16/02/2026
26 Rules to Be a Better Thinker in 2026
My 14 years old nephew and I recently engaged in a debate about the threats of AI.
My mother believes he "put me in my place". I say, she wasn't paying attention and I shut up because we were both guessing at an unknown future.
What we mainly disagreed on was whether AI would be placed in robots who could complete physical work, making having a body attached to a mind redundant.
What I do know for sure is the AI risk is humans surrendering our thinking to it.
The biggest threat to humanity will be if humans do not have the knowledge of the subject area to "check the work" of the AI.
I remember being 19, having to go to the university library to look up primary sources and photocopy them. One paragraph of my uni report could take ten hours of work to write.
That struggle developed patience, discipline, and character.
What if my nephew just had ChatGPT do it for him?
The whole thinking process would’ve been annihilated.
That’s what’s at stake right now.
Not information. Not access. Not speed.
But the slow, frustrating, character-building process of learning how to think.
We live in an age where answers are instant.
But understanding is not.
And the irony is this:
The smarter our tools get, the more dangerous it becomes to outsource our thinking.
AI can give you output. It cannot give you judgment. It cannot give you wisdom. It cannot tell you when it’s wrong.
Only you can do that.
Which is why, in 2026, clear thinking is becoming one of the most valuable skills on earth.
So here are 26 rules for developing it.
1. Take another think
Our first thoughts are often wrong.
Slow down. Question yourself. Assume error.
Even AI needs a second pass.
So do you.
2. Take walks
Some of the greatest thinkers walked daily.
Nikola Tesla made breakthroughs on walks.
Ernest Hemingway walked when he was stuck.
Friedrich Nietzsche believed ideas came from movement.
Your brain works better when your body moves.
3. Embrace contradiction
As F. Scott Fitzgerald said:
A first-rate mind holds opposing ideas and still functions.
Reality is complex. Learn to sit with that.
4. But don’t confuse complexity with nonsense
Holding tension is intelligence.
Holding confusion is not.
Always ask: Does this actually make sense?
5. Go to first principles
Aristotle taught: go to the roots.
Don’t argue headlines. Rebuild ideas from the ground up.
6. Think for yourself
René Girard showed how we copy desires.
Most people don’t think. They imitate.
Don’t.
7. Don’t be contrarian for sport
As Peter Thiel noted:
Opposition isn’t thinking. It’s reaction.
Truth isn’t found by flipping signs.
8. Ask good questions
Isidor Rabi was asked daily:
“Did you ask a good question?”
Questions create mastery.
9. Watch your information diet
Garbage in. Garbage out.
Protect your mind like your body.
10. Go deep
When studying Lincoln, I had to go far beyond surface knowledge.
I read everything. Spoke to experts like Doris Kearns Goodwin and Ken Burns.
Depth creates authority.
Skimming creates illusion.
11. Re-read
Books don’t change. You do.
Return to great ideas.
12. Study people who disagree with you
James Stockdale survived captivity because he understood his enemies’ thinking.
Read “dangerous” ideas.
13. Ego is the enemy
Epictetus warned:
You can’t learn what you think you know.
Humility is intelligence.
14. Beware the Gell-Mann amnesia effect
Named after Murray Gell-Mann.
Media gets things wrong constantly.
You notice it only in fields you know.
Stay skeptical.
15. Be flexible
Winston Churchill respected tradition, not stagnation.
Adapt or decay.
16. Empty the cup
An old Zen lesson:
If your mind is full, nothing fits.
And as Horace warned: A dirty vessel spoils everything.
17. Seek understanding, not trivia
Random facts ≠ wisdom.
Build frameworks. Not collections.
18. Write to think
Michel de Montaigne wrote to discover his thoughts. I post content.
Writing clarifies. Silence obscures.
19. Build a second brain
Collect ideas. Store insights. Return to them.
As Seneca said: turn words into works.
20. Cultivate empathy
If you can’t see through others’ eyes, you see only half of reality.
21. Look at the fish
Louis Agassiz forced students to observe deeply.
Not quickly. Not lazily.
See what’s really there.
22. Find your scene
As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said:
You become who you associate with.
Choose wisely.
23. Build a personal board of directors
Who challenges you? Who tells you the truth?
No one succeeds alone.
24. Watch your inner child
Notice emotional overreactions.
That’s old pain speaking.
Don’t let it drive.
25. Keep your identity small
From Paul Graham:
Strong identities make weak thinkers.
Stay flexible.
26. Do the work
As Seneca wrote:
No one becomes wise by accident.
No app. No shortcut. No AI prompt.
Only effort.
The Big Idea
AI is not making thinking obsolete.
It’s making it essential.
The future belongs to people who can:
• Interpret
• Question
• Judge
• Synthesize
• Reflect
• Adapt
Tools will keep getting smarter.
So must you.
If this resonated, share it with someone who still believes thinking is optional.
It isn’t.
Not anymore.
