Today's topic attempts to crack the code of how so many conversations can get sidewise despite our intent. We’ll look at how some people respond in ways that just seem out of sync with the topic. Then we’ll flip the focus back on ourselves to see when we might be guilty of the same thing. It’s a dive into psychology and how we interpret things.

Today's topic is a twist on a challenge I’ve faced in the Autonomy / AI world for half a decade. It’s based on the No True Scotsman Fallacy and is a continuous shift of the goalposts as systems get smarter. We’ll also tie back into some of our previous looks at the opposite reaction where we claim AI is already cognizant and self-aware. In doing so, we can hopefully avoid two of the major logical pitfalls around our emerging technology.

A Call to Action

Today's topic addresses one of the more frustrating retorts I sometimes get on social media. “Never trust someone who claims to be a polymath.” To be fair, the title of Polymath is one we bestow on some of the intellectual greats from the past and it does seem a little hubristic to claim myself among those ranks. Yet this essay will delve into how I don’t think any of us should claim we’ve reached the status of Polymath but instead, aspire to what a Polymath is and adopt the philosophies and thought processes that make this aspiration so powerful.

Today's topic focuses on an odd behavior we have as humans where we are incredibly picky about providing money to those in need while not thinking twice about overpaying for indulgent, and largely unnecessary surplus. We hold back on paying fair prices to some while forking over crazy money for a Tesla that makes Elon Musk one of the richest men in the world.

Today's topic dives straight into something many would like to overlook: Beauty. The problem is we might like to overlook it but we look at it all the time. And we judge it. We’ll have the difficult conversation about what ‘looking good’ means and then attempt to unpack so much more of the implications and deep-rooted attraction we have to good looks. Hang on for an interesting ride as we look into a mirror of the paradox of beauty.

Today's topic highlights the power of an analytical concept called Exegesis. It’s an amazing tool to help shift perspective and demonstrates how digging a little deeper can illuminate something really interesting and profound that people are largely ignorant of. It’s a bit of a deep dive into an esoteric religious topic but one that highlights the criticality of analysis. Furthermore, if we’re successful for a topic like this, we can do it for any topic and thereby challenge our assumptions.

Today's topic expands on a concept known as Antifragility and how, without trauma, antifragile systems cannot get better with time. The challenge is that the human body and brain are naturally antifragile and so pathologizing most of what we might call life deprives us of the very stimulus we need to grow stronger and unlock our full potential as human beings.

Today's topic introduces the concept of composability in design and connects the popular Lego model to both what is so good about composability and modularity as well as how we can lose focus over time. Simply put, composability is a method by which modular parts can be combined and recombined from one design to another. It’s a powerful capability in both physical design and Polymathic thinking as we do the same thing with information in forming, unforming, and reforming ideas.

Today's topic pushes back on the problematic trope of “Knowledge is Power.” We’ll explore a couple of examples of the terrible behaviors and gatekeeping that occur when people follow this mantra. Then we’ll unlock the true power that leverages humanity’s superpower as social learners so that we all can continue to grow.