Logo
Search
Login
Sign Up
Logo
Search
Login
Sign Up

Get smarter by thinking dumber.

Your weekly guide to unconventional thinking, unique insights, and ridiculous ideas that show how 'dumb' thinking can lead to better solutions.

"Dumbify is my secret weapon. It flips my thinking upside down and reminds me that the ‘weirdest’ ideas often spark the best work.”

Jordan, Creative Director

"It’s so easy to get stuck in the same tired old playbooks. Dumbify helps me to rewire how I think about solving big problems."”

Natasha, Startup Founder

"It’s like having someone shake up your brain, but in the best way possible. Dumbify isn’t just a newsletter — it’s a mindset shift."”

Jamie, CMO

most recent

Why We Make Stuff Harder Than It Needs to Be

Why We Make Stuff Harder Than It Needs to Be

How the best solutions are hiding behind our need to look smart.

You Will Never Meet an Idiot Who Isn't Having a Good Time

You Will Never Meet an Idiot Who Isn't Having a Good Time

How my friend Adi accidentally solved the happiness equation.

Why Your Brain Craves What You're Afraid to Give It

Why Your Brain Craves What You're Afraid to Give It

When the problem is too much versus too little

Allergic to Impossible

Allergic to Impossible

The Unreasonable Mindset Behind Freezer Laptops, X-Rays, and Lab-Grown Organs

Embrace Your Inner Amateur

Embrace Your Inner Amateur

Why your brain gets bored by perfection and energized by anomalies

Why the Best Ideas Sound Like the Worst Ideas

Why the Best Ideas Sound Like the Worst Ideas

Discover why breakthrough innovations from karaoke to CPR sounded so terrible that experts tried to ban them—and how to spot the hidden brilliance in ideas that make everyone cringe.

Why the Smartest People Break the Rules (on Purpose)

Why the Smartest People Break the Rules (on Purpose)

How originality is just disobedience with good timing.

Why I Schedule Time to Space Out (and Why You Should Too)

Why I Schedule Time to Space Out (and Why You Should Too)

Learn how zoning out can bulk up your brain — no pushups, just pixels and pub crawls.

What if everything you think is wrong... is right?

What if everything you think is wrong... is right?

How to use "The Opposite Method" (AKA, "The George Costanza")

Stuck? Try This Absurd Trick That Actually Works

Stuck? Try This Absurd Trick That Actually Works

The not-so-stupid science of solving problems by getting lost.

The Ideas That Duck & Cover

The Ideas That Duck & Cover

Why brilliant ideas ghost us — and how to snag them before they disappear.

Make a Fortune Being Useless

Make a Fortune Being Useless

Three entrepreneurs who got rich selling air, aliens, and absolutely nothing — and what they know about meaning that economists don’t.

The Day I Tried to Fake My Jog and Discovered the Meaning of Life

The Day I Tried to Fake My Jog and Discovered the Meaning of Life

The art of following someone's logic so far down the rabbit hole that you emerge on the other side of sanity with a clearer view of the problem.

The Age of Appstinence

The Age of Appstinence

When deleting your apps turns into your biggest life-upgrade flex.

Why Boredom Is Brain Fuel

Why Boredom Is Brain Fuel

The genius of being bored out of your mind.

Steal Like a Genius

Steal Like a Genius

Showing you how to grab what works, twist it sideways, and walk off looking original.

Kittens, Burritos & Billion‐Dollar Buffoonery

Kittens, Burritos & Billion‐Dollar Buffoonery

Meet Elan Lee, the game‐design renegade who weaponises dumb ideas for maximum joy—and sells a game every 4‐to‐6 seconds while he’s at it.

Weird Science

Weird Science

How to train your brain to see breakthroughs hiding in plain sight.

Why the smartest people sound dumb

Why the smartest people sound dumb

And the average sound exhausting.

Shower Epiphanies

Shower Epiphanies

Why our best ideas show up in the shower—and how to stop scrubbing them away before they see daylight.

Dejunk Your Head

Dejunk Your Head

A Spring Cleaning for Your Brain, Without the Lemon Scent

Thoughts Have Left the Building

Thoughts Have Left the Building

Mental flexibility for people who hate stretching

Mindfulness, but for weird ideas

Mindfulness, but for weird ideas

Or, How I Learned to Stop Freaking Out and Listen to My Brain Without Screaming

Giving Yourself Permission to Be Ridiculous

Giving Yourself Permission to Be Ridiculous

The creative hack you need.

Load more

David Carson

Helping People Use Dumb-Thinking as a Superpower

Carson is a counter-intuitive thinker and creative problem-solver with a knack for uncovering genius where others see nonsense. Known for transforming unconventional ideas into groundbreaking solutions, he has helped global brands like American Express, Nike, Coca-Cola, and IKEA build human connections, captivate audiences, and redefine what’s possible.

As the author of Dumbify and creator of its popular newsletter, Carson inspires individuals and organizations to embrace “dumb” ideas—those that seem foolish at first but often hold the smartest answers. His work blends creativity and strategy, fostering environments where curiosity, fresh perspectives, and bold experimentation thrive.

Get smarter by thinking dumber