March 29, 2007 at 3:16 am (Development, Genius)
The quintessential definition of “genius” usually includes something about being incredibly good and knowledgeable in a certain subject. Indeed, based on the idea that genius is related to work rather than brains, it seems that if one works long enough in a certain subject, one can develop a focused genius in that area. This is not what I want to do. My interests are too broad to allow me to focus solely on one subject. Instead of becoming a focused genius in a single, vertical, field of knowledge, I want to become a genius in all areas.
To clarify, I do not realistically believe I can be recognized as a genius in many different fields. Rather, I would like to attain the kind of intelligence that is a genius at combining the many aspects and professions of life to create something new and exciting. I call this type of genius “lateral genius,” and it is my developmental goal in life.
Achieving Lateral Genius
Well, I’m not really sure, I haven’t reached that point yet. It seems to me though, that the best way to become a genius at integrating life is, as in all things, practice. Simply, every thought, idea, or piece of knowledge that enters my mind should be integrated with as many other aspects of thought as is possible. As time goes on, this skill of integration will progress to the point where every piece of knowledge becomes a part of a fully connected mind.
Example
Differential equations deal with relating the rate of change of a quantity to the amount of the quantity present. In a drawing, the rate at which I change from one color to the next is related to the amount of that color already on the page. Detective Sam Shady notices that the rate of the latest string of murders is increasing based on the number of deaths that have already taken place. Obviously the killer is growing bolder, but now Detective Shady is able to predict quite accurately the times of the next few deaths as a function of the previous murders.
The preceeding paragraph contains a random train of though relating to differential equations. The key point is to take a skill or piece of knowledge and apply it to as many different situations as possible. Practicing this one skill constantly will yield interesting and seemingly spontaneous insights that would not be apparent to other observers. Such a flash of inspiration is wonderful to experience and may be called… a flash of genius.
Other Reading
These posts helped stimulate and clarify my thinking.
How to Live a Rich Life Portfolio of Passions [Life Optimizer] – Maintaining many different interests in harmony.
How to Ace Your Finals Without Studying [Scott H Young] – Combining and integrating your knowledge.
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March 28, 2007 at 6:36 pm (Body, OutsideTheBox, Walking)
It is strange how afraid of glass we all are? Ask a person to take walk around barefoot for a while and their first and strongest response will be “What about the glass?” This view seems to suggest that we are all walking through a sea of sharp objects, with only our tough shoes separating us from certain laceration. In fact, there are distinct advantages to going barefoot wherever possible.
Sensory Increase
Try taking a walk and exploring your surroundings with every sense possible. Feel the wind on your face, breath in the scents of your surroundings, notice tiny details of your environment, and hear the many sounds flowing past you. Such walks can be stimulating and invigorating. Yet, there is an entire area of sensory perception that one still misses out on on such excursions.
Your feet are marvelously sensitive. They can feel slight changes in the texture, elevation, or temperature of the ground below you. Try closing your eyes and concentrate on just feeling the world entirely through your feet. You will discover a whole range of feelings and sensations normally buffered by your shoes.
Posture and Strength
Walking barefoot can increase your foot strength and help counteract ailments such as flat feet, plantar fasciitis, or fallen arches. The style of walking one naturally assumes while barefoot can also lessen the impact your skeletal frame takes on every footfall, thereby placing less strain on your body.
But What About Glass and Old Needles?
How often do you really step on glass or other sharp objects in the course of your day? I’m willing to bet it’s a lot less than you’d think. As for the rare patches of prickly objects you do encounter, it is quite easy to notice such patches before hand and navigate around them. In fact, walking barefoot forces you to be more cognizant of your surroundings – never a bad thing.
As a final note, your feet are probably hyper-sensitive due to their long incarceration in the confines of a shoe. At first, walking barefoot may be a tiny bit painful, but your feet will soon learn to adapt – ultimately yielding a stronger more capable foot.
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March 28, 2007 at 5:07 am (Brain, Learning, Memory, Writing)
Part of the inspiration for this blog came from a wonderful series of slides published by Michael Covington. In his presentation, Michael talks about the interconnectedness of writing, thinking, and learning. A central point of his talk is the idea that writing provides a vehicle for clarifying and condensing ones thoughts. I would like to expand on this with several additional methods of thinking and laying out ones thoughts.
Mind Maps
In a mind map, one relates concepts and thoughts to each other in a giant interconnected web. Rather than write everything in a purely linear fashion, a mind map takes advantage of the massively parallel nature of the brain. Mind maps are an excellent tool for learning, thinking, and memorizing and are discussed in depth all over the internet.
Drawings, Visual Representations, and Abstract Thought
An aspect of the mind that has been less widely considered is the vehicle the right side of your brain uses to convey information. Sequential actions such as writing are primarily a domain of the your brain’s left hemisphere. Even mind mapping, which is of a less sequential nature than “regular” writing, still uses language (a sequential/serial construct) and thus is heavily dependant on your brain’s left hemisphere. What then, can one use to plumb the depths of thought and insight generated in the right half of your brain?
One method is to take advantage of the heavily visual nature of your right brain and construct a series of images defining your thought or problem. If it helps, you can draw diagrams or pictures to represent aspects of your thoughts. If you do this, try to include as little actual text as possible. Instead, represent concepts as symbols or pictures in your mind. Play with the pictures and try to combine them in as many ways as you can. Oftentimes a concept can be expressed far more eloquently and succinctly as a collection of related images than as words on a page. To use a famous example, Einstein described a “deep thought experiment” he used as picturing himself flying along on a beam of light through the universe. The view he gained from that beam allowed him to come up with the theory of relativity.
Combining Techniques
As in all things, using exclusively one technique is never a good thing. To fully engage your brain and explore all aspects of a thought or idea, try every way you can think of to express the idea. Write about it, make a mind map, draw a picture, build a simulation out of household objects. At the very least the multiple forms of expression will ensure the concept becomes fully embedded in your long term memory. You may also discover that looking and thinking about the problem through a different lense opens up new avenues of thought not previously considered.
Example
While each visual “Brain Map” contains thoughts and queues unique to the thinker, I have provided a sample visual representation of this post below. See if you can catch the infinite bit.
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March 28, 2007 at 4:18 am (Uncategorized)
This blog is about my new and overarching life goal to become a genius. While there is much debate on the subject, this article most clearly illustrates the point that with hard word, dedication, and persistence almost anyone can achieve the level of genius in a subject.
The catch is that I do not know which specific topic or area I wish to attain mastery in. I am interested in a great many things, and to limit myself to the dedicated study of only one field would seem to fall short of the capabilities I believe I (or anyone) have. Thus, I am going to try to become exceptionally competent at everything. I will not achieve mastery in everything, but even if I attain high levels of skill in only a few areas, it will have been worth it. If I attain full, complete, and deep mastery of only topic, I will have fulfilled my goal.
I fully recognize that this quest might take me many years or decades even. Yet I believe it to be a goal where the journey is more important than the end result. Achieving an exceptionally high level of mastery in anything can be lifelong quest. That quest starts now.
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