Are you cultivating your curiosity? — Albert Einstein, the man who has become a synonym for “genius”, realized the power of wonder, and the desire to know and understand. In a piece from Life magazine titled “An Old Man’s Advice To Youth”, he had this to say: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity…

A short summary of my cognitive biases framework. — I am pretty sure it has happened to you before. You have probably argued with someone whose position did not make sense. Instead of backing it up with facts, this person ended up just spouting the same slogans, over and over again in a never ending circle. “We were always…

History speaks of great dangers stemming from rabble-rousers. — Thomas Macaulay, 19th century British historian and politician, was a very shrewd political observer. Based on years of experience, he issued a very stern warning. It was against one specific type of political operator: the demagogue. “In every age the vilest specimens of human nature are to be found among…

A modern parable about achieving all the goals you set out for yourself. — Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a wise and renowned farmer named Jacob. Jacob was known for his exceptional agricultural skills and the abundance of crops he harvested year after year. People from neighboring villages would seek his guidance and advice on farming techniques. One day…

Marina Abramovic’s “Rhythm 0” and the limits of empathy. — Naples, Italy. 1974. Picture a Mediterranean evening. You enter a room. In front of you stands a woman. A thought pops up — “how strange”. Looking to the side, you notice a table. On it, the woman had placed 72 different objects, including a rose, feather, grapes, scissors, a scalpel…

Did you know about any of these events? — History is awesome. It’s a teacher, but also a warning sign. Above all, it’s full of surprises. Sometimes new evidence changes our view of it. However, sometimes it contains facts which are known. It’s just that most people don’t know about them. Below I give you five historical events that…

Leon Frederic’s artwork reflects painful everyday reality. — “I don’t care for the great centuries. All I care about is life, struggle, intensity.” — Emile Zola Emile Zola was a 19th-century French author, renowned for writing in a “naturalistic” style. His novels depicted the nitty-gritty details of everyday life, warts and all. He rejected the Romantic themes of…

Can we find history in myths and legends? — In the prologue to the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, you can hear the elf Galadriel recite an incredibly powerful line: “Some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth.” While this passage refers to how knowledge…

The views of a few select people influence what you see and do. — In ancient Egyptian mythology, the way to the underworld was dotted by a series of gates. Each was guarded by its own gatekeeper. When a person died, they had to undergo a journey through all these gates, to be judged at each, and every one of them. The fate of…