Matt O'Donnell
Go Bills
"How to clarify a concept you can't articulate:
1. Change mediums. Draw it. Photograph it. Sing it.
2. Change levels. Explain what is one level up (bigger picture) or one level down (finer details).
3. Change fields. What would this concept look like in different fields?"(James Clear newsletter)
“I used to tell this story, about my theory of fucks. The theory goes like so: you are born with so many fucks to give. However many you’ve got is all there is; they are like eggs, that way. Some of us are born with quite a lot, some with less, but none of us knows how many we have. […]
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I still tell this story but I’ve changed it somewhat. Like mostJim Simons: "I’m not an extremely fast thinker myself; I just work hard."
That was all I needed to do—work hard, not fast. A paper I published in '68 took me five years. But it has had 1,850 citations. For a math paper, that’s an awful lot.
There’s too much emphasis on a person’s being able to answer questions quickly."
“You can’t talk butterfly language with caterpillar people.”
Trish Deseine
Moving from one rhythm to the other involves a shift in priorities -- in values -- more than just switching from one task to another. It's not just “what am I doing next?”, but “what do I put a higher value on: the me-work that defines my role and identity, or the we-work that involves coordinative and cooperative work?”
Hindsight’s a bitch