Most people don’t practice taking ideas seriously. I think it’s because most people don’t know how to. I didn’t either, until I stumbled upon an implication. For example, what would it mean to take compounding seriously? Ugh. I can feel your aversion. You’ve already heard so much about compounding, how...
At 13, I began tinkering with every random device around my house. I pulled apart hundreds of them - remote controlled cars, table fans, aquarium purifiers, and even my PS2 controller. Figuring out how the vibrate function worked on my PS2 controller was pretty awesome! I could visualize how things...
Indeed, I meant the latter interpretation.
Yes, that's a very good example! That's exactly how I learned French - and I learned much quicker than, say, the usual class curriculum starting with grammar. Turns out, if my goal was to go to France and speak to people there in French, the grammar wasn't necessary to get the point across (in most cases).
with compounding, optimise for things you can keep doing for a long time. The earlier and longer you can do something, the more you will gain from the force of compounding.
I was hinting at this, but didn't say it. Thanks for making it explicit.
Most people don’t practice taking ideas seriously. I think it’s because most people don’t know how to. I didn’t either, until I stumbled upon an implication.
For example, what would it mean to take compounding seriously?
Ugh. I can feel your aversion. You’ve already heard so much about compounding, how it works, how it’s the eight wonder of the world, etc. etc.
But, familiarity is not the same as taking it seriously.
Say you start with $100, and every year, make 10% more. This compounds, since the extra money is a function of how much you already have. The more you have, the more you get. It’s a positive loop that keeps on increasing.
That’s the familiar... (read 210 more words →)
At 13, I began tinkering with every random device around my house. I pulled apart hundreds of them - remote controlled cars, table fans, aquarium purifiers, and even my PS2 controller. Figuring out how the vibrate function worked on my PS2 controller was pretty awesome! I could visualize how things worked on the inside.
I couldn’t always put them back together. I broke a few, I lost a few, but I realised this process was crucial to understanding how they work, and the limits of their use. If I don’t get to the breaking point, how can I know where the breaking point is?
Growing older, this translated into doing the same with code.... (read 1360 more words →)
This was floated at the event: https://tinyletter.com/acxlondon