12 Matching Annotations
  1. Aug 2024
    1. The idea of growing wiser vs. growing tall is likely not meant for the individual but for society as a whole or the world at large. The full context of the song. But it might have double meaning and refer to both individual and society.

      Reminds me of Taleb's concept of Epistemic Arrogance (overvaluing that which we know)

  2. Jul 2024
    1. ( ~ 18:00)

      Dr. Kurt regurgitates second Peter 3:3-4 where there are "scholars" who knowingly reject creation and the Bible on the merits of the past, absolutism; what happens now is how it has always been.

      This is a logical fallacy also described by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in "The Black Swan"... Absence of Proof does not mean Proof of Absence. And also the fact that one cannot predict the future based on the past in all situations, especially Black Swan's... The Flood was actually a Black Swan (it was impossible to predict, and had catastrophic consequences)

    1. The song criticizes the tendency to rush into judgment without fully understanding the underlying problems. It also emphasizes the value of research and seeking out the truth from various perspectives.

      This is basically critical thinking. Which is also my goal for (optimal) education: To build a society of people who think for themselves, critical thinkers; those who do not take everything for granted. The skeptics.

      See also Nassim Nicolas Taleb's advice to focus on what you DON'T know rather than what you DO know.

      Related to syntopical reading/learning as well. (and Charlie Munger's advice). You want to build a complete picture with a broad understanding and nuanced before formulating an opinion.

      Remove bias from your judgement (especially when it comes to people or civilizations) and instead base it on logic and deep understanding.

      This also relates to (national, but even local) media... How do you know that what the media portrays about something or someone is correct? Don't take it for granted, especially if it is important, and do your own research. Validity of source is important; media is often opinionized and can contain a lot of misinformation.

      See also Simone Weil's thoughts on media, especially where she says misinformation spread must be stopped. It is a vital need for the soul to be presented with (factual) truth.

  3. Sep 2023
  4. Jul 2023
  5. Jan 2023
    1. You protect the system against catastrophic events, but let it fully benefit from anastrophes.

      This doesn't seem to make sense given the definition of anastrophe which is cited here.

      typo?

  6. Sep 2022
    1. https://lu.ma/az338ptc

      Joey Cofone: Are there laws to creativity?

      Joey Cofone, author of the upcoming book The Laws of Creativity, is selling the idea of "float" (in comparison to Mihaly Csikzentmihaly's "flow"), which is ostensibly similar to Barbara Oakley's diffuse thinking framework, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's flâneur framing, and a dose of the Zeigarnik effect.

      I'm concerned that this book will be broadly prescriptive without any founding on any of the extant research, literature, or science of the past. I'll think more highly of it if it were to quote/reference something like Merton and Barber's The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity: A Study in Sociological Semantics and the Sociology of Science.


      Following on the above:

      David Allen (of GTD fame) indicates that one should close all open loops to free up working memory, but leaving some open for active thought, follow up, and potential future insight creation can be a useful pattern too. (2022-09-09 9:05 AM)

  7. Oct 2021
    1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MM5_VlMKG8

      Bitcoin, currencies, and fragility by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

      The most stable currencies are those that are most heavily traded between each other and for actual goods and services.

      Some of Bitcoins' problem may be that it is so narrowly traded that it is far too volatile to encourage others to use it.

  8. Jul 2021
    1. Most of this is material I've seen or heard in other forms in the past. It's relatively well reviewed and summarized here though, but it's incredibly dense to try to pull out, unpack and actually use if one were coming to it as a something new.

      3 Productivity hacks

      • Zen Meditation (Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryū Suzuki
      • Research Process -- Annotations and notes, notecards
      • Rigorous exercise routine -- plateau effect

      The Zen meditation hack sounds much in the line of advice to often get away from what you're studing/researching and to let the ideas stew for a bit before coming back to them. It's the same principle as going for walks frequently heard from folks or being a flâneur. (cross reference Nassim Nicholas Taleb et al.) The other version of this that's similar are the diffuse modes of learning (compared with focused modes) described in learning theory. (Examples in work of Barbara Oakley and Terry Sejnowski in https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn)

      I've generally come to the idea that genius doesn't exist myself. Most of it distills down to use of tools like commonplace books.

      Perhaps worth looking into some of the following to see what, if anything, is different than prior version of the commonplace book tradition:

      The Ryan Holiday Notecard System @Intermittent Diversion - https://youtu.be/QoFZQOJ8aA0

      Article On Notecard System [1] https://medium.com/thrive-global/the-notecard-system-the-key-for-remembering-organizing-and-using-everything-you-read-4f48a82371b1 [2] https://www.writingroutines.com/notecard-system-ryan-holiday/ [3] https://www.gallaudet.edu/tutorial-and-instructional-programs/english-center/the-process-and-type-of-writing/pre-writing-writing-and-revising/the-note-card-system/

  9. Mar 2021
    1. Overcompensation is an interesting idea. Again, its effect is non-linear (can't write on the Heathrow runway), but in a line that got 4,500 highlights in Kindle, Taleb said "The excess energy released from overreaction to setbacks is what innovates!" (52)

      This highlighted portion sounds deep, but what the hell does it really mean? I feel like I'm missing some context.

      Somewhat more interesting is the notice here that it's such a heavily highlighted passage. I love that Dan pays attention to these bits much as I do.