This Will Make You Stupid | Ask Daily Stoic

Summary

---

The Daily Stoic – "This Will Make You Stupid | Ask Daily Stoic"

Host: Ryan Holiday
Date: December 4, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, Ryan Holiday explores how unchecked emotions can undermine even the most intelligent individuals, offering powerful Stoic tools for cultivating self-awareness and wisdom. The episode centers on the essential need to "pause and reflect"—to apply philosophical discipline amid emotional surges. The second half presents a candid Q&A from a CNN segment, where Ryan addresses the responsibilities of having a platform, pursuing wisdom in an age of information overload, and distinguishing perception from reality. These discussions directly reference Stoic philosophy, particularly the works of Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Danger of Unchecked Emotion ("This Will Make You Stupid")

• Controlling Emotions as a Hallmark of Intelligence:

  • Ryan asserts that intelligence means little without emotional regulation:

    "It doesn't matter how smart you are... If you can't control your emotions, you will be stupid."
    (01:00)

  • Excitement can blind, anxiety can distract, lust or envy can make one rash, and especially, anger is highlighted as uniquely destructive.

• Stoics and Emotion:

  • Contrary to misconceptions, Stoics have emotions but strive to layer self-awareness and wisdom atop them.
  • The core practice is to pause and reflect before reacting:

    "You have the emotion and then you have to ask yourself, is this helpful? You have the impulse and then you have to ask yourself, is this really the best idea?"
    (01:20)

• "Pause and Reflect" Medallion:

  • Ryan describes a physical talisman inspired by Stoic techniques: a medallion inscribed with “delay is the remedy” (from Seneca) and the alphabet (from the advice to Roman Emperor Augustus by Stoic philosopher Athenodorus).

    "...a physical reminder of the weight of your reactions... Seneca said, we want to catch ourselves in the mirror and see how silly and ridiculous or ugly we look when we're getting ourselves upset so we don't do anything stupid."
    (02:56)

  • The act of physically touching the coin is meant to ground a person, slow the reaction, and root them in wise self-restraint.

(Ad & Intro/Outro Content Skipped)

Q&A Segment: Stoicism and Wisdom in Modern Discourse

(Starts at 08:34)

The Responsibilities of a Platform

• Free Speech vs. Responsibility:
  • Ryan addresses the question of whether giving a platform to extremist views is acceptable, referring to the tension between free speech and active endorsement:

    "With power, with influence comes responsibility, and we're dealing with the consequences of a society where that seemingly basic premise is not shared by everyone."
    (09:16–10:01)

Seeking Truth in the Age of Disinformation

• Recency Bias and Historical Perspective:

  • Modern news consumption is critiqued for obsessing over the "latest," making it difficult to filter truth from speculation or propaganda.

    "We have a recency bias in most of our information diet... To make sense of the present moment, you have to root your understanding ... in history and truth."
    (10:36)

  • Cites Harry Truman:

    "The only thing new in the world is history that you don't yet know."
    (10:54)

• Wisdom Requires Work:

  • Ryan urges listeners to seek depth, not just immediacy, in information—rooting present knowledge in historical and philosophical context.

Perception, Mindset, and Self-Deception in Stoicism

• Stoic Perspective on Events vs. Opinion:

  • Stoicism insists events are objective; our opinions and emotional reactions are where freedom and discipline lie.

    "At the core of Stoic philosophy is this idea that events are objective and our opinions about them are not. Our responses about them is the important thing."
    (12:20)

  • Warns about the trap of delusional thinking or self-serving reframing:

    "You have the initial reaction, the initial emotion, and then you put that ... to the test. Is this healthy? Is this constructive? Is this based on anything real?"
    (12:30)

• Critical Evaluation of Reactions:

  • Quotes Stoic advice that a philosopher, like a money-changer testing a coin, must test ideas and reactions for authenticity:

    "The Stoics said that a great philosopher could tell the way a money changer, by banging a coin on the table, can hear if it's real or counterfeit."
    (13:10)

  • Emphasizes this is ever-more vital in a world rife with AI, deepfakes, and engineered outrage.

