Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 6402 answers
Doing one thing at a time produces better results faster than switching between tasks.
Extended focus needs environmental rituals and structural support to sustain. You cannot will yourself into deep work any more than you can will yourself into sleep — you have to construct the conditions that make it inevitable.
Seeking other viewpoints shows you what your single perspective cannot.
You overestimate the likelihood of events you can easily recall examples of. The availability heuristic substitutes the question "how frequent is this?" with the question "how easily can I think of an example?" — and the substitution happens below conscious awareness, which means you feel like you.
You cannot change a schema you cannot see. The moment you become aware of a schema operating in your thinking, you gain a degree of freedom you did not have before — the ability to evaluate it, adjust it, or replace it. Without awareness, the schema runs you. With awareness, you run it.
There is no single correct way to categorize — categories serve purposes.
The act of mapping relationships generates new insights about the system. You do not map what you already understand — you map in order to understand. The diagram is not a record of finished thinking. It is the medium in which thinking happens.
The act of mapping relationships generates new insights about the system. You do not map what you already understand — you map in order to understand. The diagram is not a record of finished thinking. It is the medium in which thinking happens.
Before resolving a contradiction make the strongest possible case for each side.
Integrating your schemas is also integrating your identity — who you are becomes more coherent.
Define in advance what evidence would cause you to abandon a course of action.
Errors teach you more about your systems than successes do.
Agent monitoring provides the data you need to optimize your cognitive systems.
Consistent 1% improvements produce transformative results over time.
Professional environments are designed to distribute authority hierarchically. Self-authority at work means knowing when to follow the hierarchy and when your independent judgment must override it.
Place capture tools where you will see and use them without having to remember. The best capture system is one your environment triggers automatically — not one that depends on willpower or recall.
Rather than relying on willpower create contexts that make desired behavior natural.
When A affects B and B affects A you have a system that can amplify or stabilize itself.
Agents for how to respond in social situations like receiving criticism or giving feedback.
Sometimes combined agent behavior produces results none of the individual agents intended.
Sometimes combined agent behavior produces results none of the individual agents intended.
Compare agents against each other and against baselines to identify relative performance.
Evolution built in a tendency to defer to authority — recognize when it activates.
The structure of your environment determines your default behavior.