Decision making and strategic thinking are fundamental business abilities that many people find hard to use in their everyday work. Exceptional people however, appear to dive into “blue sky thinking” and balance it with practical execution: proving strong thought processes behind their doing.

Powerful Thinking

Fortunately, everybody can learn to utilise some basic techniques to improve their decision making skills. In this short article, you will figure out one of the many ways I use to think innovatively and create solutions to complex problems.

Systems thinking is a method for tackling a problem by identifying the different components and how they relate to each other. As opposed to responding to singular issues that emerge, a systems thinker gets some information about the connections and the different elements inside the problem, searches for patterns over time, and looks for main causes.

The four levels of thinking: 1. The Event Level The event level is the level at which we ordinarily see the world — for example, getting up one morning to discover we have caught a cold. While this issue can be corrected with straightforward action, the iceberg model pushes us not to jump into a solution.

2. The Pattern Level When we look just underneath the event level, we often see patterns. Comparing the events over time we may see that we contract more bugs when we don’t get enough rest. Watching the patterns enables us to estimate future actions.

3. The Structure Level Underneath the patterns level lies the structure level. At the point when we ask, “What is causing the problem we are observing?” the appropriate response is normally some sort of structure. For example, I can be busy at work or not eating healthily.

4. The Mental Model Level Mental models are visual representation in our minds, convictions, ethics, desires and qualities that enable structures to keep working as they seem to be. These are the convictions that we frequently gain instinctively from our life background. For example: being busy means being successful or eat healthily means eating fruits and vegetables.

Decision making and strategic thinking are fundamental business abilities that many people find hard to use in their everyday work. Exceptional people however, appear to dive into “blue sky thinking”…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

problemsolving

Problem Solving

communication

Communication

creativity

Creativity

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

The four levels of thinking behind your doing.

Each platform has its own purpose and cues unique moods and ways of working.<ul><li>A phone is great for quick capture on the go, but isn’t a place to sit down and work out a complex spreadsheet.</li><li>A laptop or desktop is great for heavy authoring tasks, but doesn’t offer good ergonomics for lengthy reading.</li><li>And tablets are ideal for sitting back in your armchair to read and reflect.</li></ul>

Platform purpose

Muse was designed to be more than a single app, but a suite of tools optimized for different modes of deep work across your devices.<ul><li>Muse for iPad — relaxed thinking, annotating, and brainstorming. Takes advantage of the intimacy of the touchscreen, the immediacy of the high-performance display, and the fun of working with your hands.</li><li>Muse for Mac — productivity, heavy research, bulk editing. Takes advantage of more screen real estate, the keyboard, file system, and overlapping windows.</li><li>Muse for iPhone — Quick capture on the go</li><li>Muse browser extension — Save URLs and snippets from the web</li></ul>

Platform design choices for Muse

Muse is a good example of a product that honors the platform on which it's running

product

Product & Design

Designing for Each Device

Wood is a versatile material. You can build almost anything out of it. But you shouldn't. Wood is great for some things (big, flat surfaces like a tabletop) and poor at others (weight-bearing structures like legs). Steel, however, is great for structure due to its strength, but it makes for a poor tabletop.Every material is good at something and poor at something else.To honor a material is to celebrate its unique properties and use its strengths.

Honor the material

Software and mobile devices are two kinds of "materials" that tech companies operate with.We believe we can build anything with them. But, like wood, each of them has grain. Some things are easy to do and others are difficult. Move with the grain, and you can unlock amazing experiences. Cut against the grain, and you will struggle.It's on us to honor them and match real customer needs with what a platform and device can deliver.

Technological materials

We can unlock new product experiences only by leveraging the strengths of the technology we use

We hold phones from the future, running software designed a decade ago.

Honor the Material

You see the world through your window of perception. This window often gets smudged by your experiences, the opinions of society, the views of the people you associate with, etc.The first thing you have to do to begin on your path to success is to clean this window and see the world as it is. By cleaning up your prejudices and bias, you will be open to ideas, opportunities, and life.

