Curiosity and Pain
Curiosity drives us to seek information, not because we expect pleasure from finding the answer, but to relieve the discomfort from the gap…
Read more ->Past 420 Learnings in Weekly I/O
Evolved Curiosity for Survival
Why are we curious? Curiosity evolved as a survival mechanism, driving early humans to explore new territories to secure long-term resources…
Read more ->Placebo Producer Switch
Producer Switch: How creative professionals can use the placebo effect to resolve subjective feedback and create a win-win situation with…
Read more ->YC Office Hour Questions
Three YC office hours questions to drive progress: What's holding you back from moving faster? What are your goals for the next two weeks…
Read more ->Write to Provide Context
The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think. — Edwin Schlossberg Quote The writer's role is to craft…
Read more ->Context of Memory Recall and Formation
Memory retrieval is easier when the context of recall matches the context when the memory was formed. If you learn the content underwater…
Read more ->Vital Time to Write
There has never been a more vital time to write because your words online are voting on what values future AI systems will adopt. Write now…
Read more ->Perirhinal Cortex and Deja Vu
Déjà vu is not simply a weak memory, but rather from a separate memory system in our brains. Perirhinal cortex creates familiarity while…
Read more ->Zero-One-Infinity Rule
Zero-One-Infinity Rule: When designing software systems, the only reasonable numerical limits are zero, one, and infinity. Article: Zero One…
Read more ->All buildings are Predictions
All buildings are predictions, and all predictions are wrong. Architectural design should create adaptable spaces rather than attempting to…
Read more ->The Cathedral Effect
The Cathedral Effect: Higher ceilings can make us more creative by triggering feelings of freedom and encouraging people to see broader…
Read more ->Wasting Time and Explore Passion
One way to tell whether you're wasting time when exploring your passion is to ask if you're producing or consuming. Article: How to Do Great…
Read more ->Idea Promotion over Self-promotion
When sharing our work, reframe it as idea promotion instead of self-promotion. Focus on sharing in the excitement of discovery without…
Read more ->Read Fewer but Better Books
Read fewer but better books. Deep reflection on fewer books is more valuable than consuming many books without thought. Book: Essays and…
Read more ->On God Side Instead
When pursuing ambitious goals, don't pray and ask for God to be on your side. Pray and hope to be on God's side, for God is always right…
Read more ->Environment and Discount Future Rewards
People who grow up in resource-poor environments discount future rewards more than average because they perceive a shorter, more uncertain…
Read more ->Disagreeable Givers over Agreeable Takers
In the workplace, avoid the agreeable takers and embrace the disagreeable givers. Someone hard to work with is better than someone selfish…
Read more ->Survival Rules of 3
Wilderness Survival Rules of 3: You can survive for 3 days without water, but only 3 minutes without air and 3 hours without shelter…
Read more ->3 Reactions of New Technology
People consider technology normal if it predates their birth, exciting if it appears during their prime years, and threatening if it arrives…
Read more ->End of Melody is not Goal
"The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end, it would not have reached its goal either. A…
Read more ->Language Evolution and Second Language
Languages naturally evolve to be more complex in isolation but tend to simplify when more people learn it as a second language because of…
Read more ->Environmental Context and Memory
Changing study environments can significantly improve how well you remember information because environmental context is critical for memory…
Read more ->True Priorities and Money
“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” – James W. Frick Quote I…
Read more ->Event or Judgment Disturb
“It isn't events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them.” – Epictetus Quote This old Stoic wisdom can also be…
Read more ->Say and Do
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” – Epictetus Quote Reminds me of Freya Stark's quote: "There can…
Read more ->High and Low Context Cultures
Different cultures communicate differently. High-context cultures rely on implicit communication and relationships, while low-context…
Read more ->Elevator Mirrors Psychology
Approach technical problems with psychological solutions: Elevator mirrors reduce perceived waiting time by distracting passengers. Article…
Read more ->Head Heart Wallet
Head, Heart, Wallet: Three questions to find what to write. Course: Write of Passage I'm recently taking the writing bootcamp Write of…
Read more ->Four Reasons to Post
Four reasons people post things: sound smart, be funny, look hot, look rich. Tweet: Nikita Bier on X To make people share your product…
Read more ->Three Ways to Get Paid
Lie to people who want to be lied to, and you’ll get rich. Tell the truth to those who want the truth, and you’ll make a living. Tell the…
Read more ->Visualizing Muscle Growth
Thinking can strengthen muscles. Visualizing yourself lifting weights can stimulate muscle growth even without engaging in physical activity…
Read more ->Contagious Stress
Stress can be contagious through sweat and trigger physiological stress responses in people nearby via cortisol transmission as secondhand…
Read more ->Two Year Test for Sharing
Overcome imposter syndrome for sharing online: If it would have been valuable to you 2 years ago, publish it. Podcast: Deep Dive with Ali…
Read more ->Three Questions for Evaluating Projects
When evaluating a new opportunity, ensure it has a positive worst-case scenario, potential for exponential growth, and long-term…
Read more ->Free and Lost
"I am free and that is why I am lost." - Franz Kafka Quote Absolute freedom oftentimes means absolute responsibility. Being radically free…
Read more ->Sanderson 3P Storytelling
Brandon Sanderson's three storytelling elements: Promises, Progress, Payoffs. Video: Lecture #2: Plot Part 1 — Brandon Sanderson on Writing…
Read more ->Remembering and Experiencing Self
We have two selves: the experiencing self and the remembering self. The self that remembers decides what makes us happy, not the self that…
Read more ->Craft and Tenure
You can achieve operational excellence through process, but craft can only be achieved with tenure. Video: A conversation with NVIDIA’s…
Read more ->Mood and Memory Recall
Our mood can influence which memories come to mind more easily. A sad mood makes sad memories easier to recall. Book: Why We Remember Our…
Read more ->Best Opposing Perspective
For a different perspective, don't rely on random Twitter opinions. Instead, seek out the best arguments from the opposing side directly…
Read more ->Dual-coding theory
Dual-coding theory: Verbal and nonverbal information are stored separately in our memory, and simultaneously processing both verbal and…
Read more ->Goals are not Strategies
Setting goals is not a strategy. Focus on vision, mission, and values without identifying the key challenge and designing a coherent plan to…
Read more ->Train Brain like ML
Absorbing information for our brain is like training our machine learning model of the world. Even if we forget what we've learned, the data…
Read more ->Main Thing
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. — Stephen Covey Quote I first learned this quote from Sarah Elizabeth Lewis in…
Read more ->What we Pretend
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. Book: Mother Night Love this quote from Kurt Vonnegut in…
Read more ->Working and External Memory
Our working memory has a limited capacity for task-related information. To perform complex tasks, we should offload some mental load onto an…
Read more ->Write Web to String
Writing is the process of encoding a web of ideas into a string of words using a tree of phrases. Book: The Sense of Style In his book The…
Read more ->Notes Make Intellectual Possible
