Beyond the latest best seller

I’ve noticed a pattern when people recommend a book that’s a bit older. They apologize for recommending it. Something like “Sorry, it’s a bit old, but...”

You don’t want to be the next person that apologizes to me for talking about an excellent book just because it’s not well known, brand new or doesn’t have the word f*ck in the title.

It’s going to be a 30 minute lecture on the value of classic wisdom, on reading more than just what’s popular and how modern knowledge often stands on the shoulders of past giants. You’ve been w*rned :)

Of course it’s in our nature to be drawn to the new hotness, the latest best seller and whatever is currently shiny. Like Magpies we collect and collect but we don’t often pause to ask why we’re collecting.

I really hope it doesn’t simply mean I’m getting old, but in the last few years I’ve gained tremendous insights from sources that are off the beaten track. Older books. Niche podcasts. Deep conversations with trusted friends.

I think it’s a mistake to focus too much on the bleeding edge of human knowledge. I’ll end with a quote by historian Niall Ferguson that I’ve been thinking about:

“The dead outnumber the living 14-to-1, and we ignore the accumulated experience of such a huge majority of mankind at our peril.”