A Cool Guide of Powerful Concepts to Understand The World
by Nino · 37 things on Twos
- Time Billionaire
- Too many people fail to realize the value of this asset until it is gone. When choosing between two paths, choose the path that places the highest appreciation on the value of your time. The path where you spend more time in your Zone of Genius.
- The Feynman Technique
- To learn anything:
- Identify a topic
- Try to explain it to a 5-year-old
- Study to fill in knowledge gaps
- Organize, convey, and review.
- True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate. Simple is beautiful.
- The Paradox of Persuasion
- Have you noticed that argumentative people rarely persuade anyone of anything? Persuasive people don’t argue—they observe, listen, and ask questions. Argue less, persuade more. Persuasion is an art that requires a paintbrush, not a sledgehammer.
- The 5 Types of Wealth
- Money is NOT the only type of wealth. There are 5 types: - Financial (money) - Social (relationships) - Physical (health) - Mental (knowledge, health) - Time (freedom)
- The pursuit of financial wealth can rob you of the others. Don’t let that happen.
- Intellectual Sparring Partners
- Most of us need fewer friends and more intellectual sparring partners. Friends are easy to come by. Intellectual sparring partners are not so easy to find. They will call you on your BS, question your assumptions, and push you to think deeply.
- The Paradox of Effort
- You have to put in more effort to make something appear effortless. Effortless, elegant performances are simply the result of a large volume of consistent, effortful, gritty practice. Small things become big things. Simple is not simple.
- Hitchens’ Razor
- Anything asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. Newton’s Flaming Laser Sword If something cannot be settled by reasonable experiment or observation, it’s not worth debating. “These will save you from wasting time on pointless arguments!”
- Sunk Cost Fallacy
- Sunk costs are economic costs already invested in an activity that cannot be recovered. We tend to think we should continue with something on the basis of all that we’ve put in—with no regard for future costs or the likelihood of ultimate success. Beware!
- The Optimist Razor
- When choosing who to spend time with, prioritize spending more time with optimists. Pessimists see closed doors. Optimists see open doors—and probably kick down the closed doors along the way. Remember: Pessimists sound smart, optimists get rich.
- Heaven’s Reward Fallacy
- Humans tend to have an expectation that they will be justly rewarded and praised for all of their hard work and sacrifice. The reality is that a lot of it goes unnoticed—it’s thankless. The pursuit of external affirmation just breeds resentment.
- Loss Aversion
- Humans tend to prefer avoiding losses vs. achieving gains. The pain of losing something is more powerful than the pleasure of winning it. We will typically do more to avoid loss than we will to seek gains. We systematically overvalue what we already have.
- Use-It-or-Lose-It
- Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Work longer, get less done. When you establish fixed hours, you find unproductive ways to fill it. If your goal is to do inspired, creative work, work like a lion instead: Sprint. Eat. Rest. Repeat.
- Spotlight Effect
- Humans overestimate the degree to which other people are noticing and observing our appearance or actions. This keeps people from being themselves due to an irrational fear of judgement. Relax and realize that most people don’t really care about you.
- Naïve Realism
- Humans generally think very highly of themselves. We tend to believe that we see the world with perfect objectivity. We also assume that people who disagree with us must be ignorant or biased. This error sits at the core of many societal problems.
- A Cool Guide of Powerful Concepts to Understand The World : r/coolguides