quotes

At that point, I put into action a plan that I had thought of beforehand. It might sound odd, but I had thought about these problems well ahead of time because of the way I always approached resuscitations: Preplan ahead Ask hard questions Figure out solutions Mentally rehearse plans so that when the problem arrives, you don’t have to jump over a mental hurdle since the solution is already worked out

Our verbal, conversational systems are much better at abstract reasoning than are the motivational systems that pull our behavior.

[A] large majority of otherwise smart people spend time doing semi-productive things, when there are massively productive opportunities untapped. A somewhat silly example: Let's say someone aspires to be a comedian, the best comedian ever, and to make a living doing comedy. He wants nothing else, it is his purpose. And he decides that in order to become a better comedian, he will watch re-runs of the old television cartoon 'Garfield and Friends' that was on TV from 1988 to 1995.... I’m curious as to why.

What I discovered by casting a wide net was that I have very little ability to predict how useful a call will be in advance. Relevance is easier to predict, but it’s not a very good proxy for usefulness, which is a product of lots of other things including the other person’s enthusiasm and the breadth of their interests.

Cicero had to get a bribed jury to convict a governor they loved. He reframed it: "This isn't a trial of Verres. It's a trial of you - whether you can be bought, whether you'll let innocents suffer to protect your friends." He flipped their incentives completely. They voted for themselves.

Everyone everywhere wants to be king of the hill. That's international. But in any country, the number of aspiring kings always dwarfs the number of available hills. So in this country, we build more hills. We're geniuses, in fact, at building more hills.

First, it is not that Ta is conducting more advanced qualitative analyses than anyone else in the room, but that he seems to understand numbers and their market implications with such ease that they have become part of his intuition. "He can look at the model of an A+ CFO who's been working on it for a decade and rip it apart," Gross explained. "He could point out the questions, the kinks - all the things that matter."

He's gonna outwork you and outlearn you.

I am an actuary from Alaska. Every day, I compile statistics on swimming related fatalities in Bristol bay. Often my life seems like a monotone ferris wheel - people enter and depart life in such calculable ways. I have become so comfortable in my routine that I neglect to remember what makes life unique. But when I listen to this song, I remember ice fishing with my dad, catching my first bluegill, and how wonderful childhood felt. Dad can't remember this anymore, but he always smiles when this song comes on. Thank you Radiohead.

I was 30 when this came out. Sitting on top of a truck looking at a mountain in Afghanistan. Having my cup of coffee and smoking a black and mild on a night shift. I'm turning 39 today. Having a glass of wine in my back yard. My three year old is sleeping. My 12 year old is up drawing eating some noodles I made for her. Wife knocked out after a long day. Life's good. But it wasn't always. But when it wasn't. I had music like this, to remind me that life is still beautiful. Even when it wasn't perfect. Thanks frank.