Thread by Justin Mikolay
- Tweet
- Jan 18, 2022
- #CareerDevelopment
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In an age of leverage, B gets paid 10,000x more than A 
The classic formulation:
“Being at the extreme in your art is very important in the age of leverage.” -@naval
My interpretation is there's confusion these days.
People conflate being at the extreme with being on the frontier.
Naval never does that. Here's how we puts it.
“Being at the extreme in your art is very important in the age of leverage.” -@naval
My interpretation is there's confusion these days.
People conflate being at the extreme with being on the frontier.
Naval never does that. Here's how we puts it.
Being marginally better means getting outsized rewards (by orders of magnitude).
That means combining your skills and pushing as far to the extreme as possible.
That also implies loving what you do so much you can persevere.
That means combining your skills and pushing as far to the extreme as possible.
That also implies loving what you do so much you can persevere.
Yes, small differences in judgment and capability get amplified.
But there's more, and Naval and many others know it.
Being at the frontier is different from being at the extreme in your art, but there are similarities.
But there's more, and Naval and many others know it.
Being at the frontier is different from being at the extreme in your art, but there are similarities.
The first is better vision.
"Out on the edge," as Kurt Vonnegut has said, "You see all kinds of things you can't from the center.”
"Out on the edge," as Kurt Vonnegut has said, "You see all kinds of things you can't from the center.”
You can also find your people in ways you wouldn't otherwise.
As the wonderful writer George Kennan said, “People who are a little unusual -- the bohème -- they understand me better than do the regular ones.”
As the wonderful writer George Kennan said, “People who are a little unusual -- the bohème -- they understand me better than do the regular ones.”
You can also discover things you never thought possible.
In the words of the biologist E.O. Wilson:
Outside our sensory bubble are countless prospects... The challenge is to translate the previously unperceived into the limited audio-visual world of human consciousness."
In the words of the biologist E.O. Wilson:
Outside our sensory bubble are countless prospects... The challenge is to translate the previously unperceived into the limited audio-visual world of human consciousness."
The big advances don't come from the frontier itself, they come from standing at the frontier and looking out.
It's a process of continuous close observation.
It's a process of continuous close observation.
This is why the point isn't to simply visit the frontier, it's the live there.
As @naval has said, the move there.
As @naval has said, the move there.
Every day, people compete on a winner-take-all playing field
As (again) Naval has said:
#1 wins everything
#2 gets something
#3 loses it all
We don't have to play accordingly, but we can be aware of the field
As (again) Naval has said:
#1 wins everything
#2 gets something
#3 loses it all
We don't have to play accordingly, but we can be aware of the field
The key to progress, in this situation, is to tap into the deepest root of science. One that's shared between the humanities and the natural sciences.
"The capacity to see beyond the visible" as physicist Carlo Rovelli has noted.
"The capacity to see beyond the visible" as physicist Carlo Rovelli has noted.
It's hard to succeed on the frontier.
History tells us, the only way to do it is to love it so much you can persevere.
History tells us, the only way to do it is to love it so much you can persevere.
