Seth's Blog : More than ten is too many



More than ten is too many

Human beings suffer from scope insensitivity.

Time and again, we're unable to put more urgency or more value on choices that have more impact. We don't donate ten times as much to a charity that's serving 10 times (or even 100 times) more people. We don't prioritize our interest or our urgency based on scale, we do it based on noise.

And yet, too often, we resort to a narrative about big numbers.

It doesn't matter that there are more than 6,000 posts on this blog. It could be 600 or 60. It won't change what you read next.

It doesn't matter if a library has a million books instead a hundred thousand.

It doesn't matter how many people live without electricity.

Of course it matters. What I meant to say that when you're about to make a decision of scale, right here and right now, if the number is more than ten, the scope of the opportunity or problem will almost certainly be underestimated.

       

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Seth's Blog : Metaphors aren't true



Metaphors aren't true

But they're useful.

That's why professionals use them to teach, to learn and to understand.

A metaphor takes what we know and uses it as a lever to understand something else. And the only way we can do that is by starting with the true thing and then twisting it into a new thing, a thing we'll be able to also understand.

(Of course, a metaphor isn't actually a lever, a physical plank of wood that has a fulcrum, which is precisely my point).

The difference between the successful professional and the struggling amateur can often be seen in their respective facility with metaphor. The amateur struggles to accept that metaphor is even acceptable ("are atoms actually building blocks?") or can't find the powerful analogy needed to bring home the concept. Because all metaphors aren't actually true, it takes confidence to use them well.

If you're having trouble understanding a disconnect, or are seeking to explain why something works or doesn't, begin with a metaphor. "Why is this new thing a lot like that understood thing..."

Metaphors aren't true, but they work.

PS more on this in my latest post on Medium.

 

       

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• The other kind of harm
• Our bias for paid marketing
• The short run and the long run
• Identity vs. logic
• Using video well

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Seth's Blog : The other kind of harm



The other kind of harm

Pop culture is enamored with the Bond villian, the psycho, the truly evil character intent on destruction.

It lets us off the hook, because it makes it easy to see that bad guys are other people.

But most of the stuff that goes wrong, much of the organizational breakdown, the unfixed problems and the help not given, ends up happening because the system lets it happen. It happens because a boss isn't focusing, or priorities are confused, or people in a meeting somewhere couldn't find the guts to challenge the status quo.

What we choose not to do matters.

       

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• Actually, more data might not be what you're hoping for

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