The Looming Tower

A Better Way to Think About Tech

Deep Questions with Cal Newport, 2 November 2026. The book comes up at 43 min 10 sec in.

Cal Newport discusses Lawrence Wright's research method for The Looming Tower — handwritten quotations and notes filed in manila folders sorted by topic (Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, etc.) — as an example of how a low-tech analog system can produce outstanding work. He calls the book 'magisterial' and 'a really important effort in understanding the cultural, political, and religious conditions that led to the 9-11 attacks,' using it to argue that efficiency for its own sake misses what actually matters in deep intellectual work.

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