Before jumping in- just want to say thank you to the regular readers and subscribers. I see you and appreciate you 😀 ! Also, welcome to the 4 new subscribers that have joined us 🥳 .
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What I am thinking about 🤔
I recently shared my thoughts on how intelligence is overrated. A core conclusion from that train of thought was that we should broaden our definition of intelligence and not limit it to logical reasoning.
This narrow definition makes us underappreciate and even underutilize other equally important bits of intelligence.
When we fixate on intelligence, we also tend to underestimate other more valuable traits such as passion, determination, discipline and good decision-making.
Intelligence helps but not all the time.
For instance, sharp logical reasoning is only a strong advantage in environments that have clearly defined problems i.e. questions that have clear and replicable answers.
Environments such as math tests, chess games and puzzles are well defined.
But… life is largely undefined.
“Life ain’t chess! Nobody agrees on the rules, the pieces do whatever they want, and the board covers the whole globe, as well as the inside of your head and possibly several metaphysical planes as well.”
Life demands a lot from us. It requires us to be adaptive while also being focused.
When you try to hack life with cleverness only, it can get frustrating. This is where other types of intelligence come in. The ability to tackle existential questions, communicate or even make great music to dampen our sorrows is very valuable.
I think it's important that we have more conversations on the different types of intelligence. It could potentially prompt us to identify our strengths and motivate us to harness them. It could also make life more figureoutable (yes, I made the word!).
What I am listening to 🎧
DJ Wanjiks Playlist: Volume II
In case you missed it, I recently launched my self-proclaimed DJ career after sharing my playlist and being gassed up for days.
To be honest, I really wasn’t sure whether I was serious when I boldly made that announcement. I luckily got an opportunity to attend a DJ class and I am now more excited to pursue this path (both seriously and non-seriously- kind of like this newsletter).
Re-introducing…
I have personally tried and tested this playlist with around 5 dancing sessions. Most of the songs are now on constant repeat. There is lots of Afrobeat, some Drill and a dash of Amapiano. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I love poker… but in theory. I don’t even understand the rules of the game and I’m not mildly interested in learning them. It’s the high-level poker concepts that get me. I enjoy the game theory of the sport and how you can draw a lot of insights on decision-making in uncertain environments (aka life).
In this podcast, Liv gives a very interesting account of her life philosophies as an award-winning poker player and science educator. I found it very fascinating. I especially enjoyed the part where she talks about the surreal experiences that made her reconsider her strong atheist views.
Audiobook: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr
This was a recommendation from a good friend whose recommendations always hit home (shout out to you! you know yourself). It’s so eye-opening and also relieving to know that good storytelling relies on understanding the human condition.
I spend a lot of time thinking about, researching and even writing about this human experience thing. It’s nice to know that I have been unknowingly doing my homework.
What I am reading 📚
Blog post/Newsletter: Building the Builders- The quest of psychological perfection by Dr Gena Gorlin
It took me a while to admit that I struggle with perfectionism but when I made this admission, I felt like I went overboard on the “be-kind-to-yourself-and-just-chill” vibes. Dr Gena has a whole framework to explain this experience. Better yet, she offers a solution.
She talks about a builder’s mindset- where you focus on self-determining what you want to build and relentlessly pursuing it. This is usually in defiance of societal standards and expectations. By adopting a builder mindset, you define a personal vision of what it means to do the work.
It’s such beautiful writing. The philosophy really strikes a cord. It reminds me of Agnes Callard’s philosophy on aspiration.
Blog post/Newsletter: Do data-driven companies actually win? by Benn Stancil
This is a surprisingly funny post. Benn is a data science team lead at an analytics company so he breathes and lives data. His take on gaining a competitive advantage as a data-driven company is really refreshing. The dude is a great storyteller.
If you are intrigued by data I’d highly recommend this read.
Book: Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta
Sefi Atta is my favourite fiction writer. Hands down! It’s a huge proclamation but I’ll say it with my chest.
Everything Good Will Come is a funny, dramatic, authentically African and completely non-cliche novel. When I grow up, I want to write like Sefi.
What I am watching 💻
This is quite a grim story about the public exposure of child molestation in the Catholic Church. I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie because the storyline focused on portraying what good investigative journalism looks like. It also showed a really great work environment with psychological safety, decisive leadership and dedication to excellence.
The movie beautifully captures the mundane grunt work that leads up to the important breaking story. It portrays what it means to be courageous in the pursuit of truth.
Mahalia was such a soul-filling movie. Danielle Brooks has a beautiful voice and I was moved by the story 😢.
Quote I am pondering💭
“If you’re thinking without writing, you only think you’re thinking.”
— Leslie Lamport
Borrowed from Farnam Street Sunday Newsletter