"Knowing where an idea doesn’t fit can be just as valuable as knowing where it fits."

Knowing the name of this idea gives you a scaffolding to hang your mind on. The name triggers the example in your mind.

The better your vocabulary, the more stories you can chunk, the more experiences you can pattern match.

Names are excellent for creating larger chunks, since when done right, they pack lots of information into a single sentence.

Mastering these categories and where they apply will take time and experience. However, knowing the contradictions in each category helps master the category better. We’re using inversion to define the limits of the category.

The better your vocabulary, the more things you can name, the richer your base of raw materials to hang new ideas and experiences on.

If you have more categories, you can categorise things better. I think building these categories is worthwhile. Having a common name for a situation is a chunk you can unpack when needed. That’s what all adages, aphorisms, and proverbs are.

Beware though. Don’t confuse knowing the name of something with knowing something.

Don’t learn a new language. You’ve covered what regular people talk about.5 Instead, dive deep into fields you know nothing about. Economics, Psychology, Philosophy, Physics, or applied rationality.