What I write about

I look for interesting topics that are overwhelming. 

Then I spend hundreds of hours making mastery in those topics easy:

1. I pick a topic I care to get good at.
2. I research and experiment to uncover the topic's unstated principles. I question assumptions behind its conventional teaching.
   
3. I get my hands dirty. Because the "difference between knowledge and wisdom is experience,” and I need experience to teach others.
4. I release the handbook for free.

Why I don't write books

I'm sometimes asked why I don't publish books or ebooks.

Surprisingly, books are a worse medium for education and discussion:

• Books become outdated, whereas I can update my handbooks yearly.
• Books lack audio and video, which I've found important for teaching.
• Books contain boring filler to reach page count requirements.
• Book excerpts can't be deep-linked. A lack of linking means people don't share and re-reference the book's material.

There are many experts. But few great teachers. We need more great teachers.

A bottleneck to having more is that teaching is not a natural competency. Most experts don't bother to get better.

They think, "I've put my expertise down on paper. Now, my readers can figure out the nuances on their own."

But they're squandering their expertise.

A true teacher explains how to cook instead of merely sharing their recipe. 

And they engage readers with narrative, which makes their content universally appealing and sustains engagement.

As a result, great teachers can excite you. They inspire further exploration.

In fact, it's teachers — not experts — who help you attain true mastery. Because mastery requires passion.

That's why I spend more time trying to appreciate great teachers than experts.

And I do so with the open-mindedness that teachers need not hold positions of prestige: Everyday bloggers and podcasters can have a greater impact on you than your professors.

Podcasters and bloggers are also widely accessible. They're teachers for the masses. And that's what I hope to be.

I categorize teaching into two types:

Type I — Collating, distilling, and articulating thoughts from the zeitgeist.

Type II — Contribute original thoughts back to the zeitgeist.

Teachers and intellectuals mostly produce Type I. That's okay. It's needed. It's how we make sense of the world.

But it's the rare Type II that stimulates. It's much more interesting to read.

With every handbook, I try to do both. I recognize they wind up being 90% Type I. And that's okay. I need to make sense of a topic so others can master it.

But, what truly excites me is when I share my Type II insights.