Polymathic Being Podcast

Today's topic steps back and looks at a crazy juxtaposition within the humans living right here on our own Earth. From Skyscrapers to the Jungle and from Rocketships to Sharpened Sticks, what would an alien think if they looked down and viewed Homo Sapiens? Let’s take a look…

Today's topic addresses a critically underappreciated challenge regarding how we view a Hero’s Journey. While the journey is classically masculine-focused, it misses the unique opportunity to understand, appreciate, and embrace a Heronine journey that develops the strength and capabilities of the feminine. Let’s explore the movie Encanto and see that it embodies a powerful Heroine Journey.

Today's topic flips the script on anxiety and shows how much of what we fear is more in our imagination than in reality. At at time when mental health is collapsing, let’s look at the key drivers of anxiety, whether we are focused on the right threats, and uncover a few tools we can apply to counter the b******t.

Today's topic challenges that adage “Work smarter, not harder.” Let’s explore why that idea isn’t wrong, per se, but incomplete, especially when advising the younger generation on how they can be successful. Work Hard; Get Smart changed my perspective and compelled me to reevaluate my approach to being smart.

Today's topic peers into a challenge that limits our success both professionally and personally. It’s the prenicious tendency to say the right things, but the failure to do what you say. Let’s look at how to fix this by establishing disciplined execution for true success.

Welcome to Polymathic Being, a place to explore counterintuitive insights across multiple domains. These essays explore common topics from different perspectives and disciplines to uncover unique insights and solutions.

Today's topic investigates our addiction to fear and how people leverage that addiction to drive engagement, similar to pornography. While it’s not a new problem within the human psyche, our constant connection to social media dramatically increases our exposure and exacerbates the negative outcomes.

The news, social media, and everyone everywhere is a cacophony of chaos full of hot takes, people planting their flag to de...

Today's topic dives deep into the challenges of diversity. We’ll examine the idea of judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree and consider how many aspects of life impose artificial expectations that prioritize climbing a tree as the only valuable outcome. Finally, we’ll explore some insights for embracing true diversity, even when it’s uncomfortable, so that you can unlock exceptional outcomes.

Today's topic explores the power of answering the “why” in tasks and analyses, while also identifying how subversive that question can be to many leaders who never ask it or, worse, are successful because they don’t ask it. Let’s dive into the crazy world of a single-word question and find out how to use it to our success.

Today's topic applies the Polymathic mantra of Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn to the wicked problem of Polio. We start by defining the multiple types of polio, exploring the multiple attack vectors, the multiple confounding considerations, and the multiple incentives to understand better how we’ve come up with such a singular and simple story about this disease.

Today's topic is a fun twist to introduce better ways of thinking. It’s another collaboration with Andrew Perlot from Socratic State of Mind and borrows from his insights on how to be miserable while weaving together solutions for that misery.

Today's topic is Part Eight in the Keys to Innovation series and introduces a method to achieve innovation without losing ourselves to the chaotic space of ideation. Join us and explore a framework that embraces constraints to drive innovation, not restrict it.

Today's topic digs into a powerful Mixed Mental Arts concept that underpins Polymathic Being: the ability to Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn. We’ll look at what each of these concepts means and how to unlock incredible capabilities when you weave them together.

Today's topic rethinks our focus on work-life balance and shows how that sequence is completely backward. We’ll also examine how ikigai, a Japanese philosophy of purpose and fulfillment, is misapplied. Then, we will turn it all around and show how success is balancing life before work while uncovering true ikigai.

Today's topic investigates the very real world of Psychological Operations that you are exposed to every day. Thankfully, we’ll also explore a series of tools you can apply to ensure you don’t fall victim to a PSYOP and can start having better conversations.

Today's topic takes a look at a pernicious element of modern feminism: our expectation that women work the same as men. Yet, is this an advantage for women, or are we regressing in how we treat women? These expectations feed the rat race, and yet we call it progressive; let’s find out if that’s true.

Today’s Topic covers an aspect of Polymathic Thinking that is often overlooked. Let’s dive in and see how our skills are formed by the sum of our experience, not just the most prestigious. Today is a nostalgic review of how many things I learned while waiting tables in college.

Today's topic wrangles with the very misunderstood philosophy of Stoicism and how it provides an antidote to the craziness of the world today. We’ll explore what Stoicism really is, how it underpins the philosophy of Polymathic Being, and how you can use it to create stability, regain agency, and properly contextualize the world.

Today's topic questions what trends online and why we reward that behavior. Buckle in as we dive into the world of algowhoring and find out how it perverts a very normal and healthy human behavior. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of the social media landscape and new tools you can use to make it better.

Today’s topic is Part Seven in our Keys to Innovation series, where we explore new ways of thinking to unlock true innovation. This key proposes a new model for critique that leverages our social superpower and builds ideas together to create a better idea.

Today's topic looks straight into the diet of Veganism and finds some uncomfortable truths. We’ll look at how natural it is, whether it can be achieved without first-world technology, and what it means globally. Buckle in for an adventure!

