both are true
on holding two conflicting ideas at once
both are true
“Life is not like formula fiction. The villain has a heart, and the hero has great flaws.”
— Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Two conflicting perspectives I’m trying to reconcile:
Having a “north star” mission is critical.
Difference between success and failure on everything I've worked on has always been in persisting and getting unsexy details right.
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
Reconciling Opposites Jul 02
Reconciling opposites in various aspects of life, such as freedom-order, individual-society, and rationality-sentiment, is explored through various perspectives and philosophical ideas.
Linka beautiful doc with compilations from Lorenzo Servitije, the founder of Grupo Bimbo (and one of the richest men in Mexico) shared by a newsletter reader in response to the “both are true” issue.
nuanced piece by Anthropic CEO
Logic requires that people find universal laws, but outside of scientific fields and once human psychology has a role to play, it is perfectly possible for behavior to become contradictory. A tax rise can cause you to work less because the returns of your labor are lower, or work harder to maintain your present level of disposable wealth. There are... See more
There is so much mystique around the creative life. It’s fetishized and coveted and seen as mysterious even by the people who inhabit it. We have a cultural script that says: There’s too much consumption, not enough creation! If you want to be a [tasteful/interesting/admirable/happy] person, you should make more things. But then also: Social media... See more
Ava • Making Things Is Hard
On the one hand you have — the point you’re making Woz — is that information sort of wants to be expensive because it is so valuable — the right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information almost wants to be free because the costs of getting it out is getting lower and lower all of the time. So you have... See more