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The Myth and Magic of Generating New Ideas
Don't overthink
The first phase of solving can be described as “worrying” about a problem or idea. It evokes anxiety and gives the impression of productivity.
But, overthinking can lead to a dead end. The key to solving the problem is to take a break from worrying. Focus your attention on some other activity. Take a long hike or a long drive, to give your mind the space to have a good idea.
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13
Key Ideas
Early History
The connection between genius and possible insanity was first documented in 1891 in the Italian physicians’ book The Man Of Genius.
In 1869, this was taken up by the cousin of Charles Darwi...
Genius and Heredity
In a 1904 study by English physician Havelock Ellis, a list was made of 1030 individuals through extensive research, examining thoroughly the intellectual distinction people had by the various factors like heredity, general health, and social class.
These works established that genius minds are often hereditary.
Genetic Studies Of Genius
A body of work of Stanford psychologist Lewis M. Terman, was an in-depth multi-decade study of gifted individuals, and an attempt to improve the measurement of genius and its association with the degradation of mental stability. This also included an enhanced version of the French IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test.
Learning rate and limits to learning
Some people take longer to develop the relevant building-block insights to progress in deep subjects like math. The ability to acquire understanding may vary from person to person....
The learning barrier
An explanation for learning difficulty is that our motivation, moods, and interest play a large role in how difficult it is to keep learning math.
We have a psychological need for autonomy (doing maths because you want to), competence (you feel capable), and relatedness (your teacher or peers may praise you). Any behaviors that worsen these needs will demotivate you to learn.
Learning engagement and the need for rewards
The better we get at some things, the more we want to do it. Conversely, the worse we fare in other domains, the less we want to work at it.
If we see our engagement as a way of getting rewards (money, respect, achievement, or just fun) for the time we invest, it can create a trap. The better you get at some things, the narrower your set of interests and hobbies may become.
12
Key Ideas
Insights of Albert Einstein
Many insights of Albert Einstein are now part of popular imagination: black holes, time warps, and wormholes show up in movies and books.
Less famous, but probably the most revolutionary pa...
Some changes don't change anything
The most fundamental aspects of nature stay the same.
For example, Einstein's papers on relativity show that the relationship between energy and mass is invariant, even though energy and mass can take on many different forms.
Even though matter produces energy, the energy-matter content of the universe never changes. Matter and energy are less fundamental than the underlying relationship between them.
Relationships over things
We often think of things as the heart of reality. But most often the relationship is more important, not the stuff.
We may think "stuff" like space and time are unchangeable aspects of nature. In reality, the relationship between space and time stays the same.