In this episode, David explores why modern life feels so complicated, how our quest for optimisation can make us fragile, and what it means to rediscover simplicity and practical wisdom. Through personal anecdotes, historical stories, and philosophical insights, David unpacks the hidden costs of complexity and offers a path back to clarity.

Key Topics & Timestamps:

[0:00] Introduction: The Complexity of Modern Life
Why life feels more complicated than ever, and how simple acts become complex puzzles.
[1:30] The Running Metaphor
How tracking and optimising a simple run can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction.
[2:40] The Age of Hyper-Optimisation
From fitness trackers to gene-editing startups—how technology fuels our obsession with control.
[4:00] The Challenger Disaster & Normal Accident Theory
The story of the 1986 Challenger explosion as a lesson in how complexity creates fragility.
[6:50] Why We Choose Complexity
The illusion of control and the quest for a sophisticated identity.
[8:10] Gnosticism, Biohacking, and Status
How secret knowledge and complex routines become modern status symbols.
[10:00] Losing Sight of the Telos
When metrics and routines overshadow our true goals and desires.
[12:00] The Art of Effortless Mastery (Spezzatura)
Lessons from the Renaissance and modern culture’s obsession with visible effort.
[14:00] Escaping the Trap: Practical Wisdom & Heuristics
The OODA loop, the limits of data, and why simple rules often outperform complex systems.
[19:00] Final Thoughts & Call to Action
Reconnecting with your ultimate aims, favouring heuristics over algorithms, and living with practical wisdom.

Notable Quotes:

“Complexity creates fragility.”
“We are drowning in data and routines and starving for practical wisdom.”
“The map becomes more important than the destination.”
“Simple heuristics often outperform complex algorithms.”

Resources & Mentions:

Richard Feynman & the Challenger disaster
Charles Perrow’s Normal Accident Theory
Epictetus and Stoic philosophy
Gnosticism and the pursuit of secret knowledge
Bryan Johnson and the biohacking movement
The OODA loop (John Boyd)
Gerd Gigerenzer on heuristics
Book: Food Rules by Michael Pollan

👨🏾‍💻 About David Elikwu:

David Elikwu FRSA is a serial entrepreneur, strategist, and writer. David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform helping people think deeper and work smarter.

📖 My Book: Sovereign by David Elikwu https://becomesovereign.com

🐣 Twitter: @Delikwu / @itstheknowledge

🌐 Website: https://www.davidelikwu.com

📽️ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/davidelikwu

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delikwu/

🕺 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@delikwu

🎙️ Podcast: http://plnk.to/theknowledge

My Online Course

🖥️ Decision Hacker: http://www.decisionhacker.io/

Decision Hacker will help you hack your default patterns and become an intentional architect of your life. You’ll learn everything you need to transform your decisions, your habits, and your outcomes.

The Knowledge

📩 Newsletter: https://theknowledge.io

The Knowledge is a weekly newsletter for people who want to get more out of life. It's full of insights from psychology, philosophy, productivity, and business, all designed to make you more productive, creative, and decisive.

My Favourite Tools

🎞️ Descript: https://bit.ly/descript-de

📨 Convertkit: https://bit.ly/convertkit-de

🔰 NordVPN: https://bit.ly/nordvpn-de

💹 Nutmeg: http://bit.ly/nutmegde

🎧 Audible: https://bit.ly/audiblede

Enjoyed the episode?

Subscribe, share, and leave a review!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/theknowledge/donations

#210 Read Church History, Cease To Be Protestant - Joe Heschmeyer

Shameless Popery

Intro

The AI-powered Podcast Player