Your Window Of Perception 

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right.

We become what we think about all day. What we think plays a vital role in shaping our opinions and actions. Our brains are marvellous. If you strongly think you want something, you will eventually get it!This isn't philosophical woo woo. There is an actual effect called <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion#:~:text=Frequency%20illusion%2C%20also%20known%20as,a%20high%20frequency%20of%20occurrence.">Frequency Bias </a>or The Baader-Maenhoff effect. If you think a lot about something, you will notice more things about it and increase your overall opportunities by being more perceptive.

Your Thoughts Shape You

Throughout history, people who have achieved great things have often admitted that they have already pictured themselves being successful. Already imagining how it would be when you are successful increases your odds of achieving it.But keep in mind only wishful thinking is not enough. You have to use your visualisation to push you through hard times while you keep moving forward.

Picture Your Success

One person with a commitment is worth more than 100 people who have merely an interest.

Now that you have pictured your success and set a clear goal, it is time to commit to it and focus on your method on how to achieve your goal. Focus on small steps, stay committed and show up every day.

Commitment

If you are going through pain make it count.

If you went through a tragedy, move on and work hard to achieve something you always wanted. So that when you look back at your tragedy, you will know that it had to happen for you to be in the place you are now.Most successful people have gone through hard times in their lives. It is almost as if the pain is necessary to forge great people.

Turn Your Problems Into Opportunities

Repeat anything often enough and it will start to become you.

Mind what you say all day. Choose your words very carefully. If you keep saying all day that "you are bad at maths", you will never be able to learn it and always stay bad at it.I'm not telling you to lie about it and boast that you know everything, but be careful how you frame your words. Instead of saying you are bad at something, you can say you are new to it or trying to learn.

Mind Your Words

If somebody asks you how you are and you do not feel great, don't say "I am exhausted" or "I have given up". This gives a negative vibe that will make you feel even worse and will also make the person who asked feel dull.You don't have to fake happiness, but you can try to be more energetic. As energy is contagious, this will make people around you feel better and make them like to associate more with you.

Be Cheerful

Nobody wants to hear about your aches and pains except for a few close friends. Even those close friends will get tired of you if you keep complaining. Instead of focusing on your problems all the time, you can think about what you can do about your concerns and start working on them. Always remember that there are people who are worse off than you. So don't take things for granted and be grateful for what you have.

Stop Complaining

We all have that one person who always tells you how your new year's resolution will fail or how your new business idea is not practical. Please stay away from them.Constructive criticism is good. You should definitely pay heed to actual problems in your plan or idea. But some people always start by saying how you will fail when you tell them about your goals. While breaking relations is generally bad, you should consider spending less time with such people.

Stay Away From Cynics And Pessimists

Courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in spite of it.

If you want to be successful, you have to get used to being slightly uncomfortable.Conquer your fear. Start slowly by doing something even if you are afraid of it. Gradually you will overcome that fear. But don't let it be your new comfort zone. Always keep pushing yourself to new limits.

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Walt Disney was fired from his job. Colonel Sanders started KFC at age 65 after failing his whole life. Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, J K Rowling, you name it, almost every successful person has seen failure at some point in their lives.If you know how to ride a bicycle, you know that learning only happens by failing. So be prepared to fail in your journey towards a successful life.

Be Prepared To Fail

If you carefully look at successful people, you will notice that they usually get more opportunities and more insights about businesses. They are not simply luckier. The key to getting more opportunities is to have a good network of great people.And the key to building a good network is to help others achieve their goals and prove yourself to be a helpful asset in the network.

Building A Network

Take control of your life, stop complaining, help others achieve success, have an optimistic growth mindset and be ready to fail.This, in short, is the key to a successful life.

Summary 

A short chapter by chapter summary of this amazing book. Hope you find it helpful! 

IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN DO IT! Do you dread going to work? Do you feel tired, unhappy, weighed down? Have you given up on your dreams? The road to a happier, more successful life starts with your attitude--and your attitude is within your control.Whether your outlook is negative, positive or somewhere in between, Jeff Keller, motivational speaker and coach, will show you how to take control and unleash your hidden potential through three powerful steps:--THINK! Success begins in the mind. The power of attitude can change your destiny.--SPEAK! Watch your words. How you speak can propel you towards your goals.--ACT! Don't sit back. Take active steps to turn your dreams into reality.Soon, you will be energized and see new possibilities. You will be able to counter adversities and develop talents unique to you. Your relationships will improve, both at work and in your personal life. All you need is this step-by-step programme to change your attitude and your life!

books

Books

IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN DO IT! Do you dread going to work? Do you feel tired, unhappy, weighed down? Have you given up on your dreams? The road to a happier, more successful life starts with your attitude--and your attitude is within your control.Whether your outlook is negative, positive or somewhere in between, Jeff Keller, motivational speaker and coach, will show you how to take control and unleash your hidden potential through three powerful steps:--THINK! Success begins in the mind. The power of attitude can change your destiny.--SPEAK! Watch your words. How you speak can propel you towards your goals.--ACT! Don't sit back. Take active steps to turn your dreams into reality.Soon, you will be energized and see new possibilities. You will be able to counter adversities and develop talents unique to you. Your relationships will improve, both at work and in your personal life. All you need is this step-by-step programme to change your attitude and your life!

Jeff Keller is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Jeff Keller has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Jeff Keller's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Jeff Keller

Attitude Is Everything

Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most beloved poets and writers in American history.  In his 1836 essay "Nature", he formulated and expressed the philosophy of transcendentalism.  Emerson explains that people should rely less on second-hand information, inherited and institutionalized knowledge, and instead choose a personal understanding of the universe.

Choosing Your Ideas

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have been at war with each other:   a battle of ideas or an actual physical invasion of a country. We seem to never run out of ways to argue with each other. Ralph Waldo Emerson would say we can't quit because we've been using the wrong strategy. Instead of relying on the theories and narratives of other people to make sense of the world, we should emphasize coming up with new ideas ourselves.

Why Humans Wage War

Emerson stated that we can become self-reliant by an intense individual intentional relationship with nature (anything that is not"I" - such as art, language, our physical bodies, etc.) Two mistakes:<ul><li>Not paying attention but allowing distractions. </li><li>Seeing ourselves in relation to how we already think about nature. </li></ul> To truly connect with nature, we need our own experiences and interpretations.

How To Become Self-Reliant

Emerson believes that part of coming up with new ideas means coming up with new answers to old questions. Seeing nature in a new light in the absence of old narratives can potentially change how we see everything in our society. Emerson thinks we will then notice many things we would otherwise take for granted.

The Meaning Of Nature

Emerson views nature as:<ul><li>A provider (food and water, raw material)</li><li>A role model. Even when nature seems chaotic and inconsistent from one perspective, but different when viewed from a distance.</li><li>Providing exercise (hiking, swimming)</li><li>Giving medicinal ingredients.</li><li>A holistic process. When studying the macrocosm of nature, we can understand the microcosm of ourselves.</li></ul>

The Purpose Of Nature

Everything that we consider to be a vital part of human life is derived from the process of nature. Yet, we want to believe that we have conquered nature, and we use these narratives to prove our case to ourselves, adding on top to the narratives of the past.  Emerson is saying we should not let the interpretation of others get in the way of creating our own. We should have respect for other people's thoughts and take inspiration, but never start worshipping at their altar. Individuals need to make an effort to reconnect with the natural world.

Creating Your Own Interpretations

<ol><li>Science can provide a certain type of understanding of the natural world, but there are other things science can't do. Science can't measure the personal connection we create with nature through intuition. </li><li>Action. Emerson believes that people prioritise the science derived from nature while ignoring the moral and spiritual experience they get through an actual experience in nature.</li></ol>

Two Different Ways of Studying Nature 

A structuralist thinks we can never escape society's influence. Society gives us narratives we use to navigate the world. Even if every thought is ultimately given to us by society, we can still value being self-aware of the origins of our thinking. An individual can still choose what ideas they want to inspire them.

