Lessons from different fields:

1) Advertising: We overestimate our capacity for independent thought.

2) Poker: Life is probabilistic. We can do everything right and still lose.

3) Architecture: We're influenced by our environment, especially when we don’t realize it.
4) Sports: Momentum is the great equalizer. It strengthens the weak, and weakens the strong.

5) Logistics: Most of the economy is invisible to you. The world is way, way bigger than you think.

6) Politics: People's stated preferences can differ widely from their revealed ones.
7) Gambling: Don't give people consistent rewards. Vary the size and frequency of rewards instead.

8) Investing: A small number of events account for the majority of outcomes.

9) Writing: If you read what everybody reads, you'll think what everybody else thinks.
10) Coding: Don’t under-estimate the power of a computer with internet access.

11) Comedy: The deepest truths are hidden behind a veneer of humor.

12) History: The wisdom of civilization is written and forgotten, written and forgotten, written and forgotten.
13) Surgeons: In times of stress, use a checklist.

14) Nutrition: Eliminating junk is the fastest path to self improvement.

15) Restaurants: People over-estimate how much they value good food, and under-estimate how much they value ambiance and aesthetics.
15) Music: Many of humanity’s best creations are hundreds of years old.

16) Manufacturing: Quality and quantity aren’t always add odds with each other. Sometimes, you can have more of both.

17) Public Speaking: Laughter is the fastest way to create trust and connection.

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More from @david_perell

Feb 17
Imitate, then Innovate is my motto for improving at any skill.

Thread:
It’s counterintuitive, but the more we imitate others, the faster we can discover our unique style.

Modern creators do the opposite though.

They stubbornly insist on originality, which they hold as their highest virtue — even when it comes at the expense of quality.
What does productive imitation look like?

Look at Quentin Tarantino. When people think of him, they see a singular talent for making original movies.

But he's famous for building upon scenes from other movies, and once said: “I steal from every single movie ever made.”
Read 16 tweets
Feb 16
Here's what the future of education looks like:

1. Teaching will become an extremely lucrative profession. Salaries will follow a power law. The best teachers will make millions of dollars per year and teach thousands of students every year. In fact, this is already happening.
2. Mass market courses will have Hollywood-level production budgets.

People who teach mass-market subjects like statistics and economics will attract millions of students. Teaching at scale will give them the financial resources to invest in high-end graphics and production.
3. Classes will be big and small.

The education industry is obsessed with the "average class size metric." People think that smaller is always better. Not true. You want scale when you're delivering lectures so you can invest in production. At other times, you want small groups.
Read 11 tweets
Feb 2
My favorite business frameworks:
Strong Culture, Fewer Rules

When a culture is tight-knit, people don't need to be told what to do explicitly. They just copy what everybody else does, which allows them to be entrepreneurial.

But weak cultures need many precise rules to keep people in check.

(Source: Airbnb)
Christensen's Disruptive Innovation Framework

Innovators win market share when they serve a segment of the market that is over-served by incumbents.

Startups offer the exact level of product or service they need and use this wedge to expand market share.

(Source: @SahilBloom)
Read 14 tweets
Jan 30
Why you should write in public:
1. Attract friends and business partners.

It's hard to meet people as passionate about learning as you are.

But when you publish your ideas, you attract people who think like you.

The more niche the topic, the easier it is to attract people on your intellectual wavelength.
2. Writing helps you understand yourself.

All of us have unprocessed feelings and emotions. Writing is the best way to identify what's making you uncomfortable. By writing, you gain clarity in your life.

The increased clarity you receive reduces stress and anxiety in your life.
Read 12 tweets
Jan 18
If you're feeling stuck in your professional life, start writing online.

Here's how it can accelerate your career:
1. Building a Network:

Writing shrinks the world.

Historically, if you wanted to break into an industry, you had to move to its hub. Not anymore. By writing online, you can build a network from your couch.

Meet people online. Then travel to build relationships in person.
2. Building Expertise:

Quality writing begins with clear thinking.

Once you write about a topic, you can speak about it more clearly, which will help you crush job interviews and establish yourself as an authority.

Learn about topics that interest you and share what you learn.
Read 10 tweets
Jan 10
The Inversion of Censorship:
The 20th century had two iconic dystopian novelists: George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.

Everybody knows Orwell's book: 1984. He outlined a dystopian future where censorship comes from banned books and ideas. Without access to truth, people would be passive and easily manipulated.
Orwell's vision became the standard.

Growing up, my book fairs had a "banned books" section. We were rightly encouraged to read them and explore suppressed ideas.

The lesson: In a world of information scarcity, banning information is the most effective form of thought control.
Read 15 tweets

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