Newsletter
Knowledge and Intelligence2025-03-03
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
—Albert Einstein
Knowing in not enough. You also must have the ability to do something about it. That is Intelligence.
In medicine, the two are referred to as Diagnosis and Treatment. Providing somebody a diagnosis without a treatment plan is not useful, and in fact can be counter-productive, leading to worry, despondency, giving up or addictions.
In psychiatry, the diagnosis to date has been less than precise, the treatment plan less than personalized. Outcomes have not been great.
The mission of my teams has been, and is, to change that: develop knowledge and intelligence that leads to precise, personalized, preventive and participatory psychiatry. From biology (blood tests that suggest medication and nutraceutical matches), to sociology (digital life inventories that suggest lifestyle changes), to psychology (a daily companion app that measures your feelings and thoughts and serves as your therapist with just 5 minutes done twice a day).
We can all do a lot better, where we are, with what we have, if knowledge and intelligence are used. Diagnoses are not permanent; metamorphoses occur when action is taken (mindxsciences.com).