9: Notes from a Commonplace

3..Notes from the Greats

Tony Fadell, inventor of the iPod, on the essentials of a product narrative:

"Every product should have a story, a narrative that explains why it needs to exist and how it will solve your customer’s problems. A good product story has three elements: (1) It appeals to people’s rational and emotional sides. (2) It takes complicated concepts and makes them simple.(3) It reminds people of the problem that’s being solved—it focuses on the “why.”."

Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius on controlling your thoughts:

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature."

Entrepreneur on Jeff Bezos on regret:

"I knew that if I failed I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying. I knew that that would haunt me every day, and so when I thought about it that way it was an incredibly easy decision."

2..Notes to Know

Gell-Mann Amnesia: The Gell-Mann Amnesia effect, named after physicist Murray Gell-Mann, describes a cognitive bias where people tend to believe news articles about topics outside their expertise, even after noticing errors in articles about subjects they know well. Essentially, readers forget their skepticism when moving to unfamiliar topics.

This phenomenon highlights how easily we can be misled by media, especially in areas where we lack personal knowledge. It suggests that the inaccuracies we spot in familiar subjects might be just as prevalent in other areas, but we fail to apply the same critical thinking consistently.

Fallacy of Homo Economics: In his book Psychology of Money, author Morgan Housel rejects the notion that humans make perfectly rational financial and economic decisions. Housel suggests that our financial behavior is deeply influenced by our personal narratives and emotional responses to money-related situations we've encountered in our lives.Our life experiences shape our perceptions of risk and reward, which create hidden biases in our decision making.

1..Note From Me: On Context Windows

Imagine having a conversation with someone who forgets everything you've said after just a few sentences. Frustrating, right? Now, picture the opposite: a dialogue partner with an encyclopedic memory of your entire exchange. This stark contrast illustrates the power of context—and it's not just relevant to artificial intelligence.

In the world of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, the term "context window" has gained prominence. It refers to the amount of information an AI can "remember" and consider when generating responses. A wider context window allows the AI to incorporate more relevant information, leading to more nuanced and accurate outputs.

But what if we applied this concept to our own thinking?

Just as AI models benefit from larger context windows, we too can enhance our understanding and decision-making by expanding our mental "context window." When faced with complex issues or heated arguments, it's crucial to ask ourselves: Is our context window wide enough to seek the truth?

By consciously expanding our context window, we open ourselves to a starting place of humility. From this position we are better equipped to seek the truth or come to a more informed decision.

To navigate this intricate world, let's take a cue from AI and strive to widen our own context windows. Seek out competing sources of information, engage with opposing viewpoints, and always be willing to learn.

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A commonplace book is a personal collection of quotes, observations, ideas, and other bits of information that an individual finds interesting or inspiring. It is one of the most tried and true methods for learning & compiling information. Famously, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcus Aurelius, and Thomas Jefferson all carried a commonplace book.

This newsletter shares the notes from my own commonplace book and will add highlights to yours.