problem solving

If you have an intractable, long-running problem in your life, and you’ve tried everything you can think of as far as running at it headfirst—try switching tracks, leaving that problem aside for awhile, and getting really , really into whatever pops into your intuition. Have you been meaning to learn everything there is to know about Indian... See more

I’ve read thousands of books. In 2010, I picked one up that would change my life. The book: *Fooled by Randomness* by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) Over a decade later, the 5 lessons that have stayed with me:

The solutions to a problem are very very often not located in the same spot as the problem itself. A whole lot of issues only get solved by fixing up seemingly-unrelated stuff.

The Midwit Meme turns out to have a useful purpose, to remind us in a concise, memorable way that we cannot accept complicated solutions or explanations only because they feel smarter than a simple solution.