Taking notes on paper or screens doesn't merely simplify complex tasks like contemporary physics or other intellectual pursuits. Taking…
Read more ->Read Yourself Stupid
When we read, the author thinks for us. We can read ourselves stupid if we just repeat the author's mental process. People who just let…
Read more ->Unique Messenger not Message
“There are no unique messages, only unique messengers.” - Jadah Sellner Quote We don't have to wait to create something unique. We and our…
Read more ->Addiction and Shortened Time Horizon
When thinking about the future, drug addicts project 9 days into the future while healthy people consider 4.7 years forward. Addictive drugs…
Read more ->Marketing Cringe
When marketing our work, we must feel a bit cringe. Zero cringe can be suboptimal because it either means we are not being authentic or we…
Read more ->No Knowledge in Book
There is no knowledge in books, only information. Information only becomes knowledge after we interpret and understand it. Thought The…
Read more ->Pain is not Unit of Effort
Pain is not the unit for effort. If it hurts, maybe we are doing it wrong. Article: Pain is not the unit of Effort There seems to be a…
Read more ->Two Tragedies
“In this world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” - Oscar Wilde Quote As…
Read more ->New Year Resolutions
How to make achievable and meaningful New Year's resolutions? Five Questions, Wheel of Life, and Ideal Week methods. Video: How to Make 202…
Read more ->Knowledge Pyramid
Knowledge Pyramid: Information can only be transformed into knowledge, then Insight, then vision after you process them. It takes time to…
Read more ->Praise and Criticize
Praise publicly, criticize privately. Praise specifically, criticize generally. Praise by name, criticize by category. Thought When we want…
Read more ->Balloon Effect
Balloon Effect: Focusing on solving a problem in one area can unintentionally inflate the problem elsewhere. Article: Balloon effect…
Read more ->Entropology not Anthropology
Entropology, not anthropology, should be the word for the discipline that devotes itself to the study of this process of disintegration in…
Read more ->Three Important Decisions
Three most important decisions to think consciously about: the place to live, the work to do, and the people to spend time with. Thought Our…
Read more ->Family Resemblance
Family Resemblance: Things are defined by overlapping similarities, not a single common essence, much like traits in a family. Book…
Read more ->Peter Thiel's Interview Question
Peter Thiel's interview question: What very important truth do very few people agree with you on? Book: Zero to One In the book, Thiel…
Read more ->Opposite of Knowledge
The opposite of knowledge is the illusion of knowledge. The opposite of you know something is you thought you know something, not you don't…
Read more ->To Know and Not To Do
"To know and not to do is not to know." - Wang Yang Ming Quote This reminds me of a line from the fantastic book The War of Art: "Most of us…
Read more ->Healthspan not Lifespan
Prioritize enhancing healthspan, not just extending lifespan. Focus on preventive measures for physical, cognitive, and emotional health…
Read more ->RCT and Evidence-informed Medicine
Because randomized controlled trials have limitations in studying longevity, we should shift from evidence-based to evidence-informed…
Read more ->Eulogy and Resume Virtues
Eulogy virtues and résumé virtues: Should you care more about what people will say at your funeral or what is listed on your resume? Book…
Read more ->Reward of Good Work
The reward for good work is more work. Therefore, find the work you will enjoy spending more time doing rather than focusing on reducing the…
Read more ->Money is Gasoline
"Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations…
Read more ->Advertising is salesmanship
Advertising is salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are due to like causes. Thus, every advertising question should be…
Read more ->ADHD and Environmental Mismatch
“If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?” ADHD may stem more from an environmental mismatch than a brain problem. Book: The Ape…
Read more ->Transparent Tax Return
In Norway, you can see everyone's tax returns and who has checked yours, which might widen the happiness gap between the rich and poor…
Read more ->Action-Thoughts Alignment
"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do." - Freya Stark Quote I care a lot about people's…
Read more ->Magic in Work Avoided
"The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding." Quote In case you need some maybe-cliche-but-useful motivation.
Read more ->Magician's Choice
Magician's Choice: How magicians manipulate you to choose the card they want you to choose through equivocation. Article: Magician's Choice…
Read more ->Spot Strengths over Flaws
While identifying flaws triggers critical thinking, spotting potential strengths fuels our creative instincts. Therefore, arguing for…
Read more ->Personal Rules
Personal rules turn desired behaviors into default behaviors. They are set during our best moments to avoid making poor decisions under…
Read more ->Know to Diversify Less
"The more you know, the less you diversify." - Naval Quote This quote reminds me of what Warren Buffett said at the 1996 Berkshire Hathaway…
Read more ->Luxury and Necessity
"Luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends." - CoCo Chanel Quote This is how CoCo Chanel defines luxury, which is quite poetic…
Read more ->Luxury and Premium
Premium purchases offer enhanced functional benefits at a higher price, while luxury purchases symbolize the buyer's ability to afford items…
Read more ->Evolution and Breaking Chain of Life
Any individual who chooses not to or cannot have children, ends an unbroken chain of life that stretches four billion years. Book: The Ape…
Read more ->Candor over Honesty
To foster a creative culture of open communication, encourage candor rather than honesty. It's easier to be candid because it removes the…
Read more ->Luxury and Art
Luxury is superlative, never comparative. It's art that happens to have a little bit of functionality. Book: The Luxury Strategy Luxury is…
Read more ->Aware of Decision
We make better decisions when we know we are making decisions. Therefore, the first step to improving decision-making is to be aware of the…
Read more ->Fogg Behavior Model
Fogg Behavior Model: Behavior = Motivation x Ability x Prompt. Three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur…
Read more ->Wheeled Suitcase Paradox
It took nearly 6,000 years to progress from inventing the wheel to the creation of the wheeled suitcase. Humans put a man on the moon before…
Read more ->Career as Portfolio
Treat your career as a portfolio of jobs, roles, and opportunities. Assess new opportunities in the context of your lifetime career…
Read more ->Love Ones Makes Us Laugh
“Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator. But among those whom I love, I can. All of them make me laugh.” — W. H…
Read more ->Opinions Afraid to Share
Do you hold opinions you're afraid to share with peers? If not, maybe you just believe what you're told rather than think independently…
Read more ->Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis
Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis: Biodiversity is highest in ecosystems where the level of disturbance is neither too low nor too high…
Read more ->Cognitive Tunneling
Cognitive Tunneling: When our brains abruptly shift from a relaxed state to high alert, we tend to focus too much on the most obvious…
Read more ->Locus of control
Locus of control shapes our emotional well-being. Strong internal locus of control, the belief that we have control over the outcomes, can…
Read more ->Need for Cognitive Closure
Need for Cognitive Closure: How much do you prefer getting a clear and definitive answer to questions versus remaining uncertain or…
Read more ->Scientists with Door Open
Great scientists work with their door open. Though keeping the door closed enhances short-term productivity, an open door invites…
Read more ->Psychological Safety
The most crucial indicator of successful teams: Psychological safety. Book: Smarter Faster Better Psychological safety is a shared belief…
