Tim Urban

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Productivity bias

  “This country has a discrimination problem when it comes to early risers and night owls.”

  Our noteTim discusses the societal bias toward early morning work schedules.

• Mortality and action

  “This year we remembered that we were gonna die at some point and decided it was time to get things going again.”

  Our noteTim explains why he decided to resume his travel goals after a long hiatus.

• Microscopic creativity

  “Brazilian artists Vik Muniz and Marcelo Coelho have gotten clever - instead of building castles made of sand, they're painting castles on single microscopic grains of sand.”

  Our noteTim Urban describes a unique art project involving microscopic sand art.

• Controlling involuntary reactions

  “So a key skill of The Guy Who's a Huge Pussy When it Comes to Bugs is to control the "initial involuntary horror reaction," or the IIHR, which happens when you suddenly notice a large bug on or near you.”

  Our noteTim describes the struggle of maintaining composure when facing a phobia in public.

• Preventing systemic issues

  “So if you ever see a sole ant walking around your kitchen, end his little existence before he breaks the news to 1,000 other ants that he discovered a kitchen.”

  Our noteTim gives advice on how to prevent an ant infestation by stopping the first scout.

• Presence vs documentation

  “Only half of my brain was focused on the eclipse because the other half was frantically trying to figure out how to best use the precious minutes.”

  Our noteTim struggles to balance experiencing the moment with trying to photograph it.

• Curiosity and distraction

  “My entire morning was just derailed when a reader named Stuart emailed me a delicious thing that Google has done, called Google Earth Timelapse”

  Our noteTim explains how he discovered the Google Earth Timelapse tool through a reader's email.

• Mean vs Median

  “It's a mistake to say that the mean, $301,140, represents the average American's net worth - that's just what the wealth of each American would be if all American wealth were divided evenly.”

  Our noteTim explains why mean wealth is a misleading metric for understanding the typical person's financial situation.

• Accurate Data Representation

  “The median wealth would be around $30,000 and a much more accurate representation of how the average person was actually doing.”

  Our noteHe argues that median values provide a better picture of reality in unequal distributions.

• The struggle phase

  “Almost every star ate an incredible amount of shit for years before anyone ever heard of them. And if you dig hard enough, you can watch it happening.”

  Our noteTim discusses the long period of obscurity and minor roles that famous actors endure before success.

• Historical branding tactics

  “So the name is a remnant of a 10th century scam.”

  Our noteTim reflects on the deceptive origins of Greenland's name.

• Exponential technological growth

  “The technology and knowledge of a civilization only 1,000 years ahead of us could be as shocking to us as our world would be to a medieval person.”

  Our noteTim explains how rapidly technology advances over long periods of time.

• Counterintuitive business strategy

  “If you want to understand how a cool bar thinks, just take the way every other business thinks - "please the customer and they'll come back" - and do the opposite.”

  Our noteTim Urban explains how popular bars often succeed by treating their customers poorly.

• Personal growth strategy

  “In the same way a growing business relies on a clear mission with a well thought-out strategy and measurable metrics, a growing human needs a plan”

  Our noteTim compares personal development to running a business, emphasizing the need for a structured approach.

• Primitive brain influence

  “The adrenaline-charged animals romping around our brain can take over our mind, clouding our thoughts, judgment, sense of self, and understanding of the world.”

  Our noteTim describes how primal instincts can interfere with rational decision-making.

• First principles thinking

  “Musk wasn't thinking about a faster train - he was thinking about a new mode of transport entirely.”

  Our noteTim Urban describes Musk's approach to solving the problem of regional transit.

• Curating external talent

  “Artist Karen Graw has spent a lot of hours creating super-accurate depictions of the famous Disney characters we're all obsessed with, and in turn put me in a bad mood by reminding me that I'm not married to Belle.”

  Our noteTim Urban introduces a curated piece of art by Karen Graw on his blog.

• Hidden realities

  “But then once in a while, you see a beam of light at a certain angle and realize that the entire room is filled with dust and you're living in a swarm of dust at all times.”

  Our noteTim describes how we often ignore the invisible elements of our environment until they are highlighted.