Lessons from Tim Urban

Tim Urban, the writer and illustrator behind the popular blog Wait But Why, is known for his deep dives into complex topics, making them accessible and thought-provoking. His work often explores the human condition, procrastination, societal dynamics, and the future of technology.

On Procrastination and the Mind

The Instant Gratification Monkey: In the mind of a procrastinator, there's a struggle between the Rational Decision-Maker and the Instant Gratification Monkey. The monkey only cares about what's easy and fun right now. [1][2]
The Dark Playground: This is where procrastinators spend their time. It's where you do leisure activities that you're not supposed to be doing, which fills you with guilt and anxiety instead of actual relaxation. [1][2]
The Panic Monster: The Panic Monster is the only thing the Instant Gratification Monkey is afraid of. It wakes up when a deadline gets too close, or there's a risk of public embarrassment, and it's what finally gets the procrastinator to work. [1][2]
The Problem with No Deadlines: The most dangerous kind of procrastination happens when there are no deadlines. Without deadlines, the Panic Monster doesn't appear, and you can procrastinate on important life goals indefinitely, becoming a "spectator in your own life." [1][3]
The Frustration of Unchased Dreams: "The frustration is not that they couldn't achieve their dreams; it's that they weren't even able to start chasing them." [1]
Everyone is a Procrastinator: Everyone procrastinates on something in life. The key is to be aware of the Instant Gratification Monkey and what you're truly putting off. [3]
Life Calendar: Visualizing your life in weeks can be a powerful motivator. Seeing all the weeks you have in a 90-year life on a single page makes you realize that your time is finite. [3]
The Internal Battle: "The older I get, the clearer it becomes that our internal battle as the kindergarten teachers of our mind is like 97% of life's struggle. The world is easy—you're difficult." [4]
The Two-Sided Coin of Procrastination and Perfectionism: Procrastination and perfectionism are often linked. The fear of not doing something perfectly can lead to not starting it at all. [5]
Habits as Software: "Habits are just kind of the automated software running in your head. And if you, you can train it differently like a dumb dog." [5]

On Thinking, Learning, and Humility

Cook vs. Chef: A cook follows a recipe, while a chef creates the recipe. This is an analogy for different ways of thinking. A cook relies on what's already been done, while a chef reasons from "first principles," building knowledge from the ground up. [6]
First Principles Thinking: "I think generally people's thinking process is too bound by convention or analogy to prior experiences. It's rare that people try to think of something on a first principles basis... You have to build up the reasoning from the ground up." [7][8]
Building a Tree of Knowledge: "I've heard people compare knowledge of a topic to a tree. If you don't fully get it, it's like a tree in your head with no trunk—and without a trunk, when you learn something new about the topic—a new branch or leaf of the tree—there's nothing for it to hang onto, so it just falls away." [4]
Humility as a Starting Point: "Humility is by definition a starting point – and it sends you off on a journey from there. The arrogance of certainty is both a starting point and an ending point – no journeys needed." [4][7]
The Gateway to Intellectual Growth: "The unpleasant feeling of existential confusion and intellectual insecurity is the gateway drug to real intellectual growth – but when you haven't had the complete epiphany, it doesn't feel that way." [7][9]
Thinking Like a Scientist: "When you're thinking like a Scientist – self-aware, free of bias, unattached to any particular ideas, motivated entirely by truth and continually willing to revise your beliefs – your brain is a hyper-efficient learning machine." [7][10]
Three Objectives for Scientific Thinking: "So if we want to think like a scientist more often in life, those are the three key objectives—to be humbler about what we know, more confident about what's possible, and less afraid of things that don't matter." [4][11]
The Scientist vs. The Zealot: "The Scientist's clear mind sees a foggy world, full of complexity and nuance and messiness, the Zealot's foggy mind shows them a clear, simple world, full of crisp lines and black-and-white distinctions." [4]
The Coloring Book Model of School: "Instead of a blank canvas, school hands kids a coloring book and tells them to stay within the lines." [7][11]
Writing for Yourself: A key to creating compelling content is to write about what genuinely fascinates you. If you love it, others will too. [12]
Being a Complexity Tour Guide: You don't have to be the world's leading expert to explain a topic. You can be a "complexity tour guide," taking the reader on the journey of learning with you. [12]

On Society, Politics, and Human Nature ("What's Our Problem?")