Read more ->Free Trade and Monoculture
Globalization generates monocultures that are all diverse in the same way. Free trade of cultures can lead to conformity and mediocrity on…
Read more ->Mentor or Coach
Mentors offer directive instruction and answers, whereas coaches provide non-directive feedback through questions. Whether seeking or giving…
Read more ->Stephen King on Write and Rewrite
Write with the door closed. Once ideas are formed independently, rewrite with the door open to gather feedback. Book: On Writing: A Memoir…
Read more ->Da Vinci Learns for Fun not for Usefulness
Leonardo Da Vinci learned things purely out of curiosity. Not all knowledge needs to be useful. It can be pursued for pure pleasure. Book…
Read more ->Top Schools Unchanged
Why do the top 10 companies change every decade, but the top 10 schools remain unchanged? Podcast: Mark Zuckerberg interviews Patrick…
Read more ->7 Powers Framework
7 Powers Framework for business strategy: Counter-Positioning, Cornered Resource, Scale Economies, Network Economies, Switching Costs…
Read more ->Seat and Temperature for Comedy
Perfect seating arrangement and room temperature for comedy show: a little bit tighter and colder than comfortable. Podcast: Noam Dworman on…
Read more ->Diversity is Multifaceted
Diversity is multifaceted. People with correct points of view can be less diverse than those who are wrong because there are many more ways…
Read more ->Make Art Inevitably
The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable. Book: The Creative Act This quote from the…
Read more ->70-20-10 Rule
70-20-10 Rule: Spend 70% on your core business, 20% on adjacent or nearby things, and 10% on wild bets. Podcast: Eric Schmidt — Lessons from…
Read more ->XY Problem
The XY problem: Avoid focusing on the attempted solution rather than the actual problem. People don't want a faster horse. They want to get…
Read more ->AI Describes Biology
If Math is the perfect description language for physics, AI might be the perfect description language for biology. Podcast: Demis Hassabis…
Read more ->Technology and Story
No amount of technology will make a bad story good. Article: Presentation Zen: No amount of technology will make a bad story good In the…
Read more ->Envy is WiFi
Our envy is like WiFi. It is usually limited to a hyperlocal network. We are jealous of our friends, but not celebrities. Podcast: Kunal…
Read more ->Gen AI and Photography to Art
Generative AI is to digital art as photography was to traditional art. The value of having good ideas grows when new technology lowers the…
Read more ->Parkinson's Law
Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. The more time we allot for a work, the more time it will take…
Read more ->Parkinson's Law of Triviality
Parkinson's Law of Triviality: The time spent discussing various topics within an organization is usually inversely proportional to their…
Read more ->Delete Most in Draft
To write well, delete most of what you put on the page, as films often shoot 50 to 100 times more footage than what actually appears in the…
Read more ->Assemble Furniture Principle
When assembling furniture, start by tightening all the screws to 75%, then fully tighten them once all components fit together. This…
Read more ->Entropy and Sun
What does the Earth get from the Sun? While the total energy remains constant, we get low entropy energy that fuels life and natural…
Read more ->Algorithms and Heuristics
Algorithms and heuristics are two sides of the same coin in product development, with algorithms providing objective measurements and…
Read more ->No A/B testing
A/B testing cannot substitute for taste in creating appealing products. Relying solely on A/B testing is abdicating your responsibility to…
Read more ->Drop Exclamation Mark
If you want to use an exclamation mark while writing, it means your words aren't strong enough on their own. Strengthen your sentences…
Read more ->Dessert Eating Tips
Most of the pleasure in a dessert comes in the first three bites. After that, you should stop eating it. As a reward, you can eat dessert…
Read more ->Dollar Auction Paradox
Dollar Auction Paradox: Understanding why companies spend more than what they can potentially earn and why we pay more than the actual value…
Read more ->Spot Next Big Thing
How Tim Ferriss identifies the next big thing? Understand what technical nerds and rich people are doing, and where people are patching…
Read more ->Intrinsic or Extrinsic Motivation
Would I still do it If I could never talk about this to anyone? Assess whether our motivation stems from intrinsic or extrinsic factors…
Read more ->Choice when Doomed to Fail
A useful introspective question for choosing projects: What would you do if you knew you would fail? Podcast: Seth Godin on The Game of Life…
Read more ->3 Heuristic for Fulfilling Life
The combination of big ambitions, high standards, and low expectations serves as a heuristic for a fulfilling life Article: Avoiding Problem…
Read more ->Creative Selection
How Apple develops products? A chain of demos and feedback continuously evolves an idea towards a product. No brainstorming session and no…
Read more ->Design is How It Works
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. Book: Creative Selection During a 2003 interview with The New…
Read more ->Overview Effect
Overview Effect: Sudden and dramatic shifts in perspective can make the observer into a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities…
Read more ->Capital and Problem and Solution
Capital is not a solution to problems. Capital is a means of scaling solutions. Book: The New Industrial State In the book by John Kenneth…
Read more ->Breakthrough and Laughability
Every breakthrough is at first laughable and ridiculous. In fact, if it did not start out laughable and ridiculous, it is not a breakthrough…
Read more ->Micromouse Maze-Solving
How do robotic mice navigate to solve mazes in the shortest time? Three interesting strategies invented in the Micromouse competition…
Read more ->Gross Margin and Social Status
The margin you can charge for a product depends on how much extra social status it gives the user. The gross margin on living room furniture…
Read more ->From Shame to Normal through Proud
The shortest path to transfer from shame to normalcy is through pride. Podcast: Kunal Shah: Core Human Motivations [The Knowledge Project Ep…
Read more ->Experience not Characteristic
People aren't buying your product for the molecules. They're buying it for the way it makes them feel. The subjective experience matters…
Read more ->Scam and Tourist
Places with no repeat customer behavior are designed to optimize for short-term behavior. That's why scammy businesses are usually found…
Read more ->Split-brain and Made-up Reason
We can never know the actual reasons why we do anything. The observations of split-brain patients reveal that our true motivations are…
Read more ->Reward without Effort
Getting rewards without effort or achievement is detrimental and destroys people's motivation. Podcast: Master Your Mind & Change Your Brain…
Read more ->Look Up and Around
Don't only look down. As an individual contributor in an organization, one should spend 20 percent of the time looking up and looking around…
Read more ->Cannot Preach Minimalism
You cannot preach minimalism to people who don't feel the pain and haven't had too much stuff. Podcast: Derek Sivers — The Joys of an Un…
Read more ->Money Wasted on Advertisement
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” - John Wanamaker Quote I always love the quote…
Read more ->Failure in 20s
Our twenties are about watching our dreams go up in flames and learning from the ashes. Sometimes failure is the only way to learn, and what…
Read more ->Double meaning of Release
Regarding sharing creative work, the word "release" carries a double meaning. It signifies that the work is made available to the public and…
Read more ->Random Intermittent Reward
Random Intermittent Reward is the most powerful mechanism to keep people repeating the same behavior. Social media triggers dopamine hits…
Read more ->Discoverability and Understanding
