Agency
Everything in our world is there because someone decided it needed to exist. We all have things we know need to exist. What stops us from making them exist?
Agency
My most profound moment in college was when a professor mentioned that we were in school not to learn concepts, but to learn how to think critically. It was a major unblocker for me.
Prior to that moment, I'd been prioritizing getting good grades in my classes. It was the most important thing at the time. The clearest object I had in front of me.
Now
It's tempting, sometimes, to idealize the trope of the "lazy genius."
I decline to do so. There is a great deal of tedious maintenance work someone needs to do to keep the world running, and an inability to consistently do so is not praiseworthy.
Some smart, low-conscientiousness people... See more
TracingWoodgrainstwitter.comWell written thread on discipline / tenacity / sticktoitiveness
The “scrub” believes that by learning to play the game the proper way, they will come out on top in the long run—that exploiting cheapness is shortsighted and doesn’t build skill.
Scrubs play for an imaginary version of “mastery”, while top players Play to Win.
A good passage in continuation of the note on collective imaginations.
Responsibility that should be borne by an individual is dissolved amongst a group, who rely on the process of deliberation, passing on the responsibility to the organization.
Excerpt: “Committees are commonly used in our society because they create the illusion of avoiding risk. They are a wonderful device for avoiding responsibility while making the institution seem more rather than less accountable. Modern institutions have overloaded on actual risk while fleeing the appearance of it, especially if you count “failing at core mission” as a risk. Such aversion to the appearance of the unusual can’t be justified on economic grounds. Rather, it is a socially driven aversion.“
1/ It's very interesting and useful I think to apply the MVP model of product development to personal development.
Perpetual motion starts with motion
Shorten your feedback loops
Iterate faster
Increase clockspeed (circle back faster)
the first time you do something that everyone in your social environment tells you is a bad idea, and it turns out you were right, is more psychoactive than any drug
Visakan Veerasamyx.comBig companies exert low levels of stress. But that stress is often low agency, so you often feel miserable in face of problems.
Startups exert high levels of stress. But that stress is often high agency, so you often feel energized in the face of problems.
Terrence Rohanx.com