Reading Time: 2 minFor most people, most of the time, if they find themselves in a situation where they feel dumb, they likely just got smarter. It can happen two ways: First, it might be that you’re immediately corrected with more factual information. This happened to me a few years ago with a bit of info about Matt […]
Learning
Learning is easier when you don’t have to rush
Reading Time: 2 minI wasn’t a very good student in high school. I got decent test scores, but a pretty weak GPA. If I could go back and do it again, I think I’d handle things much differently. However, the way you need to learn in high school is much different than how I learn now, and I […]
My understanding is…
Reading Time: < 1 minIn a recent episode of the “Hidden Brain” podcast, host Shankar Vedandam had Adam Grant on as a guest. They were discussing some details in the history of the Vietnam War and how things unfolded, and Adam said something that I thought was fascinating, but it was right in line with how he thinks. He […]
Thought Experiments
Reading Time: < 1 minThe last mental model that I’m going to unpack, before going back to my normal cadence of blogging, is the idea of “thought experiments”. While these mental models were presented in alphabetical order, this one is a perfect one to end on, as it’s a great way to tie all of the rest together. Sometimes […]
Skill Stack
Reading Time: < 1 minThe next mental model that I’m digging into is the concept of the “skill stack”. The idea behind this is that having a wide range of skills can help multiply your success. It’s similar to the idea I shared earlier this year about wider study helping even in narrow fields. Andrew McVagh gives a great […]
Circle of Competence
Reading Time: < 1 minThe next mental model I’m digging into is the idea of your “circle of competence”. This is something I’ve talked about a few times on here, most recently with my post asking “where is your perimeter?“, and finding the edges of your circle. As Warren Buffett puts it: “You have to stick within what I […]
Pushing for “always” to achieve “usually”
Reading Time: 2 minAbout a year ago, I mentioned a friend that was able to work out 3x weekly, which is something I struggle with. If I aim to work out three times in a week, it quickly slips to maybe once or twice. Instead, I plan to work out every day, and that filters down to “most […]
What questions don’t you know?
Reading Time: 2 minOver the past few years on this blog, I’ve talked a lot about asking questions. Ask tough questions. Have more questions than answers. Learn to answer the same questions. Going further with it, though, is trying to find the questions that you don’t even know exist. It’s similar to some minor hiccups we’ve had running […]
100 books you need to read before you die
Reading Time: 2 minA few weeks ago, “SeekLifeMastery” posted a fantastic thread on Twitter with the “100 books you need to read before you die“. As I went through it, I found that it was indeed an excellent list, and one that I need to work on quite a bit as I’ve only read about 25 of the […]
Fix your weaknesses or enhance your superpowers?
Reading Time: 2 minWhen you decide that there is something you’d like to better at doing, there are two possible reasons: Finding the balance can be tricky. If you’re a baseball player who is a good hitter but a poor fielder, which one should you work more on? Should you try to become an excellent hitter, or work […]