You can’t just download information into your brain

I wish the title of this post wasn’t true, as it’d be quite awesome if you could just push a button to add the knowledge that we want to our brain. Perhaps it will be possible in the future, but it’s certainly not here yet.

That said, it sort of is already, at least compared to our ancestors. While we can’t put info directly into our brain, having things like smartphones and Google puts all of the world’s information just a few seconds away.

To really learn something, though, takes time. In Adam Grant’s new book “ Hidden Potential “, he explains it like this:

Learning from multiple guides is an iterative, interactive process. It’s not as simple as going to people and asking, “Can I pick your brain?” Also, the image of picking a brain is gross. The information isn’t just sitting there, waiting to be extracted. We don’t live in the Matrix. Guides can’t simply upload their insights for us to download.

The recent passing of Charlie Munger got me thinking about things like this. The man lived 99 years, and read as much as any human in history. He was brilliant and articulate, even at his advanced age. Then one day he’s gone, and all of that knowledge goes with him.

Thankfully, he left a lot of his knowledge behind, but it takes work to actually make use of it. One of my favorite books is his “ Poor Charlie’s Almanack”, which covered much of his life and wisdom. My only problem with the book is that it was difficult to read…