Better Short is an experiment in less than 500-word expressions of ideas or stories within Could Be Worse.
Person 1 was obsessed with the mythical Philosopher’s Stone, which could turn lead into gold and grant eternal life. He spent his days poring over cryptic, ancient recipes and stinking up the place, mixing god-knows-what. His notebooks were full of obscure symbols and codes that could’ve been pulled from Tolkien’s fever dream.
Person 2 believed in something called “the music of the spheres.” It might sound like a concert in the new Las Vegas Sphere, but this scientist believed that the planets were creating a celestial symphony. To him, orbital ratios were harmonies and God’s version of sheet music for the universe.
Person 3 had an obsessive relationship with radium. She’d often carry vials of radium in her pocket. It was her nightlight, her glowing bedtime companion. All the while, she was unaware of the radioactive effects and that it was slowly killing her, giving a whole new meaning to the compliment “you have this glow about you”.
Person 4 had a strange attachment to a specific pigeon he fed in New York City, claiming he loved it like a person. He spent a lot of his later years trying to make a “death ray” - a weapon he believed could end all wars by making militaries obsolete. He claimed he had received signals from Martians through an experiment (likely background cosmic noise).
Person 5 often said that his discoveries were communicated to him directly by the goddess, who popped into his dreams and dropped a few truth bombs. His work appeared out of nowhere, perplexing even the greatest mathematicians of his time about how he could derive such results without the rigorous, step-by-step methods. “I just dream it up, bro” is an excellent flex.
Person 1 was Isaac Newton, known for his contribution to physics, which stands the test of time, including quoting the second law whenever someone is being shitty and then immediately slips and falls.
Person 2 was Johannes Kepler, best known for his laws of planetary motion, which help us remember that our lives are nothing but repeating ellipticals around the sun.
Person 3 was Marie Curie, a pioneer who discovered radioactivity and winner of two Nobel prizes, without whom the Imagine Dragons song welcoming us to the new age would be called something else.
Person 4 was Nikola Tesla, who developed AC electricity and pioneered electromagnetic tech only to become a weird-looking Cybertruck in the future.
Person 5 was Srinivasa Ramanujan, whose work in number theory, continued fractions, and infinite series revolutionised mathematics, adding more fuel to the theory that South Indians are nerds.
What’s my point? (There needs to be one?)
It’s never clear which of the paths you pursue is cuckoo, useless, relevant or genius while doing it - even if you are certified a genius by the world later.
These paths were unknowns/risks that these people took without the promise of a payoff. The willingness to risk and fail is an essential component.
The same brain capable of making weird leaps for progress will make weird leaps, full-stop. Stop judging people on normalness all the time. Silly, weird things are vital to keeping your brain fertile, curious and indulging in ideas.
There is no one thing. You cannot go into a narrow niche and expect your brain to make fun leaps. You have to straddle uncommon and sometimes downright non-intersectional areas - science, art, story, mysticism, transcendence, business, etc., are just buckets we’ve artificially assigned to our understanding of the world. The brain is the brain.
The usual cliche: genius and eccentric go together.
So, does that mean we stop judging Bryan Johnson?
No, some people are just eccentric.
Better Short,
Tyag
Hahaha, the Tesla-cybertruck bit had me in splits.
Not me claiming to be the new Isaac Newton XD