Descriptions

Descriptions

“Most people are out of touch with reality because they confuse the world as it is, with the world as they think about it, and talk about it, and describe it.” – Alan Watts

Language is an incredible tool. It makes it possible for us to externalize what we think and communicate it to others.

It is also true that words can only ever be a proxy for what we are trying to express.

The differences in interpretations of a single sentence depends on an infinite number of factors – our vastly different vocabularies, experiences and environments massively influence how we deliver and process information.

Your interpretation of the last couple of sentences is completely unique to you.

Conversely, our shared descriptions and explanations are how we collectively progress, believe in things, and build things together. My intention in writing this is not to criticize our use of language, simply to understand its nature as a forever imperfect (and incredible) tool.

Descriptions by Visualize Value

If you are building something, it is far more useful to focus on the work you are doing to produce the result than the result itself.

Labor is generally a more interchangeable resource than vision.

To help understand this idea, consider the contrast between the two concepts ancient Greeks used to think about time.

It should be relatively simple to identify when we aren't accumulating net new experience, but in practice, it doesn't seem to be.

Language is an incredible tool. It makes it possible for us to externalize what we think and communicate it to others.

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." - Warren Buffett

The extent to which anything keeps working after you stop working is how much time you earn from making it.

To make progress, we must solve harder and harder problems in sequence.