---

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Emotional Control:

  "If you can't control your emotions, you will be stupid."
  (01:00)

• On Responsibility of Influence:

  "...what are you doing with your platform and your audience? Who are you endorsing, co-signing by putting them in front of millions of people?"
  (09:22)

• On Finding Truth:

  "To be able to make sense of what's happening...you have to root your understanding...in history and truth."
  (10:36)

• On Stoic Reframing:

  "At the core of Stoic philosophy is this idea that events are objective and our opinions about them are not. Our responses about them is the important thing."
  (12:21)

• On Testing Reactions:

  "A great philosopher could tell [real ideas from fake] the way a money changer, by banging a coin on the table, can hear if it's real or counterfeit."
  (13:10)

---

Memorable Moments

• Ryan describing the medallion as a mind-body tool: The weight of the medallion is compared to the weight of our reactions, making philosophical reflection tangible. (02:56–03:20)
• Candid talk about the stress of live television, and praising CNN host Boris Sanchez for his own composure: A meta-moment where Stoic practice is modeled in real-world, high-pressure contexts. (07:23–07:58)
• Emphasis on pausing before reacting to headlines, especially those designed to trigger emotions.

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:56–03:20 — Emotional control, the Pause & Reflect medallion, and practical Stoic self-interrogation.
• 08:34–10:05 — CNN interview: platforming hate vs. free speech responsibilities.
• 10:36–11:45 — Navigating truth, disinformation, and the importance of a historical perspective.
• 12:20–13:35 — Stoic framing: objectivity, reframing, and critical evaluation of emotional responses.

---

Episode Tone & Language

Ryan’s language is measured, direct, and laced with metaphor—blending ancient wisdom and modern, practical advice. The tone is earnest, engaging, and inviting listeners to practical application, not just abstract thought.

---

Summary Takeaway

This episode stands as a compelling case for practicing self-restraint and rigorous philosophical reflection in the face of emotion and information overload. Ryan Holiday challenges listeners to pause, think, and maintain perspective—echoing the enduring guidance of the Stoics. In an age where reactionary thinking is amplified and deepfakes abound, cultivating the rare discipline of pause, inquiry, and historical grounding is, as the episode affirms, the true work of wisdom.

---

Transcript

[Ryan Holiday]

Foreign.

Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where.

Each day we bring you a Stoic.

Inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life.

Each one of these episodes is Based.

On the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. Help you learn from them, to follow in their example and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more visit Dailystoic.com.

This will make you stupid. It doesn't matter how smart you are. It doesn't matter where you studied. It doesn't matter how much you have accomplished in the moment. If you can't control your emotions, you will be stupid. Your excitement will blind you to obvious problems. Your anxiety will distract and consume you. Your lust and envy will make you rash and reckless. Your anger. This is one of the passions that the Stoics were most worried about, because anger makes you dangerous. People think that the Stoics were emotionless, but as we've said before, this is quite wrong. The Stoics were human, so they had emotions. They just also tried to layer a certain self awareness wisdom on top of these emotions. As we emblazoned on our popular Daily Stoic Medallion, the Stoics knew that they needed pulling Pause et reflecta. To pause and reflect. You have the emotion and then you have to ask yourself, is this helpful? You have the impulse and then you have to ask yourself, is this really the best idea? And if you don't do this, you will get in trouble. You will make needless mistakes. You will make yourself stupid. And the idea of the Pause and Reflect medallion, I have one here in my pocket right now, is that it's designed to be meaningful and durable. When you feel that heat in your chest or those heart harsh words forming on your tongue, you touch it, you run your fingers over can help you pause and reflect before you do something you might regret. The weight in the palm of your hand is a physical reminder of the weight of your reactions. The front side says delay is the remedy. A nod to Seneca's famous line that the greatest remedy for anger is delay. And then it's encircled with all 24 letters of the Alphabet. So inspired from that line that the Stoic Athenodorus told the emperor, he said, whenever you find yourself getting angry, Caesar, do not say or do anything until you've repeated the 24 letters of the Alphabet to yourself. Then the front side is a mirror, right? Because again, as Seneca said, we want to catch ourselves in the mirror and see how silly and ridiculous or ugly we look when we're getting ourselves upset so we don't do anything stupid. And if you want one, you can head over to Dailystoic.com pause right now to grab it and I will link to it in today's show.

Notes.

