You know that feeling when someone finishes explaining something and asks, "Does that make sense?" and you nod like an idiot even though you understood maybe 12% of it? Turns out that nod is the problem. In this episode, we make the case that confused people are actually the smartest ones in the room — and that your lifelong suspicion that you're the only one who doesn't get it is actually a sign your brain is still working while everyone else's quit early.

We'll dig into the UCLA research on "desirable difficulties" that proves confusion is literally how learning works, why Einstein called abandoning his own confusion his "biggest blunder," and how Jeff Bezos built a trillion-dollar company on being 30% unsure about everything. If you've ever felt dumb for not getting it while everyone else nods along confidently, this one's for you.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

In his groundbreaking new book on Primal Intelligence, researcher Angus Fletcher identifies four fundamental cognitive abilities we're all born with, but are systematically trained to ignore, or misunderstand. This episode dives deep into the first pillar: Intuition.

You were born with a superpower. When you were six months old, you could see things no adult around you could see. You noticed details. You saw uniqueness everywhere. You had perfect intuition.

And then you grew up. And you trained it out of yourself.

You learned patterns. You learned efficiency. You learned to judge quickly and move on. And in doing so, you killed the thing that made you perceptive in the first place.

This episode is about getting it back. That natural ability you had as a kid—to see what's actually there instead of what you expect to be there. To notice the exception instead of the pattern. To be curious instead of certain.

It's the skill that makes salespeople go from failing to top-performer. The skill that helps soldiers predict wars. The skill that turns a stuck conversation into a breakthrough. And you already have it. You've just forgotten how to access it.

This isn't about learning something "new." It's about unlearning what's making you blind to truly seeing. It's about getting dumber so you can see better. And it works for your job, your relationships, your life—anywhere you've been stuck seeing the same patterns and missing what's actually in front of you.

You were better at this when you were six months old. Let's get you back there.

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.

The smartest man in the world mathematically proved airplanes were impossible. One year later, the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. What did two bicycle mechanics see that a genius with perfect data and flawless logic couldn't? And why did the U.S. Army discover that teaching their elite soldiers to think more like computers was actually making them worse at their jobs?

Here's the thing nobody tells you: every time you open an app, fill out a form, or stare at a menu trying to translate "I want something Italian that's healthy" into the categories a machine demands, you're training yourself to think like a computer. And computers, it turns out, are probability machines that can only see what's already happened. Your brain is a possibility machine that can imagine what's never existed. You just forgot how to use it. This episode will remind you—and it might change how you make every decision from here on out.

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.

What if the secret to high-performing teams and genuine human connection isn't more professionalism—but less? This episode reveals the surprising science behind why adults waddling like penguins might be the most sophisticated thing they do all week. From a psychiatrist who discovered that murderers shared one startling childhood characteristic, to hundreds of Germans gathering in parks to eat pudding with forks, host David Carson uncovers a pattern modern life is desperately trying to eliminate: collective foolishness isn't frivolous—it's fundamental.

Through decades of neuroscience and Harvard business studies, this episode proves that thriving groups aren't the ones who stay dignified—they're the ones willing to look ridiculous together. You'll discover why water balloon fights and tomato-throwing festivals build trust faster than any team-building exercise, why the word "constulting" needs a comeback, and how synchronized stupidity might be Gen Z's answer to chaotic times. Fair warning: by the end, you'll want to gather your most serious colleagues and do something deeply, publicly pointless.

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.

What if everything we’ve been told about grit, persistence, and “never giving up” is actually… backwards? In this week’s episode of Dumbify, David Carson digs into the taboo idea that quitting might not be weakness. It might be a great strategy. David unpacks why forcing ourselves to stick with things we hate doesn’t build character, it just builds resentment. From Seth Godin’s heretical book The Dip to Steve Jobs’ career-defining walkouts, the evidence piles up. The people who succeed aren’t the ones who grind forever, they’re the ones who quit smart and redirect their energy.

This episode will make you rethink every motivational poster you’ve ever seen. Why do Olympic athletes quit sports constantly before finding their lane? Why did Steve Jobs’ biggest wins only happen because he walked away at the right time? And why does your brain trick you into persevering long after you should have bailed? Tune in to hear how the cult of “never give up” might be holding you back, and why your most valuable skill could be quitting.

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.