Dark Matter | Hazlitt

Second is risk aversion. People are scared of secrets because they are scared of being wrong. By definition, a secret hasn’t been vetted by the mainstream. If your goal is to never make a mistake in your life, you shouldn’t look for secrets. The prospect of being lonely but right—dedicating your life to something that no one else believes in—is alr

Thiel defines “secrets about people” as “things that people don’t know about themselves or things they hide because they don’t want others to know.” These kinds of businesses, in other words, are built on people’s lies.

And just as we’ve seen others hide something from us, we have felt the surge of fear and adrenaline when we scramble to hide what others aren’t meant to see. These are the toxic effects of secrecy.

While privacy strengthens all our bonds, secrecy weakens and damages connection. Lerner points out that we do not usually “know the emotional costs of keeping a secret” until the truth is disclosed. Usually, secrecy involves lying. And lying is always the setting for potential betrayal and violation of trust.

great businesses are built on secrets, either secrets about nature or secrets about people.