divide up the elements of knowledge into the traditional categories of history, literature, math, physics, chemistry, psychology, fine arts, and so forth. We are so used to these divisions that it may not even occur to us that knowledge can be split in plenty of other ways. But imagine, for instance, a school that offered the following subjects: Making Observations Formulating Theories Making Predictions Testing Predictions Developing Happiness Making Observations coul...