Summary:
This is all core, not revelational
Lego Principle: Bricks and Bargains
Things are made of parts: Reductionism says parts don’t leave anything unexplained
Parts may be exchanged:
trade money for work, sensory pleasure for fitness, etc.
Success in life requires paying close attention to exchange rates
Part I: Apples to Oranges
Compare everything to a fixed thing like “eat this nice dinner”, but also be careful with the entailed simplifications.
Exchanges don’t involve a single currency: we often get more out of work than just money!
Part II: Relevant value, relevant cost
Repeated costs (e.g. time spent microwaving) add up: it’s worth it to once pay more!
Repeated value/happiness also adds
Part III: Diminishing Returns:
Pareto principle: 80⁄20 rule
Think of the time cost of deciding your course of action
Think of the cost of searching for better options
Early gains are larger than later ones
Part IV: Arbitrage
Use prize differences by buying cheap and selling expensive.
This stops being useful once the markets become consistent
Examples in real life:
Buying a more expensive microwave may eventually pay off (it could save us more time, allowing us to make more money…)
Dieting: sacrifice some health now, to buy more willpower, which can be exchanged for more sustainable effort and more health later
Gift spreadsheet for family and friends: exchange a small amount of attention over the year for way better results later on.
Be present at dinner, have it shorter, and then be present answering messages. Don’t juggle both at once.
Important: arbitrage is not cold and calculating. The Tradeoffs were already there. Arbitraging just brings your attention to them.
Part V: Opportunities for growth, examples:
Commutes, reading/typing speed, audiobooks, earplugs, regular re-evaluations, keyboard shortcuts, to-do lists, email routines, “Batching” of small tasks, repeated-value one-time purchases, …
Summary:
This is all core, not revelational
Lego Principle: Bricks and Bargains
Things are made of parts: Reductionism says parts don’t leave anything unexplained
Parts may be exchanged:
trade money for work, sensory pleasure for fitness, etc.
Success in life requires paying close attention to exchange rates
Part I: Apples to Oranges
Compare everything to a fixed thing like “eat this nice dinner”, but also be careful with the entailed simplifications.
Exchanges don’t involve a single currency: we often get more out of work than just money!
Part II: Relevant value, relevant cost
Repeated costs (e.g. time spent microwaving) add up: it’s worth it to once pay more!
Repeated value/happiness also adds
Part III: Diminishing Returns:
Pareto principle: 80⁄20 rule
Think of the time cost of deciding your course of action
Think of the cost of searching for better options
Early gains are larger than later ones
Part IV: Arbitrage
Use prize differences by buying cheap and selling expensive.
This stops being useful once the markets become consistent
Examples in real life:
Buying a more expensive microwave may eventually pay off (it could save us more time, allowing us to make more money…)
Dieting: sacrifice some health now, to buy more willpower, which can be exchanged for more sustainable effort and more health later
Gift spreadsheet for family and friends: exchange a small amount of attention over the year for way better results later on.
Be present at dinner, have it shorter, and then be present answering messages. Don’t juggle both at once.
Important: arbitrage is not cold and calculating. The Tradeoffs were already there. Arbitraging just brings your attention to them.
Part V: Opportunities for growth, examples:
Commutes, reading/typing speed, audiobooks, earplugs, regular re-evaluations, keyboard shortcuts, to-do lists, email routines, “Batching” of small tasks, repeated-value one-time purchases, …