Nintendo has a product-development philosophy called "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology."
It led to the Game Boy, the 20th century's most successful game console.
Basically, you can innovate with old and cheap technologies instead of obsessing over the cutting edge.
The story of Bitcoin, one of the most important technologies of the century so far, is a story of combining withered technology too.
"By using “old” technology, Yokoi removed barriers to entry for both developers and users. As a result, with more than 118 million units sold, the Game Boy became the most successful game console of the 20th century."
I support myself in two ways: online courses in the short term and investing in the long term.
When people find me online, I encourage them to sign up for my email list where I share links to Twitter, YouTube videos, podcasts, and long-form essays.
Everything is driven by my Audience-First Products thesis.
It has three steps: (1) share ideas consistently, (2) grow an audience, and (3) either invest in the audience or build products for them. The flywheel funds my long-form essays — my true passion.
He's the billionaire founder of a $450 million fashion brand. His company is valued at more than €1.6 billion, and it's fueled by his radical approach to business.
This thread is a collection of the best things I've learned from him.
1. He donates 20 percent of profits to charity, through his foundation.
The foundation's mission is “to support any initiative enhancing knowledge, protecting the land and its monuments, highlighting the value of tradition, promoting spiritual and daily values of mankind.”
2. He sets strict working times.
His team starts the day at 8am and have a hard stop at 5:30pm, after which work is forbidden.
He says: “Human beings are much more creative in the morning after a good rest and after devoting time to themselves and their families."
Here's a fascinating answer to "Is Peter Thiel Very Smart?" from @RyanHoliday.
I love this line: “The things that I think I’m right about other people are in some sense not even wrong about, because they’re not thinking about them.”
Here are my favorite quotes.
This is a beautiful way to think about thinking.
“Peter is of two minds on everything. If you were able to open his skull, you would see a number of Mexican standoffs between powerful antagonistic ideas you wouldn’t think could be safely housed in the same brain.”
"Thiel is extremely well-read and again, tends to focus on talking about and thinking about deep, obscure topics rather than superficial, trivial matters."
My favorite way to find interesting ideas is to look for things that don't make sense.
When something doesn't make sense, most people turn away and focus on something else. Don't do that. Think of it as an invitation to learn instead.
Here's my short article.
I first heard this idea in 2016 while attending an interview with @IAmAdamRobinson.
He said: "One of the key things to investing is to be aware when you hear a voice in your head that says it doesn’t make sense. That’s where the gold mine is — things that don’t make sense.”
When the world does the opposite of what you think it’s going to do, it’s not the world that’s wrong. It’s you.
Here's the key point: The factor causing the world to behave differently than you think is more influential than ALL the ones you’re considering.
One of the weirdest things about modern urbanism is that we build the opposite of what we like.
We adore Europe’s narrow streets, but build skyscraper-lined cities with six-lane roads and sterile shopping malls, that are impossible to walk.
Right now, I’m living in a suburb of Austin, Texas. I don’t have a car so I’m entirely dependent on delivery workers and my roommates (who have cars) if I want to go anywhere.
Tires, not feet, are the engines of practical reality which makes you feel powerless as a meager human.
American society is entirely oriented around the car.
I saw this when I registered to vote last week. To prove identity, the form asked for my driver’s license, not my passport. That’s not necessarily a problem, but it reveals how we serve cars instead of making them serve us.
Officially obsessed with Oxford’s “Very Short Introduction” series.
The books are generally well-written and don’t have any fluff, which is everything I want from non-fiction. Plus, they’re short enough to read in 2-3 nights.
Highly recommend.
If you only read these books for a decade you’d be better educated, across a wide variety of disciplines, than almost anybody in your social circle.