If you're an imperfect human like me, you'd know intelligence is our only chance to walk together with AI.
It's the best time to reflect and learn from the smartest human minds in history.
In today’s issue, we’ll explore:
How I messed up in the pursuit of intelligence (+ what I learned)
The top secret behind the most intelligent minds in history
A little story on how kids can be the best advisors
Unpopular ways to build your intelligence muscles
Let’s dive right into it.
What is NOT intelligence
In the last decade, I held the belief that intelligence was something to be ambitiously pursued. I used to believe that being perfect at everything was the way to be intelligent.
I strived to:
Write the perfect post
Create the perfect brand
Launch the perfect website
But after misunderstanding it for a long time, I realized that perfect is not intelligent.
For me, it was my own perfectionism that tricked me into believing that people only like perfect stuff.
I thought being a perfectionist will lead me to becoming intelligent over time.
But I was stupidly wrong… 😎
In truth, I was doing it to impress those around me. That's not what intelligence is.
It takes a lot of effort to pretend. An intelligent person would never pretend what they are not.
Most times, I tried to say the perfect line and felt proud when people called me intelligent. That was my driving force: People calling me intelligent. 😂
In my current opinion, that's not being intelligent.
That's just being hungry for social approval. 🙈
So how does intelligence come?
Let’s take a look at three of the smartest minds of our human family to explore their top secret of intelligence.
Albert Einstein
Albert never looked intelligent. His teachers thought he’d struggle in life. His father concluded he’d never be able to earn for himself. He worked at the Swiss patent office as a clerk for seven years. A clerk.
Most of the time, he was called a madman, a fool who dreams too much, a kid in the skin of a man.
His principle was to follow his curiosity every moment and look as foolish as he could. That's what enabled him to make groundbreaking discoveries in physics.Steve Jobs
Steve practiced the same principle in his life. Curiosity made him and the Mac insanely great.
He baked it into the products he pioneered and became an advocate of “staying hungry and foolish.”Socrates
Going back to 450 BC, Socrates would top the list of foolish people in Athens.
He’d notoriously gather kids around the corner and brainstorm about the secrets of the moon and existential questions like why are we here.
Grown ups and sensible Greeks didn’t like him much. He was called a corrupter of youth because he educated kids to be curious, to question what they know, and to challenge all kinds of authority.
You see, the smartest minds never pursued intelligence.
They embraced being called a madman, knowing nothing, and did something completely opposite.
They aimed for being foolish.
For them, true intelligence came from allowing themselves to be a fool.
To dream the impractical. To imagine the unrealistic.
If you want to see how powerful your imagination is. Just tell me if you have ever seen a pink elephant?
Of course not. But you were able to see it in your mind.
The fool thinks he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
William Shakespeare
I've come to realize that the pursuit of intelligence is a dead end. I have learned to not pursue it and only aim for being a fool.
But how do I do it?
The top thing that helps me be a fool is befriending kids under 10.
They ask me silly questions like why do we eat, why do we poop, why do we have a hole in our stomach.
I love these discussions. Why? I have to think of simple answers to help them understand it.
This in turn exercises my own creative muscles and improves my communication.
It forces me to articulate medical and physical concepts in simple language.
Here’s a little story.
Meet my 6 y/o niece, Zimal.
Zimal is one of my top advisors and a true friend. I ask her help on decisions I cant make on my own.
Back in 2021, I took Zimal to meet my future-wife on a casual outing.
3 days later, I asked her if I should marry this woman or find someone else.
Her response:
Yes mamu… she is a good one. Marry her. She is funny, loves to dance, and she also knows a lot about makeup so that’s a good thing for me too.
I wasn’t looking for what my niece liked about her. I simply wanted to measure how my wife made her feel. Zimal’s response turned the tough decision into an easy one.
How do I enable kids to help me?
The key is to articulate my problem in simple ways for her to understand and she’d tell me what to do.
For example, if I’m deciding between two client projects. One is good pay but high service, the other is low pay but wont eat my head too much and is a kind person.
I’d simply tell Zimal:
Shop A is giving me 5 candies but would take a lot of my time and annoy me
Shop B is offering 2 candies, wouldn’t take time, and I like the shopkeeper too
She would tell me to get less candies from the shopkeeper I like more. And that would serve as a reminder for me to prioritize for mental peace over money.
How to become intelligent a fool? 🤡
Keep in mind, I’m no expert or guru, I will tell you what I do for myself and you will decide if it helps you get better.
So, If you're someone who's always striving for intelligence, I want you to try a different approach.
Follow your curiosity and go where it takes you.
You might just be surprised at how much more intelligent you become.
Unpopular ways to sharpen your intelligence:
Befriend as much kids as you can.
They help you stay crazy. Kids don’t care about being foolish.
I learn it from them and it’s amazing how it helps me tap into my curiosity and unlock my full potential.
Don't aim for social approval – aim to learn and explore the world around you like a 5 year old.Try new things even if it feels stupid or silly.
Let go of perfectionism. It holds you back from taking risks and trying new things.
Embrace the fact that you will make mistakes and that's okay. Learn from them and move on.
How to let go of perfectionism? Try something new and fail at it publicly.
Make unique mistakes. Go where you’re afraid to go. Think of failures as opportunities for growth.Don’t focus on becoming intelligent, focus on what interests you.
What questions do you have about the world around you?
What do you want to learn more about? What does your inner child craves to see in the world?
Pursue those things with a sense of childlike wonder and you'll find that you naturally become smarter in the process.Don’t learn from courses. Learn by doing.
Author Neil Gaiman once said, "the best way to learn anything is to do it."
I agree with him.
Spending 5 years in a university didn’t teach me anything. But spending 5 months designing shitty SM graphics for Patloon made me a pro at it.
If you want to learn UX, start doing it. Post your poor design on Twitter for people to roast it and grow from there.
Practice humility.
Recognize that there is always more to learn and that you don't have all the answers.
Be open to new ideas and perspectives, and don't be afraid to admit when you don't know something.
In words of Socrates, "the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
And that’s a wrap for today!
Lastly, let go of your fear of looking foolish.
We’ll die soon, why waste our time trying to be perfect or wise.
Our mistakes wont be remembered as much as the things we will create by following our curiosities.
Remember, even the most brilliant minds in history were not always seen as intelligent half their life.
I hope this issue will help you sharpen your intelligence muscles. If you loved today’s post, tell your friends by sharing it. 🙂
See you next Sunday. ✌
Best,
Hassaan