What makes a design good? Examine it using the Discoverability and Understanding Framework. Book: The Design of Everyday Things Two of the…
Read more ->Procedural and Declarative Knowledge
Procedural knowledge tends to be retained longer than declarative knowledge in our memory. All skills start as declarative knowledge and…
Read more ->Deep Connection
Deep connections between people are formed through a trifecta of ambition, vulnerability, and intense shared emotion, each representing a…
Read more ->Region-beta Paradox
Region-beta Paradox: People can be better off when things are much worse. While moderate situations prompt endurance, crisis triggers action…
Read more ->3x3 Rules
How to express your thoughts clearly? The 3x3 rules: make less than 3 points, explain in 3 ways, and repeat 3 times. Article: 3 rules to…
Read more ->Focus on Pain not Anger
Anger is a cover of pain. When people cross our boundaries, we should focus on expressing our pain instead of anger. Podcast: CEO Coach Matt…
Read more ->Energy Audits
To raise our energy and get more things done, do energy audits to find out what makes us energized or drained. Double down on energizing one…
Read more ->Kuleshov Effect
Kuleshov Effect: Viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation. Article…
Read more ->Dark Room Metaphor
Dark Room Metaphor: Learning is a process of reconstruction (Constructionism), not transmission(Instructionism). Creating our mental 3D…
Read more ->Bicycle of the Mind
Humans are tool builders. We build tools like computers as the "Bicycle of the Mind" that take us beyond our inherent abilities. Video: 'A…
Read more ->Chess Popularity after AI
When AI beat the chess world champion in 1997, it was claimed that "Chess is over". But 26 years later, chess is more popular than ever…
Read more ->Predictable by Ideology
If your opinions on one subject can be predicted from your opinions on another, you may be in the grip of an ideology. When you truly think…
Read more ->Adverse Selection
Adverse Selection: Asymmetric information in transactions can lead to the less-informed side potentially making bad choices. Article…
Read more ->Moral Hazard
Moral Hazard: People are more likely to take risks when they know they won't bear the full consequences of their actions. Article: Moral…
Read more ->Principal-Agent Problem
Principal-Agent problem occurs when one person hires another person to do a job but cannot fully monitor or control their actions…
Read more ->First Follower
When new artists do weird work, their first followers are the curators who transform their individual weirdness into public art. Make your…
Read more ->Reflect on Irritation
A great way to understand yourself is to seriously reflect on everything you find irritating in others. Article: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I…
Read more ->Decoy Effect
Decoy Effect: When we are choosing between two options, introducing a third option can cause shifts in our preference between the first two…
Read more ->Low Social Optionality
Approach social interactions as if we are stuck on a desert island with the other person because low social optionality situations make…
Read more ->Make AI Charming to Learn
Rather than program an AI with what we want it to know, create ones capable of learning and have users teach them. Experience is the best…
Read more ->Experience Valuable than Database
Every quality that made a person more valuable than a database was a product of experience. Book: Exhalation: Stories This is also from Ted…
Read more ->Be Understood after being Clear
“It is a fault to wish to be understood before we have made ourselves clear to ourselves." — Simone Weil Quote
Read more ->Reason not to Quit
For habits, there are only a few reasons to keep on something and a truckload of reasons to quit. All we can do is keep those few reasons…
Read more ->Forward Testing Effect
Forward testing effect: Taking an exam before learning the subject can enhance future learning of that subject. Book: Ultralearning The…
Read more ->Immediate Connection to Creation
Creators need immediate connections to what they are creating because so much creation is discovery. We discover nothing if we cannot see…
Read more ->Sit Down to Write
The secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write…
Read more ->Goodhart's Law
Goodhart's Law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Article: GOODHART'S LAW What might happen when a government…
Read more ->Write More but Less
Write 5x more but write 5x less. Article: Write 5x more but write 5x less Mike Crittenden says there are two things he has come to believe…
Read more ->Annual Report Framework
Farnam Street's Annual Report Framework. Article: Personal annual report It might be too late to talk about new year's resolutions, but it's…
Read more ->Claasen's law
Claasen's law: Usefulness = log(Technology) Article: It’s elementary Theo A. C. M. Claasen, CTO of Philips Semiconductors in 1999, quoted…
Read more ->Philosophical Jokes
“A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes." - Ludwig Wittgenstein Quote
Read more ->Visual before Context
Jonny Harris's storytelling formula: Visual anchor before contextual bridge. Experience it and then understand it. YouTube: Why every Johnny…
Read more ->Lossy LLM
ChatGPT is like a lossy compression of all the text on the Web. If it takes material generated by itself as training data for next model…
Read more ->Motivation-hygiene Theory
Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory: Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are independent. Improving factors that cause dissatisfaction…
Read more ->Desirable Difficulty
Desirable Difficulty in learning: Harder retrieval leads to better learning, given retrieval is successful. Test yourself before we think we…
Read more ->No More Time
"One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now." - Paulo Coelho Quote
Read more ->Direct Learning
First step of learning: Learn directly by doing it and ensure the learning is tied to the context in which it will be used. Learn to speak a…
Read more ->Skill and Knowledge
Learning new things is different from practicing new things. Passive learning brings knowledge while active practicing brings skills. Book …
Read more ->Declutter with Photo
How to throw away sentimental things? Take a photo. Video: 8 Habits that Changed My Life Letting go of sentimental items that are cluttering…
Read more ->Volatility as Fee not Fine
Volatility is the emotional price you need to pay to get high average annual returns. View volatility as a fee, not a fine. Book: The…
Read more ->Language and Creativity
“Language can become a screen which stands between the thinker and reality. This is the reason why true creativity often starts where…
Read more ->Bluetooth
How does Bluetooth work? Video: How does Bluetooth Work? This video does a great job explaining how our AirPods work. Some of the things I…
Read more ->Noncompetitiveness
Marathon runner competes with no one but a time they want to be. Writer competes with no one but a standard they want to attain. Sustainable…
Read more ->Running Suits Me
The reason I can run for more than twenty years is not that I have a strong will. It just suits me. Book: What I Talk About When I Talk…
Read more ->Body Blessing in Disguise
Having the kind of body that easily puts on weight can be a blessing in disguise. It forces you to stay healthier. Book: What I Talk About…
Read more ->Smart and Stupid
People thinking others are "just stupid" indicates that they are avoiding thinking by jumping to conclusions. Article: Smart people don’t…
Read more ->Running and Writing
Stop every day right after we feel like we can write more. Save the excitement and carry it over to the next day to let momentum kick off…
Read more ->Running and Meditation
I run to acquire a void. Emotions are not strong or consistent enough to sustain a vacuum. But thoughts and ideas that invade my emotions as…
Read more ->No Hedged Words
State your conjecture in a way that sounds like the laws of physics. Avoid mealy-mouthed allusions because ChatGPT can do all the hedged…
Read more ->Strong and Vulnerable Things
What makes us strong are big things. What makes us vulnerable are little things. Thoughts Just another shower thoughts.
