Ben Wilson

That's the Thomas Edison invention that plays recorded sound. And he just wanted to see how it works. And before he can put it back together, his father gets home and his father is furious. He yells at young Edwin and gives him a spanking. Now, most people would learn their lesson that, you know, you can't take things apart and experiment on them without permission.

But Edwin Land actually learns the opposite lesson. He gets angry at his father and he says of this incident, remember, he's only five years old. This is what he says. From then on, I was totally stubborn about being blocked. Nothing or nobody could stop me from carrying through the execution of an experiment. Okay, this is ultra high agency behavior.

But Edwin Land actually learns the opposite lesson. He gets angry at his father and he says of this incident, remember, he's only five years old. This is what he says. From then on, I was totally stubborn about being blocked. Nothing or nobody could stop me from carrying through the execution of an experiment. Okay, this is ultra high agency behavior.

And if you haven't heard that term, high agency is the capacity to exert control over your life and take ownership over outcomes in your life. So in other words, it is the ability to break through barriers and act independently when others tell you no or resist your vision. You know, someone who's low agency just kind of accepts the world as it is.

And if you haven't heard that term, high agency is the capacity to exert control over your life and take ownership over outcomes in your life. So in other words, it is the ability to break through barriers and act independently when others tell you no or resist your vision. You know, someone who's low agency just kind of accepts the world as it is.

So Edwin Land is ultra high agency, even as a five-year-old. By the way, if you want to learn more about how to be high agency, George Mack just wrote a very good essay on the concept. You can find it at highagency.com. And I really highly recommend that essay. I learned a ton from it. It also reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies from when I was a kid, Sergeant Bilko.

So Edwin Land is ultra high agency, even as a five-year-old. By the way, if you want to learn more about how to be high agency, George Mack just wrote a very good essay on the concept. You can find it at highagency.com. And I really highly recommend that essay. I learned a ton from it. It also reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies from when I was a kid, Sergeant Bilko.

and sergeant bilko is about this sergeant bilko uh and he's an ultra corrupt army sergeant in charge of the motor pool at a military base but he's actually running a gambling ring out of the motor pool and they get a very straight edge new private in the motor pool so bilko asks him to do something very corrupt and this is what happens next you want me to turn the odometer back so

and sergeant bilko is about this sergeant bilko uh and he's an ultra corrupt army sergeant in charge of the motor pool at a military base but he's actually running a gambling ring out of the motor pool and they get a very straight edge new private in the motor pool so bilko asks him to do something very corrupt and this is what happens next you want me to turn the odometer back so

Okay, this is basically what always happens to great leaders when someone tells them something is impossible. A full freak out, can't, he said can't. And that is how Edwin Land reacts against his father when he's only five, okay? So he's five years old, he's already high agency.

Okay, this is basically what always happens to great leaders when someone tells them something is impossible. A full freak out, can't, he said can't. And that is how Edwin Land reacts against his father when he's only five, okay? So he's five years old, he's already high agency.

When he gets to school, he immediately excels at school to the point where in high school, his physics teacher tells him, there is nothing more I can do for you. You know, you just know more about this stuff than even I do. And he becomes obsessed with optics at a very young age, the study of light and how it's transmitted and how it's perceived. He loves learning about this.

When he gets to school, he immediately excels at school to the point where in high school, his physics teacher tells him, there is nothing more I can do for you. You know, you just know more about this stuff than even I do. And he becomes obsessed with optics at a very young age, the study of light and how it's transmitted and how it's perceived. He loves learning about this.

He has an optics book that he says he reads every day like it's the Bible. He learns about polarization of light at a summer camp. This summer camp, I can't tell if maybe it's a scout camp, maybe it's a Jewish camp. I know that's a thing that Jewish kids do on the East Coast. Anyway, whether it's a scout camp or a Jewish camp, he has a camp counselor who introduces him to the idea of polarization.

He has an optics book that he says he reads every day like it's the Bible. He learns about polarization of light at a summer camp. This summer camp, I can't tell if maybe it's a scout camp, maybe it's a Jewish camp. I know that's a thing that Jewish kids do on the East Coast. Anyway, whether it's a scout camp or a Jewish camp, he has a camp counselor who introduces him to the idea of polarization.

And a polarizer is a filter that only allows through certain wavelengths of light. So, for example, on ski goggles. Basically, all ski goggles these days are polarized because a polarizer can block certain wavelengths, and that includes bright white lights, which then eliminates all the glare that you would otherwise get from sunlight bouncing off of bright white snow.

And a polarizer is a filter that only allows through certain wavelengths of light. So, for example, on ski goggles. Basically, all ski goggles these days are polarized because a polarizer can block certain wavelengths, and that includes bright white lights, which then eliminates all the glare that you would otherwise get from sunlight bouncing off of bright white snow.

But none of this exists yet. There are no ski goggles, no polarized goggles of any kind in the early 1900s. Polarizers at this point are still just a brand new concept, basically. So Land hears about polarizers from this counselor when he's still in high school. And at the time, the only polarizers were natural ones. So the most famous of which is in Iceland.

But none of this exists yet. There are no ski goggles, no polarized goggles of any kind in the early 1900s. Polarizers at this point are still just a brand new concept, basically. So Land hears about polarizers from this counselor when he's still in high school. And at the time, the only polarizers were natural ones. So the most famous of which is in Iceland.

Icelandic fishermen would use a naturally occurring mineral, calcite, as a polarizer. So when the sun was out, it would create glare on the surface of the ocean, which would then make it difficult for them to see down beneath the surface. So they would look through the calcite to eliminate glare and see fish beneath the surface of the ocean so they would know where to fish.