This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a commission. Thanks for supporting me!

Length: ~5hrs, 24 lessons

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

My one-liner takeaway: Don't aim to be the best writer; instead, aim for interesting.

This series felt like a pleasant afternoon spent with Malcolm as he unpacks his mind. It was both fascinating and highly entertaining. He has such a quirky way of thinking about the world and despite his fame, speaks with a heavy dose of humility. He does go on frequent tangents, a few times to apologize-but-not-really for past writings (e.g., when the broken windows theory he helped popularize was used to justify over-policing). These digressions all serve to make the videos more enjoyable, almost like what he calls giving "candy" to his readers: in addition to the main point being made, you should insert some semi-related bite-sized tidbit (i.e., candy) that the reader will pick up and remember to share with others at parties.

There are some gems that stood out to me. He emphasizes not using Google to do research, since the algorithm is designed to return sources ranked by popularity. This of course means you're reading at what pretty much everyone else is reading. Instead, go to the library and look at books. Because of how they’re organized, the ones physically near the one you're interested in will be slightly related, but not the same. Move your hand a little further, and you'll take another small step away from your starting point. I also loved that he recommended striving to tell more interesting stories, which means putting yourself out there. For example, no one wants to hear you talk about how one kind of apple is like another type of apple. Instead, writing about how apples are kind of like oranges is sure to get attention. Here’s a great essay by Morgan Housel on the topic.

If you’d like to hear it directly from Malcolm, check out his course here. As of now there are over 100 instructors to learn from, with more being added every week!

This review is part of a larger series, where I try learning from every single course within the catalog. Find my full list here.