The titular question was posed on Quora, and one rich person, who claims to have made $15M after selling a tech startup offers a surprisingly nuanced and insightful answer: “Being rich is better than not being rich, but it’s not nearly as good as you imagine it is.” Other rich responders were less enthusiastic. Another […]
Fake Wisdom
When I first started writing, I used to get “false agreement”. This is when a comment claims to agree with everything you’re saying, but reveals that they actually believe the opposite in the substance of their message. I used to blame this on reader illiteracy, but it was likely my failing as a writer. But […]
How to Lead an Interesting Life and Still Get Stuff Done
Is it possible to spend your life having adventures, but still make meaningful accomplishments? The answer to this question matters to me because, like many of you, I’d like to have both. The challenge is that most advice-givers put the two in either-or categories. Being good requires focus, perhaps decades of it. The world tends […]
Healthy Delusions?
Is some amount of self-delusion a good thing? I used to believe seeing the world more accurately was always a good thing. After all, even positive delusions must at some point brush against the rough surface of reality. Now I’m not so sure. Depressive realism is a phenomenon where, in some cases, depressed patients can […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.