Month: April 2020

If you think you’re not an expert in something, you are probably wrong.

A simple concept may convince you: I call it the ladder of expertise.

Many view Experts as separate from Novices. Like Gods floating in the clouds. They are the only ones suited to educate.

Instead, I propose to view expertise as a ladder: At every rung, there are people above and below. Expertise as a continuum.

Those you initially identify as experts eventually become equals. Later, they may become your students.

At any given time, there are novices right below you. Many are eager to follow in your footsteps.

The challenges you’ve recently overcome feel simple, in retrospect. But they didn’t seem that way before.

Share your experience with the world, no matter where you are on the ladder! It can be way more helpful to others than you realize.

Judo is the art of turning your opponent’s momentum to your favor. When an enemy is hurtling towards you at full speed, Judo says don’t try to stop them. Instead, stick your leg out and their momentum will take care of the rest.

If you’re Carnival Cruise right now, you can try to downplay the risk of pandemic. Alternatively, you can embrace the situation. Cruises have the opportunity to be the only safe form of travel in a world of COVID-19. Test everyone in advance and you’re guaranteed that fellow passengers are healthy.

Recently, I’ve been frustrated by an aspect of my startup’s product experience. Regulatory requirements demand some additional friction that seems superfluous. My first reaction was to downplay it. My cofounder took a different perspective. Why not highlight it? Emphasize the benefits to the user. Discuss the cool technology that makes it possible. That’s Judo.

San Francisco is trying to cap the fees on food delivery apps. Economics 101 tells us what will happen when prices are forced down: supply falls. In this case, expect less food delivery. This assumes the market is functional, people are rational, etc.

I believe economics 101 tends to hold and constraining delivery of food is probably a bad idea. But, I also want to give policy makers the benefit of the doubt. What if they know all this, and still choose to limit prices? Which “side effects” may be intended effects?

One rule of thumb I use when encountering dumb-sounding top-down policy making is that unintended consequences may be intended.

This is a more complex, and interesting, conversation than proclaiming politicians as ignoramuses.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been worrying a lot these past few weeks. One of my bigger concerns now is over social unrest. Every week that passes means more people boiling over with frustration from not being able to work. Even worse, they may have loved ones suffering from this strange disease.

I don’t think the odds of a social collapse are high. I do think they’re notably higher than this time last year. Maybe 2% now?

I notice I'm confused.

I think there's a greater than 1% chance that we see complete societal meltdown in the next year. I also notice I'm not taking drastic action to prepare.

— Gary Basin 🍍 (@garybasin