I got an amazing night's sleep last night. One because my 6 year old fell asleep in the car at like 6 o' clock and he transferred him from the car seat to the bed and it stuck, which is just magic. So he's in bed way earlier than normal. But I sleep really well every night because I have a Eight Sleep Pod 5 Ultra, which is Eight Sleep's best product. I've used Eight Sleep for many years now and it's just totally transformed how I sleep. Made me sleep better, made my wife sleep better. It's amazing. So basically eight Sleep is this topper that goes over your mattress. It can heat and cool both sides separately. It can raise and lower each side separately so it helps you fall asleep faster, stay asleep and then wake up better. Eight Sleep buzzes me to wake gent morning as opposed to some loud blaring alarm and then I can check the app and it tells me my sleep score. It even helps me optimize my day based on how I slept. If you want to survive the holidays like a pro and just generally sleep better, head over to eightsleep.com dailystoic and use code Daily Stoic to get $350 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra. The best part is you still get 30 days to try it at home and return it if you don't like it or But I know you will. Trust me, your body will thank you for this investment in better sleep shipping to many countries worldwide. See [e-mail] Dailystoic deciding what workout to do or how much weight to use. These are all roadblocks ways that we sort of get in our own way. And that's where today's sponsor comes in. Tonal will pick the perfect weight, track your progress, and suggest what to do next based on your muscle readiness. Taking the guesswork out of getting a great workout, Tonal provides the convenience of a full gym and the guidance of a personal trainer anytime at home. With one sleep system designed to reduce your mental load, Tonal is the ultimate strength training system, helping you focus less on workout planning and more on getting great results.

You don't have to second guess your.

Form because Tonal is giving you real.

Time coaching cues to dial in your form and help you lift safely and effectively.

After a quick assessment, Tonal sets the optimal weight for every move and adjusts in 1 pound increments as you get stronger. So you're always challenged. And right now, Tonal is offering our listeners 200 bucks off your first Tonal purchase with the promo code TDS. That's Tonal.com and use promo code TDS for $200 off your purchase. Tonal.com, promo code TDS for $200 OFF.

Hey, it's Ryan. Welcome to another Thursday episode of the Daily Stoic podcast. As you know, on Thursdays we do Q and A's. This is an interesting episode because it almost didn't happen. So every once in a while I'll get a media request like would I come on this radio show or this TV show? And back in mid November, Boris Sanchez and CNN reached out to ask if I would come on and just sort of talk about some of the themes in the wisdom book. And I said sure, I would love to. I didn't have to go to New York or go anywhere. I could just do it from the Daily Stokes studio. So as I went on, I think I was supposed to go on at 2:30 and I got in there, you know, they report it at 2:10 or whatever and they do the sound check and all this and they go, okay, slight problem. The President is giving a talk, Locke, and we have no idea how long it's going to go. So there's a couple segments before you. But basically it was like sitting in traffic. Right. We're going to have to wait for him to finish and then this and then this and then this. You know, like when you're at the airport and there's like five other planes in front of you. So I had to sit there and watch the news for a while. And then we had a lovely little talk about some of the themes from the wisdom book. And I thought I would bring that to you now. I hope you like it. Boris Sanchez has been a wonderful supporter of the book.

He's great at what he does.

I texted him a while ago. I won't put him on the spot, but one of the guests had sort of really gone at him and it was interesting. I was saying I was admiring his self control and poise on live television. So I tried to be patient and not get anxious or nervous as I did this thing. Being on live television is quite stressful. I'll let you decide how I did and hopefully answering some of these questions might be of interest to you. Thanks to folks at CNN and talk to you tomorrow.

[CNN Host]

Tucker Carlson and his friendly interview with Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and Holocaust denier. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have criticized Fuentes and Carlson, saying that this kind of dialogue has no place in civil society. President Trump, though, last night shared a different view.

[Ryan Holiday]

We've had some great interviews with Tucker Carlson, but you can't tell him who to interview. I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don't know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out, let him. You know, people have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide.

[CNN Host]

Let's discuss this and more with Ryan Holiday. He's the author of the new book Wisdom Takes Work, his latest on stoic philosophy. Ryan, thank you so much as always for joining us. Given that we've talked about the dangers of suppressing certain ideas before, I wonder what your take is on this. If the president has a point that in a free society, you can't restrict who can be interviewed or the ideas that we find heinous. Do you think, though, that platforming and normalizing hatred and bigotry crosses the line in this regard?

[Ryan Holiday]

Well, there's a line in the legal community that, that everyone's entitled to a lawyer, but that doesn't have to be you. So in the abstract, sure, free speech is great.

