When high IQ becomes a problem

John Fowles explains in "The Aristos" (1964) how high IQ can subvert your will to act: "High intelligence leads to multiplicity of interest and a sharpened capacity to foresee the consequences of any action. Will is lost in a labyrinth of hypothesis." Rule 1: Do not lose the will

Carlyle in 1841: "A man lives by believing something; not by debating and arguing about many things." Chesterton on how an open mind is no more a virtue than an open mouth: "The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”

An underrated aspect of Thomas Carlyle's classic 1841 book on hero-worship is its scathing takedown of modern skepticism. A great hero, Carlyle writes, does NOT allow his brain to trap him in a maze of abstractions. My 2 minute summary of his argument:

https://memod.com/jashdholani/wh-3644

How your skepticism stops you from acting Thomas Carlyle, an 18th century Scottish philosopher, wrote that skepticism is a

A knight who owns a sharp sword should make sure he does not cut himself with it, and a man gifted with a great mind should make sure he does not start living inside it...

Napoleon said the ideal combo is to be hyper-rational and paranoid before the battle...and then during it, to abandon yourself to destiny. My twitter friend Stoop to Rise quoted Gracian: "Mediocrity obtains more with application than superiority without it."

Nietzsche says you need a "Will To Stupidity" sometimes as it helps you finish what you start. Knowledge eats itself but wisdom knows when to self-limit.

Ultimately we must love the rough but real labor of our hands more than we love the seductive designs of our imagination.

Another twitter friend FreeLlama : "The trick is to know and serve your values, understand that all choices have unforeseen consequences, and accept that you cannot escape consequence as a function of causality. Perfectionism is procrastination masquerading as quality control."

Life does not exist to serve the brain, the brain exists to serve Life.

-fin.