Read more ->Reflexivity Theory
Reflexivity theory: positive feedback loops between expectations and economic fundamentals can cause price trends that substantially and…
Read more ->True Learning
True learning is understanding. True understanding is linking new information to existing knowledge and applying it to problems. Book: How…
Read more ->Solomon's Paradox
Solomon's Paradox: When helping ourselves make decisions, imagine helping a friend. Article: The 10 Best Ideas I Learned in 2022 We are…
Read more ->Never Too Good
You should never think you're too good to do a job, and you should be like that in everything you do. Podcast: Jocko Podcast 221: Jonny Kim…
Read more ->Opposite of Courage
The opposite of courage is not cowardice but conformity. Video: “No creative person I know has ever asked for a brainstorming session…
Read more ->Unintentionality and Mistake
If all we have is structure, we won't have magic. What we also need is unintentionality, like a mistake. Unintentionality is the real secret…
Read more ->Actionable Truth
Insight is the smallest unit of truth that is actionable. If you cannot act on it, it is just an abstraction. Podcast: Kunal Shah: Core…
Read more ->Delta 4 Framework
Delta 4 Framework for evaluating product: If your product outscores the existing solution by more than 4 in efficiency score on a scale of…
Read more ->Similarity and Trust Spectrum
When we have too much similarity, innovation dies. When we have too much dissimilarity, trust dies. We have to operate on a spectrum of…
Read more ->Different Communication Medium
How to make sure someone knows what they are doing? Ask them to change the medium of communication. Can they pitch in a different language…
Read more ->Inefficient but Soulful
Efficient methods rarely create emotional arousal. Meaningful and soulful experiences are inefficient because they can't be standardized…
Read more ->Deep Boredom
If sleep represents the high point of bodily relaxation, deep boredom is the peak of mental relaxation. A purely hectic rush produces…
Read more ->Inspection Paradox
Why is my bus always late? Inspection paradox: Averaging final results can be different than averaging individual responses. Article: The…
Read more ->Relative Age Effect
What's the most significant privilege a student can experience? Born in the right month. Podcast: Outliers, Revisited — Malcolm Gladwell…
Read more ->Happy Poker with Loss Aversion
Losses hurt much more than the happiness gained from winning. Therefore, we must focus on the process to overcome this asymmetry (loss…
Read more ->Skill Transfer
Poker teaches us that just because people are skillful in one domain doesn't mean they can transfer the skill to another. Podcast: Annie…
Read more ->Desires to be Right
The desire to be right and the desire to have been right are two desires. The sooner we separate them, the better off we are. Book: The Web…
Read more ->Evolutionary Success with Individual Suffering
Evolutionary success doesn't mean individual success. The success of the species can be at the expense of individual suffering. Evolution…
Read more ->Introducing Why not What
When meeting people for the first time, we often exchange questions about what we do. However, the more profound and interesting question…
Read more ->Repeat Today a Year
If you repeated what you did today 365 more times, will you be where you want to be next year? Article: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had…
Read more ->Contradiction within Culture
We understand a culture the best where the culture's members hold contradictory beliefs and reconcile incompatible values. Book: Sapiens: A…
Read more ->Curious not Judgmental
Be curious, not judgmental. Video: Ted Lasso: Be curious, not judgmental We tend to form our opinions quickly when seeing someone's behavior…
Read more ->Cluttering Illusion
Cluttering Illusion: Our brains love to find meaning in short‐term trends and rush to conclusions. Avoid irrational small sample size bets…
Read more ->Agricultural Revolution
The Agricultural Revolution was history's biggest fraud. Compared to foragers, farmers worked harder but with less return. Book: Sapiens: A…
Read more ->Clarke's Three Laws
When a distinguished elderly scientist states that something is possible, they are almost certainly right, but when they state something is…
Read more ->Paint with Music
Paint With Music: Turn your paintbrush into musical instruments and compose on sensorial canvases. Website: Paint With Music Paint With…
Read more ->Prioritize and Communicate
How to say no? Prioritize and communicate. Podcast: Persuasive communication and managing up | Wes Kao (Maven, Seth Godin, Section4) Saying…
Read more ->Upper Management
Good upper management avoids surprises and keeps managers in the loop on what we are doing. The amount of context we think we are over…
Read more ->Stage Changes Method
Punctuate our monologue with stage changes in any presentation and meetings. Think about how long the average attention span is for the…
Read more ->Same Mistakes but Sooner
“If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner.” - Tallulah Bankhead Quote
Read more ->Comfort the Confused and Confuse the Comfort
"Great writers comfort the confused and confuse the comforted" - David Perell Quote I think this applies to all kinds of creators, such as…
Read more ->As Big as Love
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." - Robert Anton Wilson Quote This quote…
Read more ->Happiness as Income
Bill Campbell defines his income as others' happiness and success instead of just money received. We can redefine our measurement of…
Read more ->Coach and Manager
A coach will say "What do you want to do" while a manager will say "Please do this". Book: Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of…
Read more ->Explain to Troubleshoot
When you are stuck, explain your problem to others. Often simply laying out a problem will present a solution. Make “explaining the problem…
Read more ->Copy Others or Yourself
Copying others is a good way to start. Copying yourself is a disappointing way to end. Article: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known…
Read more ->Education or Training
To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated. Book: Finite and Infinite Games James Carse…
Read more ->Writing like Shopkeeper
Set out time to write regardless of how you feel that day. It doesn't matter if it's good or not. Sit down and type. Refuse to bargain with…
Read more ->FAB with Alcohol
Fading affect bias can improve the overall positivity of life but also reinforce maladaptive behavior. It makes heavy drinkers harder and…
Read more ->Trust and Cheat
Getting cheated occasionally is the small price for trusting the best of everyone, because when you trust the best in others, they generally…
Read more ->Productivity is Distraction
Productivity is often a distraction. Don't aim for better ways to get through your tasks as quickly as possible. Rather aim for better tasks…
Read more ->One Sentence per Line
Derek Sivers' writing advice: Try writing one sentence per line. Article: Writing One Sentence per Line Derek Siver is one of my favorite…
Read more ->Fading Affect Bias
Why do we forget bad feelings about memories faster? Fading affect bias (FAB). Article: Fading affect bias - Sketchplanations On my…
Read more ->Illusion of Explanatory Depth
Illusion of explanatory depth (IOED): we believe we understand more about the world than we actually do. Article: The Illusion of…
Read more ->Maker and Manager schedule
Maker's schedule vs Manager's schedule: Understand the productivity style the people you work with are operating on. Article: Maker's…
Read more ->Hate and Pain
“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to…
Read more ->Luck and Arena Razors
Luck and Arena Razors: When choosing between two paths, choose the one with a larger luck surface area and/or the one that puts you in the…
Read more ->Stress-Reward Test
Stress-Reward Test: Take on stress only if the reward is valuable enough to justify the stress. Article: The Most Powerful Decision Making…
Read more ->Listen and Opinion Razors
Listen and Opinion Razors: Listen twice as much as we speak when encountering different perspectives and have opinions only after we can…
Read more ->Young & Old Test
Young & Old Test: Make decisions that your 80-year-old self and 10-year-old self would be proud of. Article: The Most Powerful Decision…
Read more ->Rooms Razor
Rooms Razor: When choosing between two rooms, choose the room where you're more likely to be the dumbest one in the room. Article: The Most…
Read more ->Keep Watching Section
Why are "Keep Watching" sections always hidden at the very bottom of the streaming apps? Misalignment of incentives between company and user…
Read more ->Incentive not Advice
People follow incentives, not advice. Newsletter: 3-2-1: How to change someone’s mind, the balance between justice and compassion, and…
Read more ->Indefinite Optimism
Indefinite optimists' "lean startup" methodology can diminish the potential to build the future. Book: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or…
Read more ->Happiness is not Positive or Negative
Happiness is not positive or negative thoughts but an absence of desire, and maybe it is a skill that can be learned. Book: The Almanack of…
Read more ->Moore's Law for Everything
