How to Be a Smart Person

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

I remember myself as a teenager where the most important thing to me was to be thought of as smart. And so I've noticed recently that I was getting comfortable when people tell me I'm smart. Do you think it's just because you built up confidence over time so you no longer feel like you need to show it? You don't really worry that people are endowed in or what? Yeah, I guess it's going to come from both sides. Maybe just like hearing that I'm smart a lot or actually having some achievements or maybe just confidence with time.

Read the full transcript here.

What's the best way to teach rationality? How do you communicate rationalist principles to people who aren't already interested in thinking more clearly? What has COVID taught us about how people typically make decisions and think about problems? Where and how can the rationalist community improve? Does rationalism have anything to say about (for example) exercise, spirituality, art, or other parts of the human experience that aren't typically addressed by rationalists? What are some positive aspects of social media (especially Twitter)? What's going on with recent dating trends? Has dating gotten harder in recent years? How many people does it take to make a pencil? Is there a case to be made for anti-antinatalism?

Jacob is the only rationalist with an MBA. He writes Putanumonit.com and is famous for bringing the idea of decision matrices to the pages of the Economist and the New York Times. Jacob is Russian-Israeli and is currently living in Brooklyn with his wife and two guinea pigs. Follow him on Twitter at @yashkaf.

Further reading:

Staff