Thinking For Yourself

Philosophize This!: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org.  Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday   ---------   Today we continue our discussion of Emerson. 

philosophy

Philosophy

podcasts

Podcasts

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature and Other Things | Philosophize This! with Stephen West #165

Content creation is serious business. The <a href="https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/creator-economy-survey-influencer-marketing-150000260.html">industry was worth $13.8 billion in 2021</a> with brands, marketers, and social media platforms reliant on creators to reach critical audiences. Meanwhile, creators themselves have proven they are legitimate entrepreneurs who boast some serious hard skills: photography and video editing, SEO, small business financial management, and contract negotiation.

Content Creation: The Facts

Creators have also brought back into focus some of the “soft skills” that have taken a backseat in recent years.From their uncanny ability to create and nurture communities, to fearlessly exploring new platforms, to courageously showing up as their authentic selves day after day, creators continually demonstrate the value of often overlooked capabilities that we could all use more of, whether or not we’re trying to build a Twitter following.

The Soft Skills Required 

Today, creators have blown the starving artist trope out of the water by proving there’s real value in showcasing what makes you tick. Self-expression—whether it be through storytelling, personal style, music, dance, or even a nerdy obsession with Excel or personal finance—is what makes creators so compelling for the rest of us. Their self-confidence and authenticity in sharing their knowledge and passions is what draws people into the communities that have significant financial and cultural worth.

Fearless Self Expression

Creators bring to live the latest buzzword, resilience, everyday.We all know the potential pitfalls of putting yourself on social media—relentless criticism, trolling, and bullying. It’s not right, but it is reality, and creators face more of it than most. To be successful, creators have to stay laser focused on their goals–building community, showcasing their skills, providing value to their followers–all while setting strong boundaries and tuning out negativity.

Resilience

The thirst to continuously learn is what’s called a <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means">growth mindset</a>, and it’s something that creators have in spades. What most people don’t realize is the amount of trial and error it takes for creators to find their niche, fine-tune their content, and build their brand. It’s work that is never really done, requiring continuous adaptation, a refusal to be intimidated by what they don’t know (yet), and a just-in-time learning style—the resourcefulness to find information they need, when they need it.

Continuous Learning

In a fast-moving world where technology, culture, and the economy can shift literally overnight, the ability and willingness to challenge yourself to learn new skills, share your experience, and see opportunity in obstacles is essential—even if you never aspire to trend on TikTok.

The Bottom Line

Creators have tapped into a key skillset that is increasingly transcending social media platforms.


career

Career

3 ‘creator’ soft skills that can get you hired

While creativity often draws on a deep knowledge base, creative products, by definition, are much more than expert products. This is because creativity must be <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2012.676974">original, meaningful, and surprising</a>. Original in the sense that the creator is rewarded for transcending expertise, and going beyond the standard repertoire. Meaningful in the sense that the creator must satisfy some utility function, or provide a new interpretation. This constantly raises the bar of what is considered useful, and puts immense pressure on creators to find new meanings.

Creativity: The Definition

Creative products must be surprising in that the original and meaningful creative product must be surprising not only to oneself, but to everyone. This is exactly how the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2012.676974">United States Patent Office</a> evaluates new applications. Original and meaningful ideas that could have been created by any expert in the field are considered "obvious" and are therefore unpatentable. Creative products-- such as the discoveries of <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/aca/6/3/243/">Galileo</a> and Leeuwenhoek-- are surprising to everyone, novices and experts alike.

Original, Meaningful and Surprising For Everyone

If only creativity was all about deliberate practice. We could all just practice our way to creative acclaim. But in reality, it's impossible for creators to know completely whether their new idea or product will be well received.Only someone with almost infinite wisdom could figure out that the time is most ripe to conceive an experiment rather than a theory, to write a poem rather than a play, to paint a portrait rather than a landscape, or to compose a symphony rather than an opera.

