2 Razors, 1 Theorem and Amnesia.

Here’s four of my current favourite razors, theorems and effects that help me navigate the never-ending now.?

1. The Everyday Razor.

No, this isn’t a promotional influencer post for a new Gillette product. (I have a beard anyway). The Everyday razor is about productivity.

Consider a task that you do weekly - let’s call it 1 unit of work per week.

That’s 52 units per year.

But if you do something weekly and move it to daily, you 7x the output.

For 52 units to 365.

Now, add to that the 8th Wonder of the World (or is it 9th?), at least according to Warren Buffet, and that is the power of compounding interest.

Move from weekly to daily.

Then aim for 1% improvement every day.

1% improvement on a weekly task gets you from 52 to 65.

1% improvement on a daily task gets you from 365 to 3716.

Take your weekly task, do it daily and aim for 1% improvement every day.

?From 52 to 3716.

2. Thomas Theorem

?If a person defines a situation as real, then they are real in their consequences.?In other words, the interpretation of a situation causes the action.

All facts are true, but some facts are more true than others

You can go down any number of rabbit holes trying to interpret this one, you’ll just end up a philosophical pretzel. Here’s how I rationalise it and utilise it.?

For some people being objectively right is simply not relevant.?

They are subjectively right (I believe this is true regardless of evidence, or your ‘alternative facts’) and will act accordingly.?

And it is the actions that matter.

Trying to get them to redefine their belief is a fool's errand.?

And if you can’t change the belief then you can’t change the behaviour.

So either accept it or move on.?

Here’s a great example.

Popular astro-physicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked how he would convince a flat earther that the world was indeed round.?

He answered;

“I would ask if there is any evidence I could provide that would change their mind.?

If they say no, then I smile and walk away.”

Some folk will never see the world the same way as you.

Doesn’t mean they are wrong and you’re right, or the reverse.

Understand that they will act in accordance with their view of the world

Your job is to respond to their behaviours and actions, not stand there and just tell them they are wrong.

Work in the world as it is, not how you wish it to be.

3. Galloway’s Razor.

“Research suggests people enjoy possessions less than they expected, and they enjoy experiences more than they expected. In the end, people value what they did much more than what they owned. So choose adventures over luxury items.”

In other words is your goal to be the kind of person who has things, or does things?

Having things sends a signal to others, about our capacity to acquire, possess or what strata of society we claim to rightfully belong in.?

But it’s a signal that can be easily faked - the supercar is hired, the jewels are fake, the credit cards are all maxed out.

But the doing of things cannot be faked.?

You did or did not.?

And whilst they do broadcast some outward signal they also broadcast a strong internal one.

You are reminding, and proving to yourself, that you are the kind of person that can do things.?

Often hard things.?

As Ross Edgeley puts it, ‘Be an instrument, not an ornament”

And that is without price or parallel.?

Experiences > Things

4. Gell-Mann Amnesia effect.?

“The phenomenon of a person trusting newspapers for topics which that person is not knowledgeable about, despite recognizing the newspaper as being extremely inaccurate on certain topics which that person is knowledgeable about”

I have to remind myself of this one on the regular.?

You’re reading the news, and come across an article about a topic you know a lot about. And easily spot the errors, biases and faults in the reporting.?

Then you read the next article, about which you know little, and assume it’s totally accurate and free from fault, completely forgetting how flawed the last article was.

You see the problem.?

In the world of the never ending now, AI and a news cycle that has a velocity approaching lightspeed and a level of self respect lower than the Mariana Trench - take everything with several enormous grains of salt. Like, Dead Sea volumes of salt.

That's it - hope there's a razor or two in there that you can leverage to better navigate the never ending now of our lives.

PS - if you made it this far, you get a bonus Razor. Here ya go :)

Naval’s Razor: if you can’t decide between two choices, take the path that’s more difficult/painful in the short term; doing this will counteract hyperbolic discounting, the brain’s tendency to overestimate short term pain and underestimate long term pain