Peter Attia recently offered one of the best descriptions of scientific thinking I’ve heard:

“The goal of thinking scientifically is not simply to be right. It’s to be less wrong over time.”

The phrase immediately struck me.

“Less wrong over time” is a fantastic way to describe the scientific process: testing our assumptions, following the evidence, and revising what we believe as we learn more.

But it also gave me a compelling way to think about my own pursuit of becoming more Christ-like, which necessarily includes growing in wisdom and humility.

“Less wrong over time” is not a complete definition of wisdom. But it captures something essential about pursuing it: the humility to recognize that we don’t have everything figured out.

Wise people challenge their assumptions, learn from others, and change their minds when better evidence emerges.

This is exactly the type of idea that a top-tier Learning Operating System is designed to capture.

The objective is not merely to collect more information. It is to break down important ideas into their First Principles, rebuild our understanding from the ground up, and often atomize the most valuable insights into forms we can retain and retrieve.

Any time we discover a sharper way to frame an important concept, it is an opportunity to strike.

But hearing a valuable idea is not the same as retaining it.

Time swiftly washes away the obvious.

I didn’t want to agree with Attia’s framing and then forget it. I turned it into a simple Anki-powered flashcard shown below and practiced retrieving it.

Anki is the same spaced-repetition tool widely used by medical students to learn and retain vast amounts of material, including anatomy.

This is spaced repetition in action. Curious how much reinforcement it took to retain this idea, I checked the card history: four reviews totaling just 25 seconds.

Four brief reviews helped make this idea available when I needed it. But the point isn’t the flash card or the technology. The point is having a valuable truth ready when the moment calls for it. In this case, that moment came during a conversation about wisdom.

It was incredibly rewarding to recall this pearl of wisdom during the weekly Bible and Bourbon gathering I’m blessed to be part of. We are currently working through the book of Proverbs, so the timing was particularly fitting. (Thank you to all the North Point men who make it happen.)

I was able to bring it into the discussion at exactly the right moment, and it landed, not just for me, but for others in the room.

That small moment captures the purpose of Leadership Recall:

Don’t merely collect valuable insights. Train yourself to retrieve them when they can create value.

I teach this process in detail in my book, Leadership Recall, which you can get at no cost.

Designed for growth-minded leaders and their teams, it provides a complete Learning Operating System for capturing, cataloging, and recalling essential knowledge at a top-tier level. It also includes 79 illustrations showing exactly how to create pro-level flashcards.

The question isn’t only: What are you learning?

It’s also: Will you remember it when it matters?

To Your Pursuit of Wisdom,

Steve Kahle |  ELITE OPERATORS
In Pursuit of Elite