It’s good to think, no? The problem I have is I get overwhelmed with work and then I have a dumb moment and I panic. Maybe it’s all slipping. Well, it’s not, but I can generate ideas, curiosity, and creativity through practice.

Dissimilar Words

One idea, from Sean Kernan is to find similar words and then seek the furthest word from the original word. His example starts with snail and slug and ends with snail and alphabet. The trick is the sequence of words, where candidate words are considered.

I found the word of the day, wigeon, learned that it is a type of freshwater duck, and compared it to pigeon. Fun, no? They both trill off the tongue as well as create ambiance for tourists in a non-threatening way, usually. There are three extant species of wigeon, and one extinct. So, wigeon, falcon, anvil, lava, plasma, sun burst. I couldn’t find any word that was more dissimilar than sun burst in the way I was exploring my words, though a different sequence would be interesting too.

Music

I’ve been listening to How Music Works by David Byrne, of the Talking Heads. This is a master’s guide through familiar territory. Byrne has a sense not only of his own work, but the historical, technological, and creative context of music.

The idea-generating nudge is that music and art comes from a context, rather than is released into a context. It’s the opposite of the romantic ideal that a composer gets a funny look on their face and comes up with a 3 minute and 12 second composition that has to be done exactly that way. Everything about that song was externally driven, and because it was successful it effectively processed the context to create a meaningful moment in people’s lives.

The trick is to take something successful and determine how many influences and factors I can identify from its creation. This I do with reading in the way Francine Prose teaches it in Reading Like a Writer. There is the syntax and the word choices, the sentence structure, the paragraph breaks, the rhythm and length, the choices of point of view and character—out and out it goes to the zeitgeist that is captured in a piece.

I have a special journal for this, with a leather cover and delicious rough paper that sucks ink from my pen and guides my lines into consistency as they stretch across the page. It’s a creative journey.

Also, to see what Hanif Abdurraqib is doing with his musical criticism, his lyric essays, his confidence around the scene in New York comes out as spectacularly as Byrne’s work ever did. This is the art of referencing, making something out of the stuff someone cares about already.

Persuasion as a Relationship

In a well-cited world, I wouldn’t be able to write the following. Somewhere in the last few days someone said that they thought persuasion was a relationship. It’s not winning an argument, but building a rapport with someone and learning while teaching. It might have been Stephen Colbert on his show or Bill Maher speaking on the Joe Rogen Experience or someone like that.

I was reminded of this idea when reading what Karin Tamerius was saying about persuading Trump voters, that we weaken their relationship with Trump by strengthening our relationship.

This is the thesis for Hersh’s new book, Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. The people that have culled relationships have multiplied their own vote, expanded their influence, in a mutually beneficial way.

My son is caught up with that a bit, Gus is forceful in his political ideals that he multiplies in Asher’s life. I’m not saying Asher is insincere in his beliefs, but they are heavily influenced by his in-group. All of us work that way.

So what does political influence and persuasion have to do with a sharp mind? This is the primary tool of philosophers for developing a sharp mind, engaging in worthwhile conversation. It requires holding multiple points of view in my mind at one time, even competing ones. It requires restraint, deciding what is useful. It requires acknowledging what is going on in other people’s minds, what extensions are attached to the words they use.

Source of Intelligence

Once source of intelligence comes from my mood. Nassim Taleb reminds us that life outside of medication, when not dealing with pathological cases, gives us access to a source of intelligence. Bouts of sadness, anxiety, and discomfort are important insights into what’s really going on.

The other day I witnessed someone being kicked out of a venue. “You’re telling me I can’t be authentic?!!” He was upset because he was high and disruptive and could no longer see the mess he was making. He was defending his right to be an asshole.

A different approach is to take a look at what’s going on. A productive way to do that skips all blame and shame completely. It’s like noticing the world in a dispassionate way, only it’s my world. What’s going on? How does that feel? What do I now notice, now that I’m aware this is going on? How did I get here? What was I avoiding, denying, or lying about? Again, no blame, just a clear view into my part in my situation. Because unless I’m willing to take a look at my own life, I’m walking around blind.

Take this another way: my life is mostly good, but I notice the things that aren’t. I complain and worry and obsess around the parts that aren’t working. That’s not the same thing as taking committed action. If I were really paying attention to the clues, I’m seeing the world differently all the time. I’m not stuck in my ways, but my ways are an engine for creative insight. It’s the discomfort that fuels that engine.

Sharp Mind Summary

By writing I discover what I’m thinking. I can see the words and their meanings and decide whether that is accurate to my experience. Many of this week’s mental trips hang together in this thesis, that I can encourage a sharp mind by engaging consistently with useful activities. This includes looking at the messes I create, having persuasive conversations, actually listening to the world around me, and noticing what a thing is by acknowledging what it is not.

References

Awosika, A. (2019, December 20). How to Cure Your Addiction to Your Comfort Zone. Medium. https://medium.com/mind-cafe/how-to-cure-your-addiction-to-your-comfort-zone-19e8ec08f293

Byrne, D. (2012). How music works. San Francisco [Calif.: McSweeney’s.

Hersh, E. (2020). Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. Scribner. https://books.google.com/books?id=zaDQywEACAAJ

Kernan, S. (2020, January 17). How To Sharpen Your Mind In 15 Minutes or Less Every Day. Medium. https://medium.com/mind-cafe/how-to-sharpen-your-mind-in-15-minutes-or-less-every-day-4118abf0ebf5

Prose, F. (2006). Reading like a writer: A guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them.

Tamerius, K. (2019, December 14). How to Persuade a Trump Voter. Medium. https://medium.com/progressively-speaking/how-to-persuade-a-trump-voter-4cad46b8df86