52 Aces
Learning, competition and capitalism
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years, you’ve no doubt heard all about the benefits of living in “The Information Age.” It’s framed as a wondrous, liberating time to be alive, when there are no restrictions on what you can discover or create.
While I don’t think this is exactly wrong, I do think that there are some serious misconceptions about how much information itself is worth.
[Read more…] about The Value of InformationIt’s a natural and classically human desire to stand victoriously on top of the podium. Even if we don’t admit it, just about everyone internally wants to be the best at something.
Some people want to be great athletes, while others desire admiration for their works of art. No matter what the domain, the idea remains the same: we all want to be (or at least considered) great.
[Read more…] about How to Be a World-Class Anything
A friend of mine and I recently had a conversation about the accumulation of knowledge and the limits of human information processing. He asked me whether my reading and research habits (which I’ll admit are a bit maniacal) were an example of cognitive overload that would lead to a bias against action.
[Read more…] about How to Use a BrainLet’s do a little exercise. At this very moment, I want you to stop doing anything else you’re trying to do aside from reading this article. Stop checking your phone, close other windows, turn off any music or podcasts you’re listening to and just focus on this.
It’s tough to do sometimes, but I promise you it will be worth it.
[Read more…] about The Illusions of MemoryNot too long ago, I walked into a gym here in San Diego. It wasn’t a regular gym, filled with bros flexing in the mirror. No, this was an MMA gym, populated by people smashing into bags, focus mitts and, in the ring just to the right of the entrance, each other.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of being there, but I did know one thing: I wanted to learn how to box.
[Read more…] about Boxing, Violence & the Brain