Someone’s BEST can be result of many random factors: –LUCK -rare FLASH of brilliance -temporary MOTIVATION -even strategic effort to impress, get a job, etc Someone’s worst is far less volatile: -it at very least speaks of someone’s MINIMUM STANDARD -it’s the BEST for predicting the future — as it gives a RELIABLE BASELINE …
Tag: Psychology
Hierarchies, Competition, Ego, Self and Collective Interests
You want to do better in order to get better outcomes for yourself, solve your problems better But indirectly in doing so — you become useful for others And then indirectly in doing so — you become placed higher in a hierarchy. Hierarchy of course has a purpose. It contains information about that which is …
FORGIVING Is A Form Of NOT GIVING A FUCK
FORGIVING is a form of NOT GIVING A FUCK It means you refuse to give a FUCK about seeing your pique soothed, your pride indulged, your honour asserted Should you even give a fuck? See, that’s the decision to be made The problem with giving a fuck, or NOT giving a fuck — …
How We Became So RELIGIOUS, Again
There’s nothing easy in championing reason It was progress enough when we managed to at least resist deluding ourselves, beguiling ourselves with lies and fantasies, Perhaps big part of it was just laughable unattractiveness of religion, as compared to actual progress of human ingenuity. Even if you yourself were useless — it was still in …
If You Want It Gone, You Must FORGET It Utterly
When you want something gone, You can’t simply think: “I WANT IT GONE” Obviously If you want it gone entirely — it must also be gone from your thoughts Well, when you think how much you “want it gone” — you’re thinking OF IT Therefore it’s NOT gone from your thoughts quite a paradox …
Why New Toys Are Exciting (And Your Life Is Not)
Toys are new = novelty. First they are new by the very fact that you don’t have them Second they are new because toys are continuously updated, to keep you enthralled Toys benefit from memetic value Which itself benefits from scarcity We want that which others want. The more we don’t know what we …
Stubborn When It’s Cheap, Weak When It Counts
Isn’t it fascinating? We’re so stubborn and recalcitrant and combative — even when we KNOW we’re wrong And yet, When we actually believe something, and for once for good reason, and for once it’s the RIGHT THING — we’re still too WEAK and PATHETIC to STAND for the truth, to stand for ourselves This …
Mediocrity More Scary Than Failure
What do you fear more? failure? or mediocrity? Both are a social construct Alone in the woods — it’s annoying when you are building a small shed, and the structure collapses somehow It’s annoying, but You’re not a “failure” You’re not a “mediocrity” Those terms exist only in the society Now what do …
The FAKE Prophets
“A broken clock is right twice a day” Perhaps you’ve heard this phrase Have you heard about survivorship bias? Survivorship bias is when you come to a conclusion about the whole — drawing only on limited data which has passed certain selection process, i.e. “survived” Now it’s time to combine the BROKEN CLOCK …
Useful Faith vs Blind, EVIL Faith
-There’s science =knowledge from observations, encapsulated by a testable theory, which has then been tested indeed -There’s reason, rationality = coherence of different concepts. Mathematics, logic, philosophy, etc. -And there’s FAITH = ASSUMPTION of something, WITHOUT either scientific proof, or even validation of logical clarity Is there room for faith? Well we can’t always …