[1] Human brain jumps to conclusions based on vividness and recency of events. It ignores things that cannot be easily recalled however important that fact may be. Darwin understood this and avoided availability bias.

[2] You can’t really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang ‘em back. If the facts don’t hang together on a latticework of theory, you don’t have them in a usable form. Darwin understood this and organized his body of knowledge so that it was available to him when needed.

[3] Darwin is assiduous and he does not give up on things very easily.

[4] You can’t come up with theory of evolution by following the wisdom of crowds. Darwin avoided social proof and instead relied on his own thinking faculties.

[5] He does not fall in love with his own ideas. He pays special attention to evidence that disconfirms his belief. This is one of the greatest qualities to have. I have not seen many people (including myself) with this quality. It is really hard.

The takeaway lesson is that even people who aren’t geniuses can outthink the rest of mankind if they develop Darwin’s thinking habits.