We posit it's because of CORE traits: 4 unchanging human qualities that will outlast every technical skill you'll ever learn. It's not nepotism, favoritism, or flattery. It's CORE traits that don't show up on resumes. And in the AI era, these traits matter more than ever
Why Preparation Beats Planning
I posit that there are 4 broad modes in which you approach life. The mode you operate in makes all the difference. Also, why preparation always beats planning.
How Systems Overcome Decision Fatigue
I argue why mechanical consistency is a better bet for many of us. I argue why continuous recalibration can be bad citing examples of daily commute, agile marketing and investment. TL;DR version: Autopilot > Continuous Recalibration.
Bicycle for your Note-taking
I talk about my experiences in note-making. Because, the 5 most deceptive words in humanity’s history are: “I will remember this later”. I discuss how I came to discover the limitations of note-making in a book. And, why I was forced to go digital.
Don’t Fix What’s Not Broken
“Change” is a magic word, whether in organizations or societies. In 1792, the French Revolutionaries created a new calendar and decimal time system to mark the dawn of the new Republican era. In the 18th edition of the newsletter, I dig into why this ‘scientific’ system isn’t still around. It’s a story of how tradition quietly reclaimed the lost ground.
The Cost of Luxury Beliefs
Lately, I struggled to put a name to the phenomenon that I see in many elitist circles. These people are as conservative as it goes in their private life. Yet, they aggressively profess to stand by ‘enlightened’ beliefs in public. Imagine my delight when I saw that someone had coined a term, “luxury beliefs”, to... Continue Reading →
Applying Systems Thinking to Population Problems
In a previous edition, we touched on why systems problems cannot be solved by rational reasoning alone. Let’s explore with examples. In 1967, Romania decided to reverse its population decline by making abortions illegal. It seemed to have the desired effect: the birth rate tripled. Yet, the birth rate not just crawled back to its... Continue Reading →
Nonlinearity at Work
System problems are “rooted in the internal structure of complex systems.” They are, “undesirable behaviors characteristic of the system structures that produce them.”
Musings by Madhav 