We’re taught that copying is cheating and that true genius requires inventing something from nothing. But what if the "originality" we worship is actually a lie? In this episode, we debunk the myth of the solitary genius by looking at the greatest creative thieves in history. We find out why Shakespeare would be expelled from modern colleges for plagiarism, how The Beatles honed their craft as a cover band in Hamburg strip clubs, and why The Ramones only invented punk rock because they were physically incapable of playing Beach Boys songs.

We’ll dive into the cognitive science of "combinatorial creativity" and the concept of the "palimpsest" to show why the best ideas are often just "bad copies" of old ones. From DJ Kool Herc inventing hip hop by looping James Brown records to Japanese whiskey distillers accidentally improving on Scotch, we prove that your unique voice is actually found in the mistakes you make while trying to be someone else. Stop waiting for a lightning bolt of inspiration and learn why the smartest way to create is to get dumb and start copying.

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Dumbify celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.

Society tells us that mumbling to ourselves is a sign of madness, a habit reserved for the unhinged or the socially awkward. But what if the person muttering next to the Gouda is actually the smartest one in the room? In this episode, we discover that history’s greatest minds—from Albert Einstein to Nikola Tesla—weren’t just eccentric, they were utilizing a powerful "thinking technology" that modern science confirms can actually make you smarter.

Join host David Carson as we explore the surprising neuroscience behind self-talk, revealing why LeBron James refers to himself in the third person to win championships and why top engineers at Google explain their code to yellow rubber ducks. We’ll break down how "psychological distancing" can help you regulate emotions and solve complex problems. By the end of this episode, you’ll have permission to stop thinking silently and start talking your way to brilliance—even if people stare.

Sign up for the Dumbify newsletter: https://www.david-carson.com/

Dumbify celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.

Your brain is a lying machine—and that's the only reason you're alive. This episode dives into imagination, not the Disney sparkle-fingers kind, but the prehistoric survival software running in the background of your skull 24/7. We'll explore why Navy SEALs are basically aggressive theater kids, how a crow named Betty outsmarted Oxford scientists by inventing tools on the fly, and why your anxiety might actually be an evolutionary flex. Turns out, the paranoid storyteller survived while the guy doing probability calculations got eaten by a saber-tooth.

We'll also unpack why your New Year's resolutions fail by January 19th (hint: you're asking your brain to direct five movies at once), what Admiral Nelson's "I don't care how you win, just win" strategy can teach you about planning, and why somewhere between 3-12% of adults are secretly maintaining detailed goblin kingdoms in their heads while doing your taxes. Plus, today's Dumb Word of the Day and challenge for the week.

Sign up for the Dumbify newsletter: https://www.david-carson.com/

Dumbify celebrates ideas so weird, wrong, or wildly impractical… they just might be brilliant. Hosted by David Carson, a serial entrepreneur behind multiple hundred-million-dollar companies and the go-to secret weapon for companies looking to unlock new markets through unconventional thinking. Dumbify dives into the messy, counter-intuitive side of creativity — the “dumb” ideas that built empires, broke rules, and ended up changing everything.