both are true
on holding two conflicting ideas at once
both are true
I like to think that I'm both hip and square at the same time, that these two terms aren't irreconcilable, that, in fact, the book is a kind of a reconciliation of those two worlds of thought. So I think it's possible to be a square motorcycle mechanic at the same time a groovy rider, and that this isn't a conflict for anybody. Or it's possible to
... See moreAt Stanford’s dy/dx program, founder Tony Xu was asked about the qualities he interviews for at DoorDash. One of the five traits is holding and making sense of opposing ideas. As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to... See more
Holding Opposing Ideas
he does good things and bad things
both are true: I hold a lot of conflicting beliefs, and have become happier the longer I’ve sat with them and realized that internal conflicts are a fact of life.
nuanced piece by Anthropic CEO
Are we idealists or pragmatists? Do we have principles we hold dear, and a vision for the future we want to create? Or are we fumbling along, tinkering, finding what works, and forever allowing contact with reality to rearrange our mental furniture, make a mess on our conceptual floor, and occasionally punch so many holes in the walls that need to... See more
Chris Best • Principles and pragmatism
on pragmatism vs. idealism
“Life is not like formula fiction. The villain has a heart, and the hero has great flaws.”
— Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
