#214 Craig Wright – Episode Notes
Key Takeaways
Between golf, music, living in Europe monasteries, teaching, and now becoming an author, Craig Wright is a strong believer that the more areas and interests you explore, more doors will open.
“There’s no decision that you make in a way that you really regret, because even the ones that seem unpleasant at the time, you learn a great deal from”
Craigs interest in the ‘human aspect’ led him to become enamored with biographies, and ultimately led to his decision to research and study the lives of A-list geniuses throughout history. His extensive and active research of these geniuses are available for the world to absorb in his new book, The Hidden Habits of Genius.
“The shocking thing is, at the end of the process, lone behold, my life really did change as a result of engaging the lives of these great minds, these great figures overtime.”
There’s a difference between being successful and being a genius. While geniuses are far and few between, Craig helps his readers to understand how they can pick up the habits of these wondrous figures in history, and ultimately stimulate their creativity and concentration.
“I think a genius is person who changes the world, who is so innovative that they come up with ideas that other people embrace and as a result of that engagement with other people and that change, the world heads in a new direction”
4:08 Beginning of Craig’s Career
When Craig was 18 he had the choice between a golf scholarship for the University of Maryland or a lesser scholarship to the Eastman School of Music to train to be a classical concert pianist. He declined the golf scholarship and went to Eastman.
“I graduated from there but I learned one thing from there, that I had very little musical talent”
At this time there was a mantra going around music conservatories which was:
“If you can’t create, you perform, if you can’t perform, you teach”
He then went to Harvard to get a PhD in Musicology, the history of music.
“I became, of all things, a medieval musicologist working with medieval music”
This required him to live in monasteries in Europe for a period of time, but he soon after ended up teaching at Yale.
“I’m convinced, thinking about things, that the most critical decades in your life are the twenties and thirties”
While teaching, Craig became very interested in online education.
“I am proud to say, I actually taught Yale’s first online course”
Craig’s journey to writing his book The Hidden Habits of Genius was a purposeful step away from the limitation of academic writing.
“There’s no decision that you make in a way that you really regret, because even the ones that seem unpleasant at the time, you learn a great deal from”
11:52 Early Skill Development
Craig calls himself “Captain B+”, describes himself as good, not great, when it came to golf and music.
“I am forced because I can’t do it innately or genetically, to analyze a situation and then extrapolate what is going on and explain that in simple, every day terms”
Craig clarifies that although he wrote The Hidden Habits of Genius, he does not consider himself a genius.
“I think a genius is person who changes the world, who is so innovative that they come up with ideas that other people embrace and as a result of that engagement with other people and that change, the world heads in a new direction”
14:50 Craig’s Distillation Process
Craig’s new concepts typically come to him through a book, video, audio. The first thing Craig does is get excited.
“There’s joy here, I’m going to learn something”
When Craig begins reading a book, he keeps a pen handy to write in the book.
“I will underline, circle, and write in the margin points to be remembered, or disagreements with that particular line so it is a dialogue, it is a conversation”
This argumentative dialogue of writing disagreements down within the book is one of the concepts Craig encourages in The Hidden Habits of Genius.
“Be a contrarian, think backwards.”
17:48 Craigs Process of Researching Geniuses
Craig talks about his extensive research process while writing The Hidden Habits of Genius, going to the places the geniuses were from and looking at their work.
“The shocking thing is, at the end of the process, lone behold, my life really did change as a result of engaging the lives of these great minds, these great figures overtime.”
20:41 What Inspired Craig to Study Geniuses?
Craig’s inspiration began with his interest in biographies
“I’m interested in literature and fiction yes, but it’s the biographies, it’s the human aspect”
21:32 What isn’t a Genius?
Craig debunks the idea that having a high IQ, SAT score, ACT score, and many other standardized tests, means that you are a genius.
“Raw intelligence, smarts, whatever that is, they come in different forms and only a very small part of that is actually measured on a standardized test”
“What Genius is not, is a brainiac”
23:20 Talent vs. Genius
Despite many people believing that talent and brains go together, Craig says they are two completely separate things.
