Shortform Books

Investment Failures: Don’t Let Them Hold You Back

Have you ever made an investment that didn’t turn out the way you expected? What should you do if your investment fails? It’s easy to become discouraged when things don’t go as planned, especially when your money is on the line. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take risks. Investment failures do occur, fairly frequently, but if you keep trying, you could get lucky enough with one investment that it outweighs any failures. Here is why you shouldn’t let failure hold you back from trying again.

A Unifying Theory: A Hopeless Quest?

Where are scientists in their attempts to develop a unifying theory? Is string theory the answer? Hawking asserts that the ultimate goal of science is to develop a “unifying theory” that can be applied in any context. Scientists have made progress towards this goal but have not yet achieved it. In the meantime, they use two major theories. Hawking discusses the limitations of each of these theories as well as some of the attempts to create a unified theory. Read more to learn about a unifying theory in science.

IQ and Success: A Complicated Connection

What is the connection between IQ and success? Are people who score high on IQ tests more likely to be successful in life? Although we tend to assume that high “analytical intelligence”—as measured by IQ tests—is a prerequisite for success, extraordinary success in life is often the result of “practical intelligence.” Moreover, external factors (nurture) are at least as important as innate ability (nature) in determining a person’s success. To explore this argument, let’s examine the origins and impacts of each type of intelligence.

The Dichotomy of Leadership: Quotes & Passages

Are you looking for The Dichotomy of Leadership quotes by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin? What are some of the most noteworthy passages worth revisiting? Leadership requires a delicate balance of various dichotomies: You must be compassionate yet pragmatic, humble yet confident, bold yet cautious. In The Dichotomy of Leadership, former Navy SEAL commanders and corporate leadership consultants Jocko Willink and Leif Babin will teach you to reconcile common dichotomies or conflicts in leadership. Below is a selection of quotes with explanations to help you put them into context.

How Working Memory Capacity Impacts Productivity

What is working memory? How does it affect your ability to be productive? Your brain has a certain amount of working memory capacity. You can pay attention to only so much at a time. Naturally, this limitation affects your ability to get things done. Continue reading to learn about working memory capacity and how it impacts productivity.

Morgan Housel: The Psychology of Money—Postscript

How did the American consumer mindset come to be? What role did the government have to play? In his book The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel included a postscript that discussed how the current mindset around money came to be. He argues that World War II and the Great Depression played a big part in how Americans approach money. Here’s why Americans have so many conflicted feelings about money, according to Housel’s postscript.

Need for Recognition: Why We Can’t Stand Being Alone

Where does the human need for recognition stem from? What can biology and psychology tell us about the hunger for social recognition? The desire you have to get more likes on social media or be popular in school can be explained by science. From childhood, humans need physical and social contact to survive and become functional. Eric Berne explores this phenomenon in his book Games People Play. Here’s why social recognition is vital to our well-being, according to Berne.

The Three Ego States in Transactional Analysis

What are the three ego states in transactional analysis? What is the function of each state? The three ego states, according to Eric Berne’s theory of personality, are the parent, the adult, and the child. None of the ego states are “bad,” per se, but they each have their own function in social situations. Continue below to learn about Berne’s ego states.

The Psychology of Money: Book Overview

What are the top financial lessons from Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money? How can this book help you change the way you view money and wealth? In his book The Psychology of Money, finance expert Morgan Housel argues against the conventional wisdom about financial success. He says that the key to financial success lies not in hard work and intelligence, but in understanding human behavior. Housel posits that when you understand how emotions and beliefs influence your financial decisions, you’ll make better financial decisions. Here’s a brief overview of the key themes.

The Subatomic Wonder: What Is Wave-Particle Duality?

What is wave-particle duality? How does it affect the theory of relativity? Physicist Stephen Hawking discusses the wave-particle duality, explaining how small particles act like both particles and waves. Because of this duality, general relativity doesn’t accurately model the behavior of small particles. Hawking describes the famous double-slit experiment, which demonstrates that particles act like waves. Keep reading to learn about wave-particle duality.