Moore's Law for Everything: Everything will become half as expensive every two years due to exponential technological progress and AI…
Read more ->Capitalism for Everyone
Capitalism for Everyone: Let everyone benefit from capitalism as an equity owner by taxing companies in shares and distributing ownership…
Read more ->Follow Upstream
We shouldn't follow the people we most admire. Instead, we should follow what they admire. Podcast: [Patrick Collison: Earning Your Stripes…
Read more ->Body as Autobiography
“Our bodies are apt to be our autobiographies.” - Gelett Burgess Quote This quote from Gelett Burgess reminds me of the very first Weekly I…
Read more ->Not to Fight Alligators
I will have to remember, 'I am here today to cross the swamp, not to fight all the alligators.' Book: The Art of Possibility This is the…
Read more ->Favorite Stoic Quote
"He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary." - Seneca Quote This is my single favorite quote from Stoicism. Related…
Read more ->Useful Values
Values are only useful if we can legitimately disagree with them since good values should explicitly indicate the tradeoff. Podcast: Mark…
Read more ->What's Real World
There's a physical world and a digital world. And the real world is actually both. Being digitally present in a place that they physically…
Read more ->Money buys Happiness by Growth
Another way to think about money's effect on happiness is money gives an atmosphere of growth. Being able to spend more money is proof of…
Read more ->Enthusiastic Self-improvement
How to find a healthy balance between self-acceptance and self-actualization? Enthusiastic Self-improvement. Article: How do we balance the…
Read more ->Hanlon's Razor
Hanlon's razor: never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. Article: Hanlon's razor Hanlon's razor is a…
Read more ->Flow State
Being in the flow state is both hyper-vigilant and totally unresponsive at the same time. Book: The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science…
Read more ->Transitory Aspect of Life
The only really transitory aspects of life are the potentialities; but as soon as they are actualized, they are rendered realities at that…
Read more ->Laugh at Fear
When one learns to laugh at their neurosis, they are on the way to conquer it since a sense of humor can put them at a distance from their…
Read more ->Meaning of Life
We should stop asking about the meaning of life and think of ourselves as those being questioned. We should take the responsibility to…
Read more ->Concentration Camp Nightmare
No nightmare could be as horrible as the reality of the concentration camp. Book: Man's Search for Meaning Man's Search for Meaning is a…
Read more ->Provisional Existence and Strange Time Experience
Prisoners who suffered from "provisional existence of unknown limit" experienced a strange time experience: A day lasted longer than a week…
Read more ->Mind and Immunity
The connection between the state of mind and the state of immunity explains why the death rate during Christmas and New Year peaked in camp…
Read more ->Tension for Mental Health
What we need for mental health is not a tensionless state but a certain degree of tension between what one is and what one should become…
Read more ->Self-actualization and Self-transcendence
Self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence. The more we forget ourselves by giving ourselves to a cause to…
Read more ->Underemployed and Research
"The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours." - Amos Tversky…
Read more ->Get over Perfectionism
To get over perfectionism to write and publish more, try writing without capitalization and using the 10-Point Scale. Articles: why i'm…
Read more ->Wealth of Info
"A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." - Herbert Simon Quote Herbert Simon is the receiver of the Nobel Prize in…
Read more ->Motion Parallax
How to make an animated city just by moving lots of white dots at different speeds? Motion parallax. Video: Emergent City Flyby with…
Read more ->Difficult Simple Happy
"It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple." - Rabindranath Tagore Quote This beautiful quote is something both…
Read more ->Advice not Permission
Ask for advice, not permission. Article: Ask for Advice, Not Permission I always believe we should ask for forgiveness, not permission. I…
Read more ->Orangutan Effect
Orangutan Effect: If you explain your ideas to an orangutan, the primate might be confused, but you will think more clearly in the process…
Read more ->First Principles
First Principles Thinking: Break things down to the most fundamental truths and reason up only from there. Book: The Great Mental Models…
Read more ->Ban PowerPoint
Why does Amazon ban PowerPoint in meetings? First Principles and writing to think. Podcast: Eugene Wei: Compress to Impress In Amazon's 201…
Read more ->More Visually Literate
Kids today are much more visually literate and prefer to communicate with images over text. Podcast: Eugene Wei: Compress to Impress Visual…
Read more ->Benford's Law
Benford's Law: The leading digit tends to be small for many real-life numerical data. The number 1 appears 30% of the time as the leading…
Read more ->Teacher is Catalyst
A teacher is never a giver of truth. A teacher is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for themselves. A good teacher…
Read more ->Fitts's Law
Fitts’s Law: The time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target in UI/UX. Article: Fitts's Law: The…
Read more ->Adblock's Business Model
How does Adblock make money? They have an Acceptable Ads program that allows ads on some websites with a licensing fee. Article: How does…
Read more ->Talmudic Reading
Talmudic Reading: Read the classics while assuming the text is perfectly composed and the writer knew exactly what they were doing. Article…
Read more ->Content Moderation
The nearly linear relationship between the spread of content and its monetary value motivates the creator to mix speed and extremism to…
Read more ->Streisand Effect
Streisand Effect: The attempt to suppress information can increase awareness of that information. Article: The Platform is the Message…
Read more ->Curiosity over Emotion
Can we create a social media platform that predates curiosity instead of emotion? Thoughts This is a question asked by a guest in the course…
Read more ->Mimetic Theory
Mimetic Theory: We desire mainly according to the desire of the other because we don't know what to desire and, therefore, we imitate other…
Read more ->Psychics and Weed Law
An online shop employs psychics to "find a wide selection of your lost weed and drop it off at your home" in a state where marijuana is…
Read more ->Wrong but Useful
“All models are wrong, but some are useful.” - George Box Quote I found the idea of something being useful but not necessarily right…
Read more ->Birthday Paradox
Birthday Paradox: How many people do we need to have a 50-50 chance of at least two people sharing the same birthday? Only 23. Article: The…
Read more ->Escaping the Old
The difficulty of training one’s thoughts lies not so much in developing new ideas but in escaping the old. Podcast: Investing and Life…
Read more ->True Priorities
Show me your calendar and I will tell you your priorities. Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you where you’re going. Article: 9…
Read more ->Deliberate Habits
Make more deliberate habits rather than habits that result from accidents of history. Book: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to…
Read more ->Wittgenstein’s Ruler
Wittgenstein’s ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler’s reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table, you may also be using…
Read more ->Beyond Smart
There’s a huge gap between being smart and having important new ideas, but most people who want to be smart might think the two are…
Read more ->Lose Time and Money
The way to lose a fortune is through bad investment, not through excessive expenditure. Similarly, the way to lose time is by doing fake…
Read more ->Wittgenstein and Language
We use language to think, and we cannot think through those we cannot express in language. Language is both the tool that helps us think and…
Read more ->Monogamy and Bacon
"Monogamy is like being a vegetarian. You can choose to be healthy, you can be ethical, it can be a wonderful decision but because you've…
Read more ->Quick Decision Test
When to making quick decision? Happiness Test, Only-Option Test, Two-Way Door Test. Book: How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better…
Read more ->Goal Gradient Effect
Goal Gradient Effect: The tendency to approach a goal increases with proximity to the goal. Article: Goal Gradient Effect: How rewards can…
Read more ->Sub Specie Aeternitatis
Sub specie aeternitatis: To inspect things under the aspect of eternity and participate in eternal totality. Book: Great Thinkers The Dutch…
Read more ->Give Advice
"When you counsel someone, you should appear to be reminding him of something he had forgotten, not of the light he was unable to see…
Read more ->Give Correction
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. Book: Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the…
Read more ->Remember Life and Camera-free
To have more immersive memory and relive the experience, have some camera-free time and document the experience with your brain only. Video…
Read more ->Deleting Photo
