From Bacteria to Brilliance
The Oddball Origins of Human Intelligence
Minds are stranger than they seem. This lesson will explore the epic, billion-year journey of intelligence, revealing the six evolutionary breakthroughs that laid the foundation for modern thought, and showing how some unexpected skills (movement, senses, emotion, and imagination!) helped make us who we are. By the end, you’ll see how understanding this story can help you think more powerfully today.
The context
This is a very special experimental lesson that most people do not know about so shhhhhhh! ;)
Brandon’s been asked to give a keynote address at the annual summer summit of the Davidson Institute for Profoundly Gifted Youth on Sunday, June 22, 2025. To prepare for it, he’s created this VERY exciting lesson. If you’re planning to attend the Davidson Institute’s summer summit, don’t sign up for this! It will be one giant spoiler! That would be bad!
It IS something Brandon’s been working on for half a year, but we might never offer this lesson again. (It’s possible we’ll just make this a “lesson we do for conferences” thing.) If you can’t make it, we recommend the book A Brief History of Intelligence, which we’re basing it off of.
Who’s it for?
Kids, primarily… but parents will presumably also find this fascinating, so you’re welcome to join by yourself, as long as you keep your camera off! (If you’re with your kids, you can actually be on camera for this one.)
Dates:
We’re holding these at very different times, to help as many people as possible take it.
Monday June 16 (4pm Eastern / 1pm Pacific)
Tuesday June 17 (8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific)
Wednesday June 18 (2pm Eastern / 11am Pacific)
Probably this will be 1.5–2 hours. If you need to leave early, ask Angela for the recording afterwards.
The Oddball Origins of Human Intelligence
Minds are stranger than they seem. This lesson will explore the epic, billion-year journey of intelligence, revealing the six evolutionary breakthroughs that laid the foundation for modern thought, and showing how some unexpected skills (movement, senses, emotion, and imagination!) helped make us who we are. By the end, you’ll see how understanding this story can help you think more powerfully today.
The context
This is a very special experimental lesson that most people do not know about so shhhhhhh! ;)
Brandon’s been asked to give a keynote address at the annual summer summit of the Davidson Institute for Profoundly Gifted Youth on Sunday, June 22, 2025. To prepare for it, he’s created this VERY exciting lesson. If you’re planning to attend the Davidson Institute’s summer summit, don’t sign up for this! It will be one giant spoiler! That would be bad!
It IS something Brandon’s been working on for half a year, but we might never offer this lesson again. (It’s possible we’ll just make this a “lesson we do for conferences” thing.) If you can’t make it, we recommend the book A Brief History of Intelligence, which we’re basing it off of.
Who’s it for?
Kids, primarily… but parents will presumably also find this fascinating, so you’re welcome to join by yourself, as long as you keep your camera off! (If you’re with your kids, you can actually be on camera for this one.)
Dates:
We’re holding these at very different times, to help as many people as possible take it.
Monday June 16 (4pm Eastern / 1pm Pacific)
Tuesday June 17 (8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific)
Wednesday June 18 (2pm Eastern / 11am Pacific)
Probably this will be 1.5–2 hours. If you need to leave early, ask Angela for the recording afterwards.
The Oddball Origins of Human Intelligence
Minds are stranger than they seem. This lesson will explore the epic, billion-year journey of intelligence, revealing the six evolutionary breakthroughs that laid the foundation for modern thought, and showing how some unexpected skills (movement, senses, emotion, and imagination!) helped make us who we are. By the end, you’ll see how understanding this story can help you think more powerfully today.
The context
This is a very special experimental lesson that most people do not know about so shhhhhhh! ;)
Brandon’s been asked to give a keynote address at the annual summer summit of the Davidson Institute for Profoundly Gifted Youth on Sunday, June 22, 2025. To prepare for it, he’s created this VERY exciting lesson. If you’re planning to attend the Davidson Institute’s summer summit, don’t sign up for this! It will be one giant spoiler! That would be bad!
It IS something Brandon’s been working on for half a year, but we might never offer this lesson again. (It’s possible we’ll just make this a “lesson we do for conferences” thing.) If you can’t make it, we recommend the book A Brief History of Intelligence, which we’re basing it off of.
Who’s it for?
Kids, primarily… but parents will presumably also find this fascinating, so you’re welcome to join by yourself, as long as you keep your camera off! (If you’re with your kids, you can actually be on camera for this one.)
Dates:
We’re holding these at very different times, to help as many people as possible take it.
Monday June 16 (4pm Eastern / 1pm Pacific)
Tuesday June 17 (8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific)
Wednesday June 18 (2pm Eastern / 11am Pacific)
Probably this will be 1.5–2 hours. If you need to leave early, ask Angela for the recording afterwards.