Today's topic resulted from a serendipitous encounter on an Airplane, which created the seed of an idea: We don’t need to do everything ourselves. Join us as we explore a confluence of ideas from psychology, sociology, leadership, and current culture, which we’ll weave into actionable insights for success in life. 

Today's topic investigates the Liberal Arts and why they are such a crucial educational foundation for addressing the complexity of the world around us. We’ll dive into the structure of these Arts and then explore how they feed science, civics, critical thinking, and even mental health.

Today's topic highlights a glaring blindspot that I feel most Gen X people, at least on social media, seem to have in feeling they remain the badasses who grew up as latchkey kids. Let’s find out if that’s true.

Welcome to Polymathic Being, a place to explore counterintuitive insights across multiple domains. These essays explore common topics from different perspectives and disciplines to uncover unique insights and solutions.

Today's topic explores the value of irreverence in highlighting the absurd things we may hold dear. We then transition to understand true reverence and how that adds meaning, beauty, and awe to our lives. Weaving it all together is the power of Stoicism and how balance helps us master irreverence and see the world more clearly.

Introduction

I love the philosophy of stoicism and...

Today's topic wrangles with the idea of myths. Are they stories that are untrue or is there there something deeper that is just begging to be understood? Let’s step back and explore the deeper and more useful meaning in the ancient myths.

Today's topic is one of my favorite mixed mental arts. Join in as we look at an old Japanese tradition and what that can teach us about relationships, culture, and yes, even things we own. Not everyone is as careful with precious things as we’d like. Yet not everything broken is lost. Let’s find out how Kintsugi can be applied to our lives.

Today's topic looks at how AI-generated content is polluting our digital ecosystems and the challenges that it creates in trying to understand the world around us. We’ll then explore techniques to reclaim our sanity in this muddied world so we can ensure a human-centric grounding in reality.

Today's topic continues our Keys to Innovation series and discusses the very common problem that everyone thinks their problems are unique like a unicorn. It’s a persistent failure mode for innovation, project execution, and process optimization. Thankfully there’s a common set of tools that we can apply to solve these ‘unique’ problems. It’s a fun mind twist so let’s dive in!

Today's topic focused exclusively on a persistent behavior humans have where, when faced with two truths that are incompatible with our worldview, our brains will glitch and eliminate the problem entirely. It causes some of the worst social divisions we see today so let’s dive in and explore these brain glitches and what we can do about them.

Today's topic revisits and simplifies the foundation of Polymathic Thinking. Over the past two years, I’ve received questions about how to start the journey as an aspiring Polymath, and this is my answer. Join in, and let’s start the journey together.

Today's topic addresses whether we are logical beings rationally progressing through life or emotionally chaotic and reacting to environmental stimuli in ways we aren’t even conscious of. We’ll look at the biology and psychology driving our engagement with the world and learn how to balance the two for improved success.

Today's topic attempts to recenter our day-to-day lives in the things that matter as the political climate has been particularly contentious recently, especially if you live in the US. To hear tell, we are one step away from the end of the world as we know it. It might feel that way online but there are important steps we can take to ground ourselves in a healthier reality. Let’s find out how.

Today's topic shifts gears to focus on our physical health. The topic is sugar and how that delicious and dopamine-rewarding delicacy is like a master key that, unmanaged, unlocks an entire panoply of terrible pathologies that sour our health.

Today's topic swings back to Systems Thinking, one of our foundational tools here on Polymathic Being. We keep being asked if we can further distill the concept for broader application. While there’s risk in over-simplification, let’s explore a simple mantra that anyone can use to apply Systems Thinking and unlock true innovation that balances ethics, safety, and risk.

Today's topic looks at how to turn sacred cows into delicious burgers. At least that’s the way some have described how Polymathic Being uncovers unique insights. It’s a perception that warrants critique to recognize what we are doing, the techniques, and tools we are using, and whether we are having the best benefit.

Today’s Topic digs deep into the current rift between artists and AI. We’ll investigate the value of art and then dive into the history of technological advancements to help contextualize the angst about AI within the Art community. This essay has been one of my most difficult to write as there are so many nuances to tease out properly.

Today’s Topic addresses the advertising of the Green Energy movement and the reality that underlies our drive for environmental stewardship. A simple investigation quickly uncovers that the materials used for green initiatives are, instead, blood red.

Today's topic is another of our Mixed Mental Arts and introduces a fun term, Infobesity, referring to the information overload and mental saturation that we face every day. Join in as we uncover the consequences affecting how we process the world and how too much information can create political divides. We’ll end with recommendations to improve our information fitness.

Today's topic continues our investigation into the feminine and looks at what we value and what we try to delete about her in today’s Western society. It’s going to be messy, embarrassing, visceral, and limiting because we are talking about the monthly menstrual cycle, which creates life and stews angst in our culture.

Today’s Topic is another Mixed Mental Art that delves into our comfort zones and how feeling safe and secure is important but can limit our growth if not considered properly. Join us as we look at how to structure your exposure to life that balances psychological safety with continual personal growth.