How to remember life? Delete photos. Video: How to Remember Your Life The solution is not just taking a lot of photos. Get used to explore…
Read more ->Lurch and Overcompensate
The world makes progress by lurching from one extreme to another while overcompensating for previous mistakes. Book: Great Thinkers This…
Read more ->not Correctness
For ideas to be active and effective, a lot more (like art) is needed than their correctness. Book: Great Thinkers This is also from Georg…
Read more ->Only Choice
"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." - Bob Marley Quote This also reminds me about the…
Read more ->React to Reaction
Can we react to our reaction or even react to our reaction to our reaction? Comedy Special: Bo Burnham: Inside Inside is a comedy special…
Read more ->Why to Buy
Buy what you would buy if you were the only person on Earth. Thought We buy things for all kinds of reasons. I think buying everything (or…
Read more ->Fears and Suffering
"A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." - Michel de Montaigne Quote Every time before taking a cold shower due…
Read more ->Fact and Story
We have to learn to separate the fact from the story. Podcast: Neil Pasricha: Happy Habits [The Knowledge Project Ep. #72] "I failed the…
Read more ->Rose Rose Thorn Bud
A simple way to teach and practice the awareness of gratitude: Rose, Rose, Thorn, Bud. Podcast: Neil Pasricha: Happy Habits [The Knowledge…
Read more ->Zeigarnik Effect
Zeigarnik Effect: People remember uncompleted tasks better than completed tasks Article: The Zeigarnik Effect Explained In 192…
Read more ->Quantity Predicts Quality
When it comes to idea generation, quantity is the most predictable path to quality. Book: Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World In…
Read more ->Writing Is Thinking
Writing is thinking. You can write first then derive clear perspectives from your own writing. Podcast: 科技島讀請回答 Michael Chou is the author…
Read more ->Differentiation Is Survival
Differentiation is Survival and the Universe Wants You to be Typical Article: Jeff Bezos' 2020 Letter to Shareholders In Jeff Bezos' final…
Read more ->Price Of Yourself
"No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself" - Rudyard Kipling Quote "The individual has always had to struggle to…
Read more ->Coach's Function
A coach’s primary function should be not to make better players but to make better people. Book: Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship…
Read more ->Søren Kierkegaard
"Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards." - Søren Kierkegaard Quote This line is so simple but rich, especially…
Read more ->Leap of Faith
"To have faith is to lose your mind and to win God" - Søren Kierkegaard Quote Not trying to justify his faith in Christianity through…
Read more ->Same DNA Different Cells
If almost all the cells in one's body have the same DNA, then why don't all cells look the same? Article: DNA Basics When talking with my…
Read more ->Collision Course
Linkin Park feat. Jay-Z - Collision Course: Live 2004 (Full DVD Special) Music: Linkin Park feat. Jay-Z - Collision Course: Live 2004 (Full…
Read more ->REBT's ABC Model
A rational-emotive explanation of personality is as easy as ABC, Activating events, Beliefs, Consequences. Book: Systems of Psychotherapy…
Read more ->Information and Energy
The maximum amount of information that can be stored in a space is proportional not to the volume of space but to the surface area…
Read more ->Science and Philosophy and Art
Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art; it arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement. Book: The Story of Philosophy
Read more ->Space and Time
"Space and time are the framework within which the mind is constrained to construct its experience of reality." - Immanuel Kant Quote
Read more ->Epicurus and Ads
While advertisements excite us by evoking our real needs accurately, they refuse to quench them properly. Book: Great Thinkers This is from…
Read more ->Not Louder
When things aren’t working, be smarter, not louder. Book: Your Music and People It is an observation from Derek Sivers. When he's in New…
Read more ->When Told You're Wrong
When someone tells you something is wrong, they’re usually right. When someone tells you how to fix it, they’re usually wrong Article: 9…
Read more ->Treat People
Don’t treat people as bad as they are. Treat them as good as you are Article: 99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice I mentioned this from…
Read more ->Only Imperfect Produces Art
Jesus, Superman, and Mother Teresa never made art. Only imperfect beings can make art because art begins in what is broken. Article: 9…
Read more ->Rule of 3 In Conversation
Rule of 3 in conversation. To get to the real reason, ask a person to go deeper than what they just said. Then again, and once more. The…
Read more ->Celebrate Fucked Up
Whenever you are completely fucked up, you celebrate rapturously. You know a little bit more about yourself. That’s the best thing. Thought…
Read more ->Burn Out
You don’t get burnt out from working hundred hours a week. You get burnt out from things that don’t work out. Thought This is originally…
Read more ->Apology and Compliment
It’s not an apology if it comes with an excuse. It is not a compliment if it comes with a request. Article: 99 Additional Bits of…
Read more ->Cheapest Therapy
Writing down one thing you are grateful for each day is the cheapest possible therapy ever. Article: 99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited…
Read more ->No Desperate Need
If you can’t tell what you desperately need, it’s probably sleep. Article: 99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice
Read more ->Root of All Human Motivation
All human behavior is only driven by the desire to escape discomfort. Book: Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your…
Read more ->Virtual and Real
"Virtual" is not opposed to "real" but opposed to "actual". Book: Difference and Repetition I first knew about this notion in this video(in…
Read more ->Feel
"People may forget what you said, people may forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou Quote
Read more ->Justified Success
In a meritocratic society, those who land on top want to believe their success is morally justified, they get it on their own. And their…
Read more ->Confirming Belief
"The empiricist thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing." - George Santayana Quote I learned…
Read more ->Tyranny of Merit
The goal SAT failed to achieve: upending the hereditary elites and replacing them with meritocratic ones to enhance upper mobility. Book…
Read more ->SAT
SAT test scores are even more correlated with family income than how school grades are. Book: The Tyranny of Merit The SAT has not played…
Read more ->First-generation Students
The percentage of “first-generation” students (the first in their families to attend college) at Harvard today is no higher than it was in…
Read more ->Lottery for College Admission
Michael Sandel's proposal for reforming college admission: Lottery of the Qualified. Book: The Tyranny of Merit Each year, more than 40,00…
Read more ->Political Divides
One of the deepest political divides in American politics today is between those with and those without a college degree Book: The Tyranny…
Read more ->Baumol's Cost Disease
Baumol's cost disease: Why prices of labor-intensive services keep going up regardless of low productivity growth? Article: Two parallel…
Read more ->No Phone
The No Phone On Bed Rule. Thought Just want to share that one of the best decisions I made this year is that I decided to not use my phone…
Read more ->Repeated Mistakes
"A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.” - Paulo Coelho Quote This also reminded me that an accident that happened more than once…
Read more ->Two Ways to Categorize
"Most events in life can be categorized in one of two ways: a good time, or a good story" - Margot Leitman Quote
Read more ->Elephant Gym
Elephant Gym on Audiotree Live (Full Session) Music: Elephant Gym on Audiotree Live (Full Session) Elephant Gym is an instrumental math rock…
Read more ->The Ackerman Model
The Ackerman Bargaining Model: 65%, 85%, 95%, and 100% Online Course: MasterClass | Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation The Ackerman…
Read more ->The F Word
Be careful with the F word in negotiation: Fair. Online Course: MasterClass | Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation Fairness comes up in…
Read more ->Experience isn't Learning
Experience is inevitable, learning is not. Book: Winning Decisions: Getting It Right the First Time Experience is knowing what happened…
Read more ->Fool Yourself
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard Feynman Quote This quote is…
Read more ->SXSW 2021
SXSW Online 2021 Official Showcases Music: SXSW Online 2021 Official Showcases South by Southwest (SXSW) has long been on top of my bucket…
Read more ->Attribution Traps
Why did they do that? Three Attribution Traps: Fundamental Attribution Error, Actor-Observer Bias, and Self-Serving Bias Online Course…
Read more ->Feedback
When looking for honest feedback, ask for a 0-10 score and then ask how to get closer to a 10. Tweet This tweet is from Adam Grant, an…
Read more ->Naked offering Shirts
"I don't trust people who don't love themselves and tell me, 'I love you.' ... There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked…
Read more ->Knowledge and Wisdom
"Knowledge is discovered collectively, wisdom is rediscovered individually." - Naval Quote This reminds me of what Terry Crews talked about…
Read more ->Measurement for Importance
"One can measure the importance of a scientific work by the number of earlier publications rendered superfluous by it." - David Hilbert…
Read more ->Combination
The way things get done in the world is through a combination of focus, personal connection, and self-belief. Video: Sam Altman : How to…
Read more ->Burnout
People get burnout not from working hard but from things not working. Momentum is really energizing. The lack of momentum is super draining…
Read more ->Strong Opinion
For startups, you need to have opinions and but be flexible about the details. Video: Sam Altman : How to Build the Future When being asked…
Read more ->Hold Stock Forever
My belief on how long I should hold stock in the best companies I invest in is forever. Video: Sam Altman : How to Build the Future On…
Read more ->Time and Moments
Makes the distinction between Time and Moments. Remembering Time, that line connecting all the moments, is rather painful. Photo In The…
Read more ->Nasal Breath
The importance of how to breathe is underestimated. Slow and easy nasal breathing can have a huge positive impact on our body. Podcast…
Read more ->Certainty is Absurd
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one." - Voltaire Quote Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the contemporary thinker that…
Read more ->Puppy Dog Close
The Puppy Dog Close: let them take the pup home first and say bring it back if they change their mind. Book: The 4-Hour Workweek In the book…
Read more ->Genius's Hardship
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world." - Bill…
Read more ->Cheerleaders Effect
Cheerleaders Effect: People look better when they are in groups Article: Cheerleader Effect: Why People Are More Beautiful in Groups The…
Read more ->The But and Therefore Rule
The But and Therefore Rule for Storytelling Article: Storytelling Advice from the Creators of South Park: The But & Therefore Rule This…
Read more ->Alive Scientists
Almost 90% of the scientists who ever lived are now alive. Book: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering Since about Issac Newton's time…
Read more ->Quadruple Knowledge
The technical knowledge involved in your life will quadruple in 34 years. Book: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering It is claimed by…
Read more ->Cowardice and Morality
People who don't commit crimes aren't necessarily moral. It may be due to cowardice but not morality. Podcast: Jordan Peterson on Rules for…
Read more ->Scientists and Ambiguity
Most people like to believe something is or isn't true, but great scientists can tolerate the ambiguity. Book: The Art of Doing Science and…
Read more ->Selling Research
Researcher should spend the same time on selling their work as doing their research. Book: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering "Selling…
Read more ->Time is Circle
“Everything straight lies. All truth is crooked, time itself is a circle.” Book: Thus Spoke Zarathustra I first knew the line from the…
Read more ->Confidence is Overrated
Confidence is overrated. Instead of waiting for the confidence to show up, take the first step in a moment of courage, even if it’s aberrant…
Read more ->Science is not about Evidence
Science is not about evidence. Science is about properties. Podcast: Nassim Nicholas Taleb on the Pandemic | EconTalk Some people argued…
Read more ->Beer and Coffee Mode
Best ideas emerge when we balance the inhale of beer mode with the exhale of coffee mode. On any given day, coffee mode lets us be more…
Read more ->No Scar for Happiness
“It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from…
Read more ->The Value of No
The value of being answered with "No". Online Course: MasterClass | Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation Most people think the most…
Read more ->Kill Your Darlings
Kill your darlings. Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. Article: Kill Your Darlings Kill your darlings usually means a writer…
Read more ->Grab a Beer
"Let's grab a beer" is never just about the beer. Video: Let's Grab a Beer | Anheuser-Busch Super Bowl LV Commercial | :90 Lovely commercial…
Read more ->Intention and Impact
"I will never feel bad for things I said, but I feel bad that people get upset." Quote I can't find the exact original source but this quote…
Read more ->Mint-giving
Three Levels of mint-giving: How to increase tips by 23 percent? Article: How Restaurant Servers Increased Tips by 23 Percent (Without…
Read more ->How to Teach
"First delight, then instruct." - Karl Friedrich Schinkel Quote Karl Friedrich Schinkel, a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter, on…
Read more ->Low-information Diet
Focus on "just-in-time" information instead of "just-in-case" information. Book: The 4-Hour Workweek The author Tim Ferriss adopted a low…
Read more ->Meetings
"Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other organizations habitually engage in only because they…
Read more ->The Beginning of Infinity
All progress, both theoretical and practical, has resulted from a single human activity: the quest for good explanations. Book: The…
Read more ->Game Design
Consider how your product makes customers "feel" instead of what it functionally does for them. Podcast: Superhuman Part II - Designing…
Read more ->Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation undermines intrinsic motivation. Focus on Game Design, not Gamification. Podcast: Superhuman Part II - Designing…
Read more ->Reading Hats
Two reading hats: RICLS(Read for information) and REAS(read for skills). Podcast: Safi Bahcall — On Thinking Big, Curing Cancer, and…
Read more ->Empathy or Solution
When we want to be helpful in response to other's feeling bad, first figure out what they want is empathy or solution. Podcast: Lisa Feldman…
Read more ->Emotional Contagion
The reason we say "don't be upset" is often because we don't want to have our emotions synchronized and be upset. Podcast: Lisa Feldman…
Read more ->Brain Budget
Balance the brain budget. Podcast: Lisa Feldman Barrett: Balancing the Brain Budget [The Knowledge Project Ep. #92] Our brain runs the…
Read more ->Breathe
Breathing is really the only way that we know of, biologically speaking, to deliberately get a handle on your nervous system. Podcast: Lisa…
Read more ->Emotional Granularity
The ability to differentiate between similar emotions helps us do better and be more resilient. Podcast: Lisa Feldman Barrett: Balancing the…
Read more ->Play Dead
Go to sleep to play dead so the negative emotion doesn't take interest in us. Podcast: Lisa Feldman Barrett: Balancing the Brain Budget [The…
Read more ->Write FBR
When drafting, write FBR: Fast, Bad, Wrong. Podcast: Safi Bahcall — On Thinking Big, Curing Cancer, and Transforming Industries | The Tim…
Read more ->Teachers
Teachers should prepare the student for the student’s future, not for the teacher’s past. Book: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering…
Read more ->People to Hang Out with
We need to hang out with people who fit our future, not our history. Quote It's definitely hard but we must think about it. Can't find the…
Read more ->Luck Debt
“Above all, recognize that if you have had success, you have also had luck—and with luck comes obligation. You owe a debt, and not just to…
Read more ->Damien Rice
Damien Rice & Earl Harvin - Full Show - Michelberger Lobby - Berlin 2014 Music: Damien Rice & Earl Harvin - Full Show - Michelberger Lobby…
Read more ->Improvisational Productivity
The longer you think about a task without doing it, the less fun it becomes to do. Article: Improvisational Productivity This is from Daniel…
Read more ->Forget Goals
Forget goals. Build system. Book: Atomic Habits Spending "too much" time on goal setting has some disadvantages: First, achieving goals only…
Read more ->Why Question
Ask what/how questions instead of why. Online Course: MasterClass | Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation Why-questions tend to trigger…
Read more ->Three Ways to Change
There are only three ways for humans to change: 1. change the time allocation; 2. change the place of residence; 3. change the people with…
Read more ->15-min Chunk
Thinking of time in 15-minute chunks Cliché Thinking of time in 15-minute chunks instead of 1-hour chunks. It’s a cliché for everyone who…
Read more ->Top 5 Regrets
The top of my todo list Article: The top of my todo list This is from Paul Graham’s blog post: The top of my todo list. The blog post…
Read more ->Astronaut
Unexpected and Unimaginable Astronaut Story Podcast: The Unimaginable Path of Jonny Kim. SEAL Combat Medic, Doctor, Astronaut Jonny Kim is a…
Read more ->Whiplash
"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." - Whiplash (2014) Quote Good is the enemy of great.
Read more ->The Opposite of Happiness
The opposite of happiness is boredom, not sadness. Just like the opposite of love is indifference, not hate. Book: The 4-Hour Workweek This…
Read more ->Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys in Paris | A Take Away Show Music: Alicia Keys in Paris | A Take Away Show Alicia Keys in Paris | A Take Away Show is a…
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