I have a great conversation piece ready when I have guests over: physics textbooks. All the way from introductory high school physics to intermediate undergraduate classical mechanics.
In between conversations, guests’ eyes would often wander to my books and inevitably come across the 1000-page textbook behemoths.
“Why do you have those?” they would ask. I am, after all, not a scientist (I studied politics at university).
You see, this is one of my long-term learning projects: studying the equivalent of a physics undergraduate degree in my free time.
Now, I don’t intend on becoming a physicist. I’m a writer. So why this project? Why bother learning all this stuff that isn’t relevant for work? And why do I think it’s essential you also study something unrelated to your career?
There are three reasons you should know:
On Becoming a Genius
Charlie Munger is one of the best investors of all time. Naturally, he's also a billionaire. Warren Buffett, his business partner, says “[Munger has] the best 30-second mind in the world. He goes from A to Z in one move. He sees the essence of everything before you even finish the sentence.” Praise also comes from other places. Bill Gates once commented that Munger “is truly the broadest thinker [he] has encountered.”
So what’s the secret behind his mind? How did he develop an intellect that helped him earn a net worth of over $2 billion? Luckily, Munger has written a book that largely addresses this. He’s created a roadmap that anybody can use to become an analytical genius.
It starts with mental models.
What are they? Jim Kwik compares mental models to shortcuts. They’re easy analogies and representations that help us understand complex topics. They simplify reality so we can make sense of it.
Each subject has numerous mental models that we can use and apply in different situations. If you studied economics, you probably think in terms of scarcity, incentives, and supply and demand. Biologists tend to think in terms of natural selection, ecosystems, and homeostasis. Physicists, on the other hand, analogize using critical mass, velocity, inertia, and entropy.
We constantly see things through these models. We just don’t notice it very often. Crucially, the quality of our thinking is determined by the quality and diversity of our models. Charlie Munger compares them to tools. To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So you want different tools (from different subjects) to use when the time is right.
But there’s a catch: we lose our tools if we don’t use them. Our brain preserves the skills and knowledge we actually use. If you stop applying something you’ve learned, you’ll largely lose the relevant knowledge or skill (exception: automated skills like riding a bike). Your brain will physically erase the relevant neural circuit. It’s like having someone constantly judging whether you actually use what’s in your toolbox. They sneak into your home every night and steal what you don’t need. Why bother with unnecessary clutter?
This has a societal implication: everyone within a specialty ends up thinking the same way. If you only retain what you do and you only do what everyone else does, you’ll think like everyone else thinks. Any prior knowledge and skills that first differentiated you will be nearly extinguished. The wonderful thinking tools that could help us see more clearly and intelligently are lost.
So, both learning and reviewing different subjects from our own becomes vital. Failure to do either is a failure to tap into the full potential of your mind.
We can develop this interdisciplinary way of thinking through a couple of steps:
Munger emphasizes the importance of learning the fundamental sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and math). As engineer Barbara Oakley points out, many science concepts have an analogy in the real world. There’s no wasted effort here.
Learn the basics of other fields (psychology, political science, finance, economics, and others). Each subject has unique thinking tools to provide you.
Actively use these mental models when analyzing a problem. Also review them regularly.
Chances are this roadmap will involve studying something that has nothing to do with you work. And that’s the point! You’ll develop entirely different ways of seeing the world compared to your peers and competitors. It’s like seeing red and blue and green in a world where others only see black and white. Don’t underestimate this power. It’s what Charlie Munger considers the key behind his extraordinary success.
Back to me and physics. I could physically feel the effects of picking up a new way of thinking when I started relearning the subject in 2020. I had gone on a four year break as I dove into politics at university. When I tried solving problems and doing math, my head actually hurt. I wasn’t used to it. Instead, I was accustomed to the essay-based thinking of political science. It felt like I was accessing a new way of thinking.
What probably happened: my brain was busy creating new networks consisting of numbers and formulas and concepts I hadn’t used in years. It was physically changing. And the analytical benefits quickly came along for the ride. Concepts like critical mass, entropy, inertia, and friction are now essential parts of my mental vocabulary. I could never go back to a world without them.
On Creativity
Leonardo da Vinci. Unless you’ve been living under a rock your whole life, you probably know that he had one of the most creative minds in history.
But why was he so damn creative?
One of the things that most distinguished him was his love of learning. Anatomy. Math. Engineering. Optics. There were few topics he didn’t explore.
He also had a habit of combining his knowledge of different subjects. If he were painting, he could draw upon his understanding of muscles and light and botany to make truly unique (and beautiful) images.
I love how author Chris Bailey talks about this. He says our mind consists of many different dots. They represent the different ideas, facts, and concepts stored in our mind. The more you learn and develop high quality dots, the more connections your mind can make.
But the difference between those dots matters too. Just like learning across different fields can give you new models to represent reality, they can also give you new potential connections to make. The more diverse your knowledge, the weirder and unique those connections can be. In other words, the more creative you become. And the more creative you are the more successful you are likely to be.
Before you can make these unusual combinations, though, you first need to study different subjects. The more random the better. Evolution, chemistry, anatomy, zoology, systems theory - it’s all fair game. And yes, physics too. Only then can you draw links to your work. Only then can you reap the benefits of truly creative thinking. Only then can you truly unlock the power of your mind.
On Living The Good Life
Much of happiness can be attributed to losing yourself in the moment. Completely immersed in what’s happening right here and now. That’s why I meditate for two hours per day. But it’s not the only way to achieve this.
Learning something new is a great alternative. Focusing entirely on understanding a new set of ideas, getting lost in a strange new world. Just you and what’s in front of you. There are few things in life that are more enjoyable.
It’s much easier to do this when you’re actually passionate about the topic. Often that means learning something completely unrelated to your day job. You probably don’t need to understand how stars are born or how atoms are structured. I certainly didn’t when I was busy working on PowerPoint and Excel in my consulting days. And that’s okay. Not everything has to be a means to an end. To explore something that truly fascinates you is its own end.
When I study physics, far more important than the other benefits we discussed is the fact that I come alive when I’m studying it. It lights up my heart. It makes life better.
Is there anything more important than that?
Final Thoughts
What’s something you would love to learn but you feel guilty since it’s not directly relevant to your job? Make sure to study it. In fact, make a rule to always be learning something just for fun.
Have faith that it will provide tremendous benefit, even if you can’t immediately see how. It’s a long-term play that always pays off. At the very least, it'll make life a little more satisfying.
So go for it.
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