We should hear divergent opinions. And then you, as the person who has a podcast, who has a platform, who has influence, you know, you should sit down and go, hey, do I want a platform? Do I want to sit across from a rabid, anti Semite and neo Nazi? And I think that's the interesting thing about where we are now. These, these aren't abstract or theoretical debates about free speech. These are, what are you doing with your platform and your audience? Who are you endorsing? Co signing by putting them in front of millions of people? And I just think with power, with influence comes responsibility, and we're dealing with the consequences of a society where that seemingly basic premise is not shared by everyone. Yeah.

[CNN Host]

To that point, I wanted to ask you about the idea of working toward wisdom in an era where truth itself is elusive, not only because we're drowning in information and disinformation, bombarded by propaganda and brain rot, but also because of the notion, this, like, post structuralist, postmodern idea, that truth is ultimately subjective and largely determined by authority, by those in power. So if wisdom takes work and we're seeking it, how do you know what's true?

[Ryan Holiday]

Yeah, I think we have a recency bias in most of our information diet. Obviously, we're talking here on television. You guys break all sorts of important news. But I think to be able to make sense of what's happening of the present moment, you have to root your understanding, you have to root your perspective in history and truth. I think it was Truman who said, the only thing new in the world is, is history that you don't yet know. And so I think too many people are consuming the latest speculation on social media, the latest breaking headlines, but they struggle to make sense of it, to separate, you know, speculation from truth, information from misinformation or disinformation, because they don't have the historical basis or they don't understand even, you know, sort of human nature, human psychology, or even just how the government works. And so I think. I think it is imperative that we all try to remain informed. I just would urge people to remember that getting it as it happens is not always the best way to do it. And it's hard to do it if you haven't based it on this sort of historical perspective.

[CNN Host]

That's a really important point. It's also interesting because Stoic philosophy also encourages us to take control of our perceptions, to own that our mindset is. Is a choice, and that it shapes how we experience the world around us. You often quote Seneca. You know, I'm a fan. We dye events with our own color. So then where do you draw the line between that sort of cognitive training, that reframing, and then delusion or denial or delving into ideas that may feel good but are harmful not only to yourself, but to society?

[Ryan Holiday]

Yeah. At the core of Stoic philosophy is this idea that events are objective and our opinions about them are not. Our responses about them is the important thing. And so I think I would urge people, especially if you find yourself getting triggered, getting upset, get despairing, getting ecstatic about what you're hearing on the news, to ask yourself, hey, is this actually the right response? You know, how can I step. Do I have to have an opinion about this? So philosophy is the idea that you have the initial reaction, the initial emotion, and then you put that, that opinion, that reaction to the test. And you ask yourself, is this healthy? Is this constructive? Is this based on anything real? The Stoics said that a great philosopher could tell the way a money changer, by banging a coin on the table, can hear if it's real or counterfeit. And I think we have to cultivate this ability, especially not just in a world of a lot of information, but a world of AI and deepfakes, you know, the ability to suss out, hey, is this real? Is this true or not? And is my reaction, is that what they were trying to provoke in me? These are all really important skills, discipline, really, that we have to cultivate if we want to have wisdom and truth.

[CNN Host]

The book is Wisdom Takes Work. It is worth your time. Ryan Holiday. We always appreciate yours. Thanks for joining us.

[Ryan Holiday]

Thanks for having me.

Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it. And this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank you.

[CNN Host]

You hear that?

[Ryan Holiday]

That's not just a Toyota truck. That's the sound of no crowds, no alerts, no distractions, and no telling what you'll find next. You know, like a detour.

[CNN Host]

So why would you ever take a.

[Ryan Holiday]

Tour when you could take a detour?

[CNN Host]

Toyota Trucks.

[Toyota Customer]

My family owns a 2023 Toyota 4Runner, and honestly, it's my favorite vehicle that I've ever owned around town. It's smooth and reliable, but where it really shines is on our trips into the backcountry. We've taken it on backpacking adventures to Colorado and New Mexico, loaded it up with gear, and never had to think twice about whether it could handle the terrain. That's what Toyota Trucks are built for. Off road confidence, rugged durability, and the freedom to explore. Toyota has a long history with the outdoor community, and they're committed to helping more people get out there and experience what nature has to offer. From remote trails to scenic byways, Toyota Trucks empowers you to take the detour, roam freely, and discover places that still feel wild and untouched. And they're not just making great trucks. They're working to expand access to adventure so more people can connect with the outdoors and pass that passion on to the next generation. Discover your uncharted territory. Learn [e-mail] Trucks Adventure Detours. That's toyota.com Trucks Adventure detours.