Consider the quote:
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
-Albert Einstein
Of course, that's not the definition of insanity, and Einstein didn't say it (despite the quote often being attributed to him). For those reasons, it sounds pretty stupid. But I would argue there is something wise about the quote and that it's worth paying attention to.
If we are in a situation that's deterministic and static - that is, nothing...
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insight
What happens when your beliefs can’t change?
This is part 2 in my series about "anchor beliefs" - but you don't need to read part 1 in order to understand it.
I think that almost everyone has beliefs that are essentially unchangeable. These don't feel to us like beliefs but like incontrovertible truths. Counter-evidence can't touch them. They are beliefs we can't change our mind about. I call these "Anchor Beliefs."
When Anchor Beliefs are false, we distort reality to fit them. So, what distortions do some reasonably common Anchor B...
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11 Types of Thinkers and Intellectuals (a little framework)
1. Ideators: generate novel ideas
Ex: Einstein
Strengths: creativity, insight
2: Investigators: vigorously investigate a topic in order to understand it
Ex: Curie
Strengths: truth-seeking, curiosity, systematicness, persistence
3. Provers: demonstrate that the ideas of others are sound, explore their limits, strengthen or work out the implications of existing theories
Ex: Singer
Strengths: consistency, logic, rigor, bullet-biting
4. Appliers: explo...
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Contradictory Insight
I was recently having a conversation with Geoff A. and Jana G. about how to systematically generate surprising ideas. I then sat down and created this program with them based on our discussion. Take a minute to try it, and generate some insight that you've never considered before!
Click here to run Contradictory Insight!
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