Sam: I laugh at the stupid Prophecizers who are so certain of technological Singularity, for ex: Kurzweil. He is a fraud or worst, an inductivist idiot. Just plot a line of past progresses against time, and extend that “exponential” line to the future. …

Decisions are the function of one's beliefs. Beliefs are what you know about how reality works. Enough incorrect beliefs and you will make terrible decisions. …

I am an avid fan of nature and I have observed that among things that live on land, almost everything has a neck. But why? A neck is such a liability. Predators always go for the neck. The neck makes animals so easy to kill. Lions, tigers, and leopards all…

Why do we fear the darkness of the night? Why are there horror stories about dense forests? Why we should never jump into unknown waters? Why we should not catch a running thief? I will answer one by one. Night means we see very little. But there are animals out…

Coming from the Thalesian school, I know only one definition of rational. If an action aids in survival of an individual it’s rational. In the realms of beliefs there is no rationality. The likes of Richard Dawkins might argue otherwise, but they have no substance beneath their claims. …

Asymmetries are like signals, once you start seeing asymmetries, you cannot unsee them. To show what I mean let me cite a few grandmother-wisdoms I heard growing up. 1) Never walk with your hands in your pockets: Imagine you have your hands warm and cozy, inside your pockets, and one…

First Principles Thinking is a concept simple in theory. It can be easily summarized as “Five Whys”. You just have to ask five whys, unti you reach some unquestionable fact. That’s it. But as simple as it sounds in theory, it’s equally hard in practice. …

Thinking well is a prerequisite to living well. Thoughts can be sterile or fertile. Sterile thoughts are the ones on which you do not bet anything. Fertile thoughts lead to actions. Your thoughts about the stock market are fertile only if you also put your money where your mouth(thoughts in…

Why “Safe” is not safe? (this is NN Taleb inspired, any flaws in this article are not his but mine, anything good in this article is not mine but his.) “Short exposure to extreme cold and heat is good for you”, I said. “But why?” my friend asked. Despite trying…