Here are a couple of things I believe will make our nation less dumb:

Real Travel

Everyone needs to travel. And I’m not talking about going from a plane to a bus to a beach resort. I mean real travel. Being on the ground, out of your usual element, experiencing things you’d never see or do in your normal daily life. Enough has been written on this already, but it doesn’t negate the simple truth that travel expands the mind.

Do Old Things In New Ways

Your brain needs exercise. There are plenty of challenges out there, but here’s a simple one you can do at home: Do something old in a new way. What does this mean? Well, try chopping an onion with your eyes closed. Read a magazine upside down (easier than it sounds). Heck, wipe your ass with the other hand.

Do Something New Every Week

This one is almost impossible for a hermit like me to do, but it’s worth a try. Go somewhere or do something that’s new, every single week. This could be visiting a new museum. Going to a new restaurant (be careful out there). Maybe just walking along a street you’ve never walked. The key is to break up the monotony.

TV=OFF

This will be one of the hardest things for people, but turn the TV off. Don’t follow the dancing – with – the – america’s best – old house – busters – model – real life – whatever show. Just shut it off. You don’t need it. Do something else. I don’t disagree that there is some good stuff out there, but it’s a HUGE time sink. I watch Mythbusters while sitting in a hotel room, but never at home. I haven’t watched much TV for the last two years, and I don’t miss it. I do watch movies, it’s broadcast TV that I hate.

Get Nervous

The idea here is to put yourself into situations that you feel uncomfortable about. Doing something you’d not normally do. This is similar to my “Do Something New Every Week” idea, but a little more intense. This is putting yourself in a situation that makes you downright worried. Maybe this is driving down a rutted dirt road in a Corolla (I was shitting bricks). Maybe it’s making a speech in front of an angry crowd. Maybe its speaking out on something you are afraid to discuss. The point is to do something that makes you worried. How do you know you’ve crossed the line? When you start regretting the decision. But, you know what? You learn a lot more from these kinds of intense experiences. You learn what you are truely capable of.