The Primitive Mind vs. The Higher Mind: Our brains contain a "Primitive Mind" focused on ancient survival instincts (like tribalism and short-term thinking) and a "Higher Mind" capable of reason, long-term planning, and seeing nuance. [10][13]
The Thinking Ladder: This concept describes four levels of thinking, from the top rung where the Higher Mind is in control (thinking like a Scientist) to the bottom rung where the Primitive Mind dominates (consumed by tribal hatred, lust, etc.). [13][14]
Human Nature as Outdated Software: "Human nature is a specific software program optimized for a specific purpose: survival in a small tribe, a long time ago. The modern world is nothing like the environment we were made for." [10]
Moths to a Flame: Like moths circling a porch light because their navigation system is fooled, humans often engage in self-destructive behavior because our "programming" isn't suited for the modern world. [10]
The Dangers of Echo Chambers: "The powerful social incentives of Echo Chamber culture keep everyone in line. The culture rewards the continual expression of narrative-confirming sentiment, and brands ideas that threaten the guiding narrative as taboo." [7][10]
The Litmus Test of Character: "That's why the litmus test of anyone's true colors—the revealer of which mind is running the show in their head—is how they treat people outside their tribe." [9]
Us vs. Them is a Delusion: "Us vs. Them is always a delusion. The Story of Us isn't a story of good guys vs. bad guys but one about the tug-of-war that exists within each human head, each community, each society." [15]
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Media: "The news and online media portraying a society where everyone hates each other is dangerous because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy." [7]
Independent vs. Dogmatic Thinkers: "An independent thinker, regardless of their viewpoint, is an active brain in the room, contributing something original to the system. A dogmatic who simply regurgitates the same viewpoints, without independent critical thought, contributes little." [16]
High-Rung vs. Low-Rung Thinking: High-rung thinking is characterized by humility, nuance, and a focus on truth. Low-rung thinking is tribal, certain, and driven by the Primitive Mind. [13][17]
The Problem with Certainty: "By the time you're at the bottom [of the Thinking Ladder], you can't even conceive of ever being wrong... and the people who disagree with us are terrible and awful and wrong." [13]
Selective Kindness isn't High-Mindedness: "Selective kindness is a Primitive Mind trick that appears to be high-mindedness, if you're not paying close enough attention." [9]
The Value of Disgust as a Red Flag: "Think about people or groups you hate. Who are you disgusted by? Remind yourself that this is almost always a delusion of your Primitive Mind." [15]
Technology as a Multiplier: "Technology is a multiplier of both good and bad. More technology means better good times, but it also means badder bad times." [15]

On Life, Happiness, and Perspective

Chasing Happiness is an Amateur Move: "Chasing happiness is an amateur move. Feeling contentment in those times when your choices and your circumstances have combined to pull it off, and knowing you have all that you could ever ask for, is for the wise." [7]
The Tail End: We should consider not just the time we have left in life, but the remaining number of experiences we have with the people we love. For example, if you see your parents a few times a year, you may be in the final 5% of the total time you'll ever spend with them. [18]
Priorities and Proximity Matter: "Living in the same place as the people you love matters. I probably have 10X the time left with the people who live in my city as I do with the people who live somewhere else." [18]
The Delusion of Specialness (Gen Y): "Gen-Ys are delusional; Most people are not special — otherwise 'special' wouldn't mean anything. Even right now, most of Gen-Ys reading this are thinking: 'Good point. But I actually am one of the few special ones' — and this is the problem." [4][16]
Human Insignificance and Consciousness: "We are the only species on Earth that can conceive of either our own insignificance or our own death. Indeed, I am a microscopic particle here for only a brief moment who knows that I am a microscopic particle here for only a brief moment." [4][16]
The Fermi Paradox Realities: When considering the silence of the universe, "Depending on where The Great Filter occurs, we're left with three possible realities: We're rare, we're first, or we're fucked." [4]
Defining Purpose: "Purpose in general is for me to do something I have fun in doing. I want to be excited to wake up. I want to be excited to do my work. I want to feel like I'm playing when I'm doing my work." [4][16]
The Future is Crazier Than We Think: "The future is going to be far FAR crazier than basically anyone realizes. This was really, really, really not a normal time to be born." [19]
On Overcoming Complacency: "It's when we feel too good that we run the risk of becoming overconfident, intellectually complacent, and set in our ways. It's exactly when we think we have life all figured out that we end up losing our way." [15]
Quality Time Matters: "If you're in your last 10% of time with someone you love, keep that fact in the front of your mind when you're with them and treat that time as what it actually is: precious." [18]
The Hard Way to Solve Insecurity: "Insecurity can be solved the hard way or the easy way—and by giving people the easy option, dogmatic tribes remove the pressure to do the hard work of evolving into a more independent person with a more internally-defined identity." [4][11]
On the Passage of Time: "Humans walked around or rode horses for 999 of the last 1,000 centuries. In this century, we drive cars, fly planes, and land on the moon." [4]
The Right to Swing Your Arms: "Your right to swing your arms ends just where another person's nose begins." [7]
On Historical Perspective: "What Hitler tried to do is essentially the same thing Alexander tried to do (though with more genocide), but it was so long ago that the tragic element of it carries no emotion today. If Hitler had done his thing 2,400 years ago, we might know him as Hitler the Great today." [16]
A Call to Self-Audit: "Do a self-audit. Where in your internal life is your Primitive Mind holding the reins? What are the triggers that activate your Primitive Mind and leave you buried in fog?" [10]

Disclaimer: The provided links lead to sources that contain the quotes. For direct access to Tim Urban's work, visit his blog Wait But Why, his book "What's Our Problem?", and his TED Talk.

Learn more:

Lessons from Tim Urban

On Procrastination and the Mind

On Thinking, Learning, and Humility

On Society, Politics, and Human Nature ("What's Our Problem?")

On Life, Happiness, and Perspective

Written by Antoine Buteau

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