Notes

Notes on The Knowledge Project podcast episode with Shane Parrish and Kunal Shah. Lessons to be learned from the Indian business cast Kunal: I think the first lesson was, they have much lower shame than the other communities. They have very little self doubt when it comes to being shameless. I mean, they’re very hard to offend. They’re okay even if you mock them. As long as you are giving them business, they’re okay with that. Not many people would be okay with that treatment. Right? ...

This is an acronym I came across a lot in my studies. VUCA stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. It’s used to describe the world we live in and was noted as the number one reason to why we need innovation. It’s also a useful reminder for any individual or organization to avoid overconfidence. The world is volatile. It moves unpredictably and doesn’t ever really trend in one direction for long. Especially human made systems move faster and fluctuate more with our progress. When our thinking and actions couldn’t keep up, we invented computers to do some thinking and acting for us. The result was more interconnectedness and faster systems, which often makes mistakes more devastating. ...

If you want a successful and fulfilling life, you shouldn’t optimize for happiness. Instead, Richard Meadows argues that you should focus on increasing optionality. We think happiness is a state we can arrive at. However, happiness is always relative, and we have both external and internal reference points that guide our happiness level. Because of the hedonic treadmill, you’ll need newer and stronger “happiness kicks” to get to the same level of happiness than before. ...

Will China or India overpower the West in the future and take the lead? Ian Morris sets out to answer this question. By looking into the past, he’s convinced that we can understand how western dominion came about. He’s also convinced that by understanding this, we’re able to predict what comes next. In essence, biology and sociology tell us that humans are mostly the same. All have the same nature and need energy to survive. Unfortunately, Food and energy sources are unevenly distributed. To overcome geographical resource limitations the typical “lazy, greedy, frightened” human looks for “easier, more profitable, and safer ways to do things. That, according to Morris, is the source of innovation. ...

From the Farnam Street Brain Food newsletter: We live in a society that praises all-out effort. But giving a task 100% of your energy can lead to burnout, over-exhaustion, and injury. Jackman believes in the “85% Rule,” which means that intensity, force, or stress should never override form, technique, and preparation. Jackman elaborates: “A sprint coach realized that [Olympian] Carl Lewis did nothing at the 50-meter mark; his breathing and form was exactly the same. Other runners would try to push harder, clenching their fists, scrunching their faces. But Carl Lewis stayed exactly the same—and went on to breeze past the others.” It’s like that with everything in life — the more you try to force something, the less optimal your performance. Aim for 85% energy expenditure, and reserve the other 15% for mental & physical calm. ...