It's Getting Easier To Be Dumb
Which means its also easier to be smart
“It is disgraceful that a man who is old or in sight of old age should have a wisdom deriving solely from his notebook. ‘Zeno said this.’ And what have you said?” (Seneca, Letter XXXIII)
We’re at the beginning of an age of limitless access to information.
Google gave us access to other people’s general information they created or repurposed. For example, an article on the top 7 places to go on your trip to Montreal.
AI is giving us access to all that information organized in any way we want. For instance, instead of reading someone else’s article on Montreal, you can tell an AI what you like to do and it will give you a personalized Montreal itinerary.
Now with both those technologies growing, soon information itself will be an obvious commodity. So what does this mean for us?
The ability to critically think will be more valuable than ever. By that I mean the ability to consider multiple perspectives, find the root cause of an issue and curate information. This requires knowledge much deeper than the surface. It requires the knowledge you’ll always need to work for.
“There is a sequence about the creative process, and a work of genius is a synthesis of its individual features from which nothing can be subtracted without disaster.” (Seneca, Letter XXXIII)
Understanding and studying the undeniable geniuses of history in their completeness. That is building true perspectives. More people will quote the greats in their writing, but less will appreciate and understand how all their writings, speeches and actions come together to create the genius’s insights.
One line does not make the genius. The genius is everything he’s done and said and nothing less. Studying the greatest minds of history will become the rare skill. When AI can synthesize their life into three bullets, less people will take the long road of reading each passage and pushing their own minds. And that is where the value will be.
Question of The Day
Who is a genius in history who’s wisdom amazes you? How much of their work do you have left to learn?
Now go find a genius to study. And then another. And another.
Your Friend,
Noah “BigNerd” Sochaczevski
“I tell you that it is the sign of an overnice appetite to toy with many dishes; for when they are manifold and varied, they cloy but do not nourish. So you should always read standard authors; and when you crave a change, fall back upon those whom you read before.”