Polymathic Being Podcast

Today's topic is going to explore something that I think is drastically missing from feminism: the feminine. It’s a complicated topic that has to peel back some sensitive layers, biases, history, and politics to uncover the core of the feminine. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscribe

Today's topic attempts to energize interest in an incredible technology that many view negatively; Nuclear Power. We’ll introduce the cutting-edge advances in energy production, miniaturization of reactors, massive safety improvements, and best of all, the wonderful environmental benefits that nuclear can offer us in the future. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscr...

Today's topic is one more on leadership but this time pivots to one of the most effective followership tactics I’ve ever heard and struggle to do. It’s a simple mantra that allows you to gain the good graces of almost any leader while, at the same time, allowing you to do what you planned on anyway. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscribe

Today's topic is another sociological and psychological investigation into how the clothing we wear sends complex signals that can be interpreted differently by different people. We’ll explore human sexuality and whether we fully appreciate or articulate the implications of how we clothe ourselves. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscribe

Welcome to Polymathic Being , a place to explore counterintuitive insights across multiple domains.  These essays take common topics and investigate them from different perspectives and disciplines to come up with unique insights and solutions.  Today's topic explores the monster of an organization that is Amazon. Why an analysis of a commercial enterprise? Because most people don’t fully understa...

Today's topic is a special request asking for fiction authors to share tips and tricks of their creative writing process for those who have spent more time in nonfiction and technical writing. To many, the art of fictional narrative seems just too far out of reach. Yet I’ve found that good fiction wasn’t so much different from writing these essays. In fact, so many topics we’ve covered here are ba...

Today's topic is another collaboration with Andrew Smith who writes Goatfury Writes We partnered recently on An Ode to Coffee where we did a fun historical, cultural, and scientific analysis of one of America’s favorite drinks. This one follows the same recipe and shifts the focus to beer. You’ll also get a sneak peek at my homebrew kegerator that keeps this delicious elixir flowing for friends an...

Today's topic builds off a concept we introduced in The Beauty Quandary , namely that our existence is somehow random, part of a ‘Uterine Lottery’ of sorts. Except this really isn’t true. This analysis is part evolutionary biology, part sociology, with a dash of economics and geopolitics just to round it out. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscribe

Today's topic investigates a story that many of us are familiar with from Sunday School or at least within the larger fabric of Western Culture; the Golden Calf from the time of Moses. While it looks like an egregious violation of paganism, when we dive in a little, we find it’s not quite so simple, nor as disobedient as it appears. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/su...

Today's topic wrangles with my love/hate relationship with Artificial Intelligence (AI). On the one hand, I feel like the interwebs are chock full of absolute rubbish about AI, snake-oil salesmen selling AI, and people who should know better but are still freaking out about AI. On the other hand, it makes a fantastic literary foil that accentuates and draws attention to the qualities of what it me...

Today's topic ties together some of my experience in the Army and how it helps with the very same Systems Thinking in technology and business that we’ve covered here before. Simply put it’s the idea that, in war, you have to look up and across at targets both right in front of you and also those targets that you can’t even see over the horizon to be successful. Get full access to Polymathic Being...

Today's topic plays around with an interestingly complex problem about human existence. Often we are told that what humans are doing is not natural. Yet this quickly becomes an interesting problem because it implies we are somehow separate from nature and what we are doing differs dramatically from nature. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscribe

Today's topic squares off on a long-touted platitude that leaders are trained, not born. Out of the gate, this makes logical sense; my Army Officer training made me a much better leader. Also, no one just emerges from the womb as the next Martin Luther King. Yet is that training all there is to the equation? What risks or limitations exist that the simple platitude hides? We cover all that today i...

Today's topic is part book review and part exploration into the foundational elements of the Polymathic Mindset. Namely that innovation occurs across and between domains and disciplines and is, more often, not found in silos of expertise. It’s a finding that’s only counterintuitive because of the myths about innovation permeating our cultures. Yet these myths end up falling apart on closer scrutin...

Today's topic attempts to crack the code of how so many conversations can get sidewise despite our intent. We’ll look at how some people respond in ways that just seem out of sync with the topic. Then we’ll flip the focus back on ourselves to see when we might be guilty of the same thing. It’s a dive into psychology and how we interpret things. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathic...

Today's topic is a twist on a challenge I’ve faced in the Autonomy / AI world for half a decade. It’s based on the No True Scotsman Fallacy and is a continuous shift of the goalposts as systems get smarter. We’ll also tie back into some of our previous looks at the opposite reaction where we claim AI is already cognizant and self-aware. In doing so, we can hopefully avoid two of the major logical...

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Today's topic addresses one of the more frustrating retorts I sometimes get on social media. “Never trust someone who claims to be a polymath.” To be fair, the title of Polymath is one we bestow on some of the intellectual greats from the past and it does seem a little hubristic to claim myself among those ranks. Yet this essay will delve into how I don’t think any of us should claim we’ve reached...

Today's topic focuses on an odd behavior we have as humans where we are incredibly picky about providing money to those in need while not thinking twice about overpaying for indulgent, and largely unnecessary surplus. We hold back on paying fair prices to some while forking over crazy money for a Tesla that makes Elon Musk one of the richest men in the world. Get full access to Polymathic Being at...

Today's topic dives straight into something many would like to overlook: Beauty. The problem is we might like to overlook it but we look at it all the time. And we judge it. We’ll have the difficult conversation about what ‘looking good’ means and then attempt to unpack so much more of the implications and deep-rooted attraction we have to good looks. Hang on for an interesting ride as we look int...

Today's topic highlights the power of an analytical concept called Exegesis. It’s an amazing tool to help shift perspective and demonstrates how digging a little deeper can illuminate something really interesting and profound that people are largely ignorant of. It’s a bit of a deep dive into an esoteric religious topic but one that highlights the criticality of analysis. Furthermore, if we’re suc...

Today's topic expands on a concept known as Antifragility and how, without trauma, antifragile systems cannot get better with time. The challenge is that the human body and brain are naturally antifragile and so pathologizing most of what we might call life deprives us of the very stimulus we need to grow stronger and unlock our full potential as human beings. Get full access to Polymathic Being a...

Today's topic introduces the concept of composability in design and connects the popular Lego model to both what is so good about composability and modularity as well as how we can lose focus over time. Simply put, composability is a method by which modular parts can be combined and recombined from one design to another. It’s a powerful capability in both physical design and Polymathic thinking as...

Today's topic pushes back on the problematic trope of “Knowledge is Power.” We’ll explore a couple of examples of the terrible behaviors and gatekeeping that occur when people follow this mantra. Then we’ll unlock the true power that leverages humanity’s superpower as social learners so that we all can continue to grow. Get full access to Polymathic Being at www.polymathicbeing.com/subscribe

Today's topic pushes back on the idea that you have to have a certain credential or education to have an informed opinion on a topic. We’ve discussed the strength of the Polymath before and this addresses one of the biggest frustrations of having that broad range of knowledge, weaving it together into new insights, and then being challenged for having an opinion at all. We’ll explore how it is rea...