Creativity Is Often Blind

While expertise is characterized by consistency and reliability, creativity is characterized by many false starts and lots and lots of trial-and-error. If creativity was merely a function of deliberate practice, you would expect that with increasing deliberate practice would come increasing creativity. But that's not what you find when you look at the career trajectories of creators.

Creative People Often Have Messy Processes

When creators put something novel out into the world, the reactions are typically either acclaim or rejection-- not nearly as useful feedback as making a foul shot to audience applause or checking your weight on a scale to see if you're making progress toward your weight goals.The standards for artistic and scientific products are constantly changing. What may be considered a "revolutionary" best-selling book at one moment in time, may be considered utter drivel by future generations. This surely makes it hard to deliberately practice your way to a revolution!

Creators Rarely Receive Helpful Feedback

The idea that it takes 10 years to become a world-class expert in any domain is not a rule. Many composers took less than 10 years and even more took longer than 10 years. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200811/confessions-late-bloomer">Creativity doesn't have an expiration date.</a> Creativity seems to happen when it's ready to happen.

The "10-Year Rule" Is Not a Rule

If we define talent as simply the rate at which a person acquires expertise, then talent undeniably matters for creativity. Some people clearly get more bang for the buck out of a given training regimen. This may be an inconvenient truth, but it does counter the idea that creativity is only about deliberate practice. Expertise acquisition appears to be the least interesting aspect of creativity as creators tend to be in a hurry to learn what exists so that they can go beyond what exists.

Talent Is Relevant to Creative Accomplishment

Not only does the speed of expertise acquisition matter, but so do a whole host of other traits. People differ from one another in a multitude of ways. This includes general and specific cognitive abilities (IQ, spatial ability, verbal reasoning, etc.), personality dispositions, interests, and values. Nevertheless, there do appear to be some traits that are conducive to creativity across domains.

Personality Is Relevant

<a href="http://humancond.org/_media/papers/bouchard04_genetic_influence_psychological_traits.pdf">Modern behavioral genetics</a> has discovered that virtually every single psychological trait-- including the inclination and willingness to practice-- is influenced by innate genetic endowment. This doesn't mean that genes determine our behavior. It just means that genes are relevant influences on our behavior, including our creative behaviors. This doesn't mean that environmental factors are unimportant

Genes Are Relevant

Environmental experiences substantially affect creativity-- including socioeconomic origins, and the sociocultural, political, and economic context in which one is raised. These environmental factors are most likely larger compared to genetic factors. Another hugely important environmental factor for creativity is the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2162-6057.1979.tb00211.x/abstract">availability of role models</a> in one's childhood and adolescent years.

Environmental Experiences Also Matter

While the deliberate practice approach tends to focus on highly specialized training and purposeful techniques designed for improvement within a specific field, creative experts tend to have broader interests and greater versatility compared to their less creative expert colleagues. Rather than a dogged single pursuit of a single research question, the most creative scientists throughout history engaged in "networks of enterprise", where they pursued a large number of loosely related projects.

The Polymath: Creative People Have Broad Interests

The deliberate practice approach assumes that performance is a linear function of practice. While this may be true for many well-defined domains of human achievement, this doesn't appear to be the case for creativity. The relationship between knowledge and creativity is best characterized by an “inverted U-shaped” curve: Some knowledge is good, but <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jlGZAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA157&dq=+Expertise+and+intelligent+thinking:+When+is+it+worse+to+know+better%3F+&ots=itjU5mwQnX&sig=9GCfhmL_lnCJ4j22YvnYXyqWSdQ#v=onepage&q=Expertise%20and%20intelligent%20thinking%3A%20When%20is%20it%20worse%20to%20know%20better%3F&f=false">too much knowledge can impair flexibility</a>. In fact, in some fields such as creative writing, there is an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greatness-Who-Makes-History-Why/dp/0898622018">optimal amount of formal schooling</a>, after which further schooling decreases the likelihood of writing highly creative fiction.

Too Much Expertise Can Be Detrimental to Creative Greatness

If creativity were all about deliberate practice, then outsiders who lack the requisite expertise shouldn't be very creative. But many highly innovative individuals were outsiders to the field in which they contributed.These individuals didn't deliberately practice down an already existing path; they created their own.

Outsiders Often Have a Creative Advantage

The deliberate practice approach is focused on using deliberate problem solving to learn an existing set of rules within a domain. Creative people are not just good at solving problems, however. They are also good at finding problems.

Sometimes the Creator Needs to Create a New Path for Others to Deliberately Practice

Creativity Is Much More Than 10,000 Hours of Deliberate Practice

Divergence and convergence describe the two fundamental stages of the creative process.<ul><li>Divergence refers to opening up your senses and taking in information from the outside world. For example, the start of a new project.</li></ul> <ul><li>Convergence refers to shutting off sources of distraction and narrowing your focus to arrive at an end result. It's about drawing conclusions.</li></ul> Together, these two stages form the backbone of creative work. Using a simple framework can help to purposefully design your environment to support each state of mind.

Divergence and convergence

Divergence and convergence are fundamental to the creative process. <ul><li>Writers diverge by collecting raw material and sketching out potential characters and researching historical facts. They converge by making outlines, laying out plot points, and writing the first draft.</li><li>Engineers diverge by researching possible solutions and testing the boundaries of the problem. They converge by deciding on a particular approach, designing the implementation details, and starting to build.</li></ul> You can use this simple framework to tell you which state of mind you should be in at a particular point of a project.

Know your modes

<ul><li>Stroll through a library or bookstore to see what books draw your attention</li><li>Browse online communities for unusual ideas</li><li>Watch movies or documentaries on provocative topics</li><li>Subscribe to email newsletters, YouTube channels, or podcasts outside your usual listening habits</li><li>Peruse your notes on various topics even if they don’t seem directly related</li><li>Grab a drink or coffee with a friend from another field who might have a different way of looking at a problem you’re facing</li><li>Walk around a new neighbourhood or city and absorb the sights and sounds</li></ul>

Ways to purposefully diverge

<ul><li>Decide on a particular deliverable you will produce by a specific time, then discard any information that’s not strictly necessary</li><li>Set a deadline and promise to deliver a draft to someone who will hold you accountable</li><li>Make an outline with the step-by-step sequence of points you want to cover</li><li>Chunk related tasks within your project into clear groups</li><li>Prioritise your tasks from most to least important</li><li>Give yourself defined periods to make progress</li><li>Stop researching and focus on summarising your current notes.</li></ul>

Ways you can purposefully converge

No creative work is ever truly finished. A final product or deliverable doesn't mean it is the end. It's just one iteration. The final product of one round of convergence can be used to gather outside feedback as a starting point for the next round of divergence.

End with the beginning in mind

How do we know when it’s time to stop taking in new information and start putting it to use? In this short article, I will show you how.

productivity

Productivity

Divergence and Convergence: The Two Fundamental Stages of the Creative Process

There is no god, no nation, no money, no human rights, no law and no justice, outside the common imagination of human beings.

New York Times Bestseller A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become? Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

New York Times BestsellerA Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli public intellectual, historian and professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of the popular science bestsellers Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

Yuval Noah Harari

Sapiens

Good ideas develop slowly over time. They start out as rough ideas that have bits of greatness, but lack pieces to the puzzle. The key is to keep them alive in writing and develop them as you make sense of more things.Commonplace books are an early example of a system where people developed ideas over time. They involved transcribing interesting ideas from the books and articles they were reading.

Slow hunches

If you go back and look at all sorts of innovations throughout history, the lightbulb moment almost never really exists. It’s almost always this long process where somebody has a fragment of an idea and it sits in their head for a year, or two years, or ten years before it turns into something really useful.

The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the table.

This idea is similar to mind gardening. It's about articulating your thoughts and developing them as you expose yourself to new ideas. I use Evernote for developing them and Deepstash for a constant supply of ideas

Short read about the slow hunch — ideas that need a long time to develop and incubate — from Steven Johnson, author of the book Where Good Ideas Come From

writing

Reading & Writing

What is the Slow Hunch? (Steven Johnson)

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