Timeless Ideas | April 25, 2021
Here’s your weekly dose of timeless ideas to sharpen your mind, make smarter decisions, and live better.
Quotes
I.
What you fear is that which requires action to overcome.
― Byron Pulsifer
II.
I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.
― Albert Einstein
III.
If you don't get what you want, it's a sign either that you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price.
― Rudyard Kipling
Ideas
I.
If you believe a truck is coming toward you, you will jump out of the way. That is belief in the reality of the truck. If you tell people you fear the truck but do nothing to get out of the way, that is not belief in the truck. Likewise, it is not belief to say God exists and then continue sinning and hoarding your wealth while innocent people die of starvation. When belief does not control your most important decisions, it is not belief in the underlying reality, it is belief in the usefulness of believing.
Scott Adams in God's Debris: A Thought Experiment
II.
Built into the very structure of the egoic self is a need to oppose, resist, and exclude to maintain the sense of separateness on which its continued survival depends. So there is “me” against the “other,” “us” against “them.” The ego needs to be in conflict with something or someone. That explains why you are looking for peace and joy and love but cannot tolerate them for very long. You say you want happiness but are addicted to your unhappiness. Your unhappiness ultimately arises not from the circumstances of your life but from the conditioning of your mind.
Eckhart Tolle in Stillness Speaks
III.
Practicing silence means making a commitment to take a certain amount of time to simply Be. Experiencing silence means periodically withdrawing from the activity of speech. It also means periodically withdrawing from such activities as watching television, listening to the radio, or reading a book. If you never give yourself the opportunity to experience silence, this creates turbulence in your internal dialogue.
Deepak Chopra in The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams
Articles Worth Reading
I.
Before You Answer, Consider the Opposite Possibility
Ian Leslie | The Atlantic
Whether we’re captains of industry or just of our own ship, we are all smarter when we have a more diverse inner crowd, which we can achieve by cultivating a cognitively diverse outer crowd. But that involves engaging with people we disagree with, an activity that, in truth, most people do not do naturally.
II.
Catalin Barboianu | Aeon
The cognitive distortions associated with gambling are a relevant example of such ‘sensitive’ truths. What’s remarkable is that fighting them reveals something about both the nature of mathematics and the nature of human understanding – and that knowing when not to trust mathematics is as crucial as knowing when to trust it.
III.
Ivar Fahsing | Psyche
A criminal investigation is a complex, multifaceted problem-solving challenge. Detectives must make critical decisions rapidly – sometimes involving life and death, based on limited information in a dynamic environment of active and still-evolving events. Detectives are responsible and empowered under the law to make judgment calls that will dramatically affect the lives of those involved. The stakes are high, the settings are ugly, and there’s no room for error. The best detectives seem to have almost supernatural insight, but their cognitive toolkit is one that anybody can use.
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