Adam Gopnik: In my lexicon – which may be idiosyncratic but I think is also illuminating – “achievement”represents all the outer-directed, institutionally compelled things we do to advance our lives or those of our children. Getting grades, passing classes, pushing forward into select colleges. All of that. “Accomplishment” on the other hand, means... See more
Avoiding obvious catastrophic failure modes is often more important than improving procedure in minor ways. Slightly upgrading your wardrobe is less important than getting a decent haircut, if your haircut sucks. Improving your knowledge of options trading is less important than not doing leveraged crypto day trading when you’re emotional. If you... See more
some of the biggest challenges faced by computers and human minds alike: how to manage finite space, finite time, limited attention, unknown unknowns, incomplete information, and an unforeseeable future; how to do so with grace and confidence; and how to do so in a community with others who are all simultaneously trying to do the same