“There are geniuses in this world and there are successful people, and we need them both”
Craig provides a great analogy: a genius is the person who thinks outside the box, a successful person has figured out how to make the box the best possible box it can be.
Sean and Craig reference the quote from Arthur Schopenhaurr:
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see”
26:09 Are we in a point of time where we will have more or less geniuses?
Craig explains that there is a difference between exceptional human accomplishment in the arts and human relations, than exceptional human accomplishment in science and technology.
“It’s never been easier to get information because of the internet and if one of the first steps in being a genius is to have experience and gather a great deal of information, this is a great time to be alive”
Our quick access to all the information on the internet has equalized the opportunity globally for everyone to have the information.
“More and more information is now available, in theory there should be more game changing geniuses out there”
The other interesting aspect that Craig brings up, is that now it is the genius of the team that is important rather than the individual genius.
“The information is so enormous that no one individual can control it all”
29:38 Fox vs. Hedgehogs Concept
“The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”
Craig has always been a big believer in the fox and details how Albert Einstein was a “fox”.
“You look at Einstein and you think, oh Einstein was just a specialist in physics, no, Einstein knew a great deal about other things. He knew a great deal about psychology, philosophy, he knew a huge amount about music”
32:01 Relaxation Stimulates Creativity
Craig has learned that relaxation is an extremely important component in order to get new ideas.
The brain is multitasking subconsciously, sometimes even when we sleep. Craig encourages listeners to put pen and paper next to their bed and document their dreams.
“It can allow you to be more creative if you capture those moments when your accessing your subconscious”
Craig relaxes by going for a walk.
“Get into a nice pattern of movement and relax and dissociate”
37:04 Concentration
Craig explains that geniuses do not look at their work as ‘work’, it is their passion and what they want to be doing.
“What they all have in common is a habit for work”
Geniuses save time by getting into a daily routine that is always the same.
Craig likes to put photos of the people he loves and moments he is proud of in his work area.
“You need these markers in your life to say no, you’re not a complete failure because look, you did that, maybe you can do this again”
Craig also recommends including people you admire in your work space to help maximise concentration.
“Get support around you, get love around you, and get inspiration around you”
42:15 Craig’s Teaching Process
Craig says that his teaching process has flipped a complete 180 degrees since he began. He began his teaching career using the model “Sage on the Stage”.
The seminole moment for Craig came when reading a passage in A Room of One’s Own. Craig found a two-fold approach:
- Get the information out there with an assigned reading
- Have a quiz on the reading first thing in the next class
“You got to know stuff, that’s the first part in the creative process, you’ve got to have stuff in your head and then you’ve got to recombine it in new, exciting, and innovative ways”
48:04 Rebel Mentality in Geniuses
Craig says you kind of have to have a rebel mentality to be a genius.
“They are comfortable with being outsiders, they are comfortable with not being immediately appreciated because they are so convinced that their vision of the world is correct that they are willing to persevere in the face of negativity”
49:37 Genius’s Views of Risks
Sean asks Craig if geniuses don’t view risk the same as others, because they have such a deep belief and Craig says he hadn’t thought of that correlation between self confidence and risk.
“They have such enormous self confidence in their vision that they are able to pursue that vision not being aware of the dangers”
51:30 Craig’s Analysis of Sean’s Favorite Geniuses
Craig describes Einstein as an interesting figure with a great mind, but not necessarily a great human being.
“It brings up the issue of the public persona of the genius and private reality”
Craig tells Sean that Mozart was enormously curious, prankster, funny, and could speak five languages, and was an entertainer.
“If there were one guy you’d want to invite to dinner, it would be Mozart”
- Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci would be in first place as Craig’s All Time Genius. He “knew everything.”
Craigs favorite quote from a Leonardo da Vinci passage is:
“Read me well, oh reader, for you will never see my likes again”
57:18 Craig’s All Time Books
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
59:55 Craig’s Favorite Piece of Music
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