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It's helpful to be able to link to things When you have a question, it's very helpful to be able to google it. Google became a billion dollar company by making it easy to search and access links to other people's content. Billions of dollars, and they don't even make their own content. Making links to other content accessible is that valuable. Humans are built on links. * A language is just a large collection of words which act as short references to a more complex concepts. * A meme is the

Consistent Problems vs Good Problems Humans like solving problems, it feels good. We like feeling useful to others, and we like feeling like we're making progress towards making the world a better place. However, You'll Always Have The Same Number Of Problems. So, it's important to make sure you're North Star-ing and making sure that the problems you're working so hard to solve are really Something Worth Dying For. Without a heuristic to sort problems by, you'll probably just fall into work

Gods Are Ways To Anthropomorphize Abstract Systems A God is a way for humans to anthropomorphize the abstract and unknowable. They present a simplified model, an abstraction, that act as a 'face' for something much more complex. You never truly know anyone else, just a model of them in your head. The same basic system can be grafted onto nature. The ocean is vast and uncaring, but Poseidon is a person who wants things and can be counted on to act in certain ways. Gods are not the universal

It Goes In The Square Hole If left to their own, people will optimize systems. This includes taking out all the fun, if that's the most efficient path. Original thought is slow and expensive, and you should avoid it whenever possible. Human beings are biased towards not wasting energy trying to fix things that aren't broken. If I get a sword in the first level that can kill everything, why would I bother picking up a spear? Even in a video game, where people are paying for the privilege of b

It Is Their Nature Things have an essential nature which cannot be changed, even if doing so seems like it would benefit them. You've probably heard the story of The Scorpion & The Frog: One day, a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is hesitant, because he knows that scorpions sting and kill frogs. The scorpion assures him that he won't sting, because then they'd both drown. The frog agrees and halfway across the river, the scorpion stings him. As the frog feels the v

Nature Shibboleth Shibboleth's authenticate group membership based on knowledge. If you know the secret handshake, you're one of us. Nature Shibboleth's authenticate group membership based on ability. If you can fly a plane, you're one of us. How does this still work to maintain group exclusivity? Because Things have an essential nature. You can't really fake your way past these tests. Changing your nature to the point that you can pass just means that you now belong. Many country clubs and