Freedom is revered Western culture, but it turns out that we do our most creative thinking within constraints and boundaries. David Epstein is a journalist who specializes in the science of success, and he joins Adam to talk about his new book, Inside the Box, and what he learned by setting his own constraints while writing it. They break down how innovators use limitations to drive breakthroughs, take a closer look at why a lack of restrictions can actually limit potential, and riff on how our favorite sports could harness new rules to make the games more interesting.

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ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.

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The power of constraints with David Epstein

ReThinking

The power of constraints with David Epstein