High Agency

In a 1964 public inquiry into whether the film The Lovers should be banned for its adult content, Supreme Court judge Justice Potter Stewart was asked to define pornography. He replied with the ultimate non-definition:

“I know it when I see it”.

Rumination can be reframed as a smoke alarm for action. If you catch yourself ruminating, reply with How can I take action on this?

Find the simple ideas via inversion. Flip the problem around. And take them seriously before adding any complexity.

Vague question: What career should I choose?

‍ Specific question: What does my dream week look like hour by hour? What does my nightmare week look like hour by hour? What’s the gap between my current week and the dream/nightmare week?

When faced with a problem, ask your brain, “ Does this defy the laws of physics? ” — it will reply with “ No ” — and begin generating ludicrous ways this could be possible. Asking your brain this question wipes your mental whiteboard around the problem and knocks on the door of your sleeping creativity.

What would I do if I had 10x the agency? And watch creative ideas pop into your head.

Normal is forgotten. Only weird survives.

High agency can be a confusing idea to understand because it’s not just one idea. It’s a combination of three distinct skills rarely found together:

1. Clear thinking


2. Bias to action


3. Disagreeability

“I know it when I see it”.

High agency is one of those “I know it when I see it” ideas. And once you see it – you can’t unsee it. Before I explain it, let’s see it.