I use this concept often, including explicitly thinking about what (about) five words I want to be the takeaway or that would deliver the payload, or that I expect to be the takeaway from something. I also think I’ve linked to it quite a few times.
I’ve also used it to remind people that what they are doing won’t work because they’re trying to communicate too much content through a medium that does not allow it.
A central problem is how to create building blocks that have a lot more than five words, but where the five words in each block can do a reasonable substitute job when needed.
luding explicitly thinking about what (about) five words I want to be the takeaway or that would deliver the payload, or that I expect to be the takeaway from something.
This is pretty cool. Can you give some example of about five word takeaways you’ve created for different contexts?
Here are some attempted takeaways for things I’ve written, some of which were explicit at the time, some of which were implicit:
Covid-19: “Outside, social distance, wear mask.”
Simulacra (for different posts/models): “Truth, lies, signals, strategic moves” or “level manipulates/dominates level below” or “abstractions dominate, then system collapses”
Mazes: “Modern large organizations are toxic” or “middle management destroys your soul”
Asymmetric Justice: “Unintentional harms count, benefits don’t” or “Counting only harms destroys action” or similar.
Or one can notice that we are abstracting out a conclusion from someone else’s thing, or think about what we hope another will take away. Often but not always it’s the title. Constantly look to improve. Pain not unit of effort. Interacting with system creates blameworthiness. Default AI destroys all value. Claim bailey, retreat to motte. Society stuck in bad equilibrium. Etc.
I use this concept often, including explicitly thinking about what (about) five words I want to be the takeaway or that would deliver the payload, or that I expect to be the takeaway from something. I also think I’ve linked to it quite a few times.
I’ve also used it to remind people that what they are doing won’t work because they’re trying to communicate too much content through a medium that does not allow it.
A central problem is how to create building blocks that have a lot more than five words, but where the five words in each block can do a reasonable substitute job when needed.
As an additional data point, a link to this post will appear in the 12⁄10 Covid weekly roundup.
This is pretty cool. Can you give some example of about five word takeaways you’ve created for different contexts?
Here are some attempted takeaways for things I’ve written, some of which were explicit at the time, some of which were implicit:
Covid-19: “Outside, social distance, wear mask.”
Simulacra (for different posts/models): “Truth, lies, signals, strategic moves” or “level manipulates/dominates level below” or “abstractions dominate, then system collapses”
Mazes: “Modern large organizations are toxic” or “middle management destroys your soul”
Asymmetric Justice: “Unintentional harms count, benefits don’t” or “Counting only harms destroys action” or similar.
Or one can notice that we are abstracting out a conclusion from someone else’s thing, or think about what we hope another will take away. Often but not always it’s the title. Constantly look to improve. Pain not unit of effort. Interacting with system creates blameworthiness. Default AI destroys all value. Claim bailey, retreat to motte. Society stuck in bad equilibrium. Etc.