5 Thought Experiments to Upgrade Your Thinking
The fox and the rabbit, time boxes, and a very special library
Einstein said we can’t solve our problems with the same thinking that created them. Science estimates we have between 30 and 50 thoughts per minute. That’s a lot of chances to change our thinking.
Widely regarded as the smartest man to ever walk the earth, Einstein made good use of these chances. He loved thought experiments. In fact, a thought experiment became the first seed of his theory of general relativity.
Einstein imagined himself riding on a beam of light towards the sun. Looking at another beam right next to him, he should have perceived it as stationary, but, according to the laws of physics, that was impossible. Years later, thanks to another thought experiment, Einstein concluded the only possible answer: time itself is relative.
Although this wasn’t the insight that won him the Nobel prize, decades of science have built upon it. 100 years later, researchers finally verified the most important chunks of his theory as unequivocally true.
There’s something to be said here about vision, about genius, and about daring to imagine, but the real point is this: A question opens the mind. A statement closes it. You can’t upgrade your thinking with…
