Intelligence x Persistence = Einstein ??

image: Matt Cherubino

Assuming we’re not in a simulation (thanks Vox for actually explaining it), we are in an exceptional time to be alive that can often muddy the minds of most people.

Identity politics has nearly overtaken religion in the race for dogma; Chinese researchers recently edited the genome of a human; neuroprosthesis is less than a decade away from being commonplace; and Elon Musk will hopefully be sending people to colonise Mars in only seven years.

More often than not, we get setbacks with the frustrations of morons, backward folks and anyone who thinks they “know what they’re doing” on this giant convertible flying through space (aka Earth).

The reality is, you have a 1 in a 400 trillion chance of being born (it’s actually probably far less), and for that, the late George Carlin says you have a front row to the freak show. So get on with it, live your life, and enjoy it while you can.

In the meantime, here’s some juicy morsels to make it all a bit more bearable.

As ever, hit reply and let us know what you think of this week’s morsels.

Intelligence x Persistence = Einstein

It’s assumed that persistence, not genius, is the reason we know Einstein’s name.

Having read his biography and learnt about his early work where he created the thought experiment for E=mc2 at the Swiss Patent Office, this seems like a very rational position. Even after that period, he was consistently turned down for roles in universities because there was supposedly no work for his skills.

Maybe it was because he was a Jewish man growing up in 1920s/30s Europe (a historically brutal time for Jews) or perhaps it was the spare time available to him initially at the patent office. Either way, this is a man that changed our perspective on physics and its relativity to the world. Do yourself a favour and get a history lesson on what good old grit can do for you.

image: PBS.org

Winning the War of Ideas

This Muslim ban is certainly irrational. I wouldn’t ordinarily try to engage on these topics, but it seems this bug for irrationality is making its way down-under to Australia. So here are my two cents, which are closely aligned with Sam Harris’.

The more that the far right continue to perpetuate an inhumane policy to a large percentage of the world, the more it actually works in the favour of Jihadists in perpetuating an idea of the West wanting to fight all Muslims - regardless of their extremism or not. All you have to do is see the ISIS propaganda that came out during the week of the ban, to understand how much free marketing that has been gifted to them.

On the other side of the coin, the more that the far left continue to point fingers at the right by labelling them bigots, they also become a part of the problem by distracting from the issue at large. It also indirectly excuses the actions of the Jihadists, as their focus is on all Muslims, while too scared to admit that some may be extremist. Worryingly, these very liberals, are also indirectly excusing misogyny, homophobia and sexism - the very values they would otherwise be outright fighting against.

It’s time to win the war of ideas, and provocatively as it has been taken in the U.S., Sam Harris & Bill Maher discussed concrete steps to changing this situation for the better of everyone. For what it’s worth, more Muslims are killed by other Muslims through sectarian violence every year. It’s time the West started propping up reformists and liberal governments in the Muslim world, and removing any association with regimes moving forward. But unfortunately I don’t think that’s going to happen when we’re still ultimately dependent on oil. Unsurprisingly, the ban doesn’t even include oil haven Saudi Arabia.

If you happen to be offended by all of it, perhaps you should examine why.

Master these skills to be more productive

Recently we posted a video from Ted-ED about how stress makes your brain smaller, passing on your inability to deal with stress to your offspring and greatly impacting your life and health span.

So how can you combat stress? Exercise and meditation are known to be the key pair.

One of the greatest personal discoveries that I believe has given me an advantage in recovery and workload, is almost certainly meditation. Most people exercise, but not many meditate. It’s probably the difference between being successful versus feeling successful, as Tim Ferriss discusses in his recent book Tools of Titans.

If you don’t know where to start, try here.

Which morsel was your favourite? What lessons do you want more or less of?

Let us know!

Just send a tweet to @Neuralle and put #MondayMorsels in there so we can find it.

Happy reading,

Jordan & team @ neuralle.com

Neuralle develops Human Intelligence (H.I). Human Intelligence is a growing field that uses Brain Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Biotech to improve our mind (software), body (hardware) and life.

The world’s greatest view their lives as entirely malleable

They show that what you’re born with isn’t fixed, but able to engineered over your lifetime — like your own personal computer.

To further Human Intelligence we curate a blog and host a podcast.

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