Introduction
In order to say something, we must begin with two definitions. One is smart, the other intelligence. Let's define smart as the ability to learn. It's no secret that everyone isn't the same in this regard. Some are adept at following complicated arguments and retaining mountains of information while others are not. But everyone has the ability to learn and we do it our own way. That's smart. Intelligence is the fact you know something. Whether about job or hobby, everyone gravitates toward certain details. Things we find appealing. So here's the situation: smart people don't know enough about public topics and because many of them are discussed at dinner, it sure would be nice to have intelligence sitting at the table. But that’s not what’s happening. Because humans are academically lazy, we take shortcuts. Shortcuts that make us no more intelligent than someone who isn't considered smart in the first place. Enter this book.
The idea behind More Letters is to provide a basic education in a minimal amount of time. How else can you learn subjects like history and psychology without returning to school for years at a time? So instead of absorbing volumes of information you'll only forget, this work offers a decent overview that keeps you in the ballpark no matter the conversation. And yes, it's fun. It’s fun watching speakers deliver their goods while generally getting the point.
We'll do this in levels. Level I is always a video that takes less than an hour. Level II involves reading 20-30 pages on a subject. And level III is watching and reading supporting material that proves the articles you just read. So III supports II, and II supports I. That's the system and you'll be a genius in no time. Then if you finish, level IV says continue reading and watching until you’re never done.
Disclosure
Who am I? Surely a book of this nature requires full disclosure on my part. Your author is a 63-year-old, software entrepreneur, who’s spent time as a stand-up comic. Holding only a BA in economics and business, I was like most educated people—smart but didn’t know anything. That is, until I started this project. Around age 55, once kids and career were settled, I began to study. Using brutal honesty, I identified what I needed to know and set out to get it. First on the list was history and things went from there. These are the results of my work.
This document is intended to provide an education for people like me. One that’s bottom line in nature while written with a light heart. My degree was considered decent back in the day but I have nothing compared to many—at least, in terms of formal education. Worse still, I draw little from old schooling. Most of what you’re about to read comes from self-study and things I’ve figured out. Is it credible that anyone be so bold? Imagine the nerve of writing a document so wide in scope? I don’t care. I was a businessperson in search of answers and these are my findings. Over the past seven years, I’ve read 30,000 pages and watched countless presentations in the fields of history, economics, psychology, and more. This is the best I can do.
No Clothes
Designing and teaching software forces one to dive deep into complicated topics and derive simple explanations. That’s the job I’ve been doing for 40 years. Add a creative side that’s not only been a comic but has written a cookbook and invented a board game, and you see where the different approach comes from. And now that we’re talking disclosure, how about you? Are you as knowledgeable as you imagine? If not, let’s start with a dose of reality—most people are walking around with no clothes.
Just like the king in that story, many of us are imposters when it comes to intellect. Yes, there are smart people among us, and I include myself in that group, but other than your day job what do you really know? Add in the complexity of getting good bottom line information and you see why most of us are walking around in a fog.
Educated people are expected to know certain details and they just don’t. Take history for example. Can you give a presentation on the past? The logistics, the progressions, why some countries hold a high standard of living while others do not? Probably not. But once you become familiar with the basics, a new world appears. One that’s stimulating in a number of ways. In addition to history, we’ll be discussing politics, economics, psychology, a little philosophy, the basics of faith, and more. You’ll be getting an earful. And though your writer is not a bona fide expert in any of these fields, this book is a decent attempt at bringing it all together.
Format
The format is unique. More Letters was initially developed as a website. The site stores articles no more than three pages in length and many provide hyperlinks to get more. The idea is to keep everything in a repository so you never have to remember. And this information is kept alive through updates. So as my knowledge expands, yours does too.
Every section presents an introduction, reprints of articles, and a summary. As we go along, we’ll combine summaries to make additional points. That’s the catch to this program, it’s learning in levels. One needs to know the basics before proceeding to conclusions. Core concepts that can’t be explained in a bar or around the kitchen table. Building upon basics is the key to higher education and that’s the problem with today’s conversations, we’re missing the essentials. So let’s get started. We’ll begin with a few articles about education in general then away we go.
Gifts
P.S. In case you don’t finish let’s give out the gifts now. First You Steal a Chicken is a nice Italian cookbook and Funny You Should Ask is a fun online board game. Enjoy them both.