Toronto, ON — Neil Seeman is a Canadian author, teacher, Internet entrepreneur, and sought-after public speaker. Coming off the success of his latest book, “Accelerated Minds: Unlocking the Fascinating, Inspiring, and Often Destructive Impulses that Drive the Entrepreneurial Brain,” Seeman is championing a major change of thinking in academia that takes aim at hyper-specialization in the university sector. The theory he explores is the value of mutts vs. moles’ in North American innovation. In an essay written by Seeman for The Globe And Mail, he makes the case that universities, conservative by nature, greatly undervalue the ‘mutts’ of the world. Mutts, he argues, imagine the universe as vast and ever-evolving, requiring a wide-angle view rather than one-track expertise. By contrast, ‘moles’ burrow deep in one specific hole for most of their lives. Academia is where ‘moles’ tend to thrive. A recognized polymath, Seeman writes and lectures on subjects that help students and young entrepreneurs focus on building things of enduring value for their community. Seeman is known to take his readers and audiences outside the comfortable and safe to what’s on the horizon if they open their minds to new directions and paths to get there. The son of brain scientists, both global experts in their fields, Seeman was encouraged to look for answers both inside and outside the box. The world is evolving so quickly that experts must evolve with it. Seeman has taken that step and doesn’t mind being vulnerable about it. The definition of “experts” is changing; and so, he argues, the mutts are rising.
What can be done to make Canadian higher-education institutions see the value of the ‘mutt’ theory and not be afraid to embrace it? Neil Seeman has answers. In his book, “Accelerated Minds,” the author took a deep dive into the workings of the entrepreneurial, ‘mutt’ mind. Seeman researched that mindset and the willingness of those who continue to step outside the norm and risk everything in pursuit of their ideals. The author’s thoughts are always intriguing, energizing, and on point. That’s why “Accelerated Minds” has already been recognized by The Next Big Idea Club as a “must-read” nonfiction book for 2023.
Neil Seeman is a Canadian author, Internet entrepreneur, and mental health advocate. He is a respected essayist (for the Toronto Star, Nikkei Asia, The Globe and Mail, and Healthcare Quarterly) and founding member of the editorial board of the National Post. He is an educator at prominent institutes in Toronto, including the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, Massey College, and the Investigative Journalism Bureau. The author is a graduate of Queen’s University, the University of Toronto Law School, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Seeman is also an adviser to information science startups in the private sector and innovation hubs in the university sector.
**September 13, 2023, Neil Seeman will be speaking at the National Institutes of Health special Annual Lecture, Building Trust & Innovation in The Workplace.” This is an in-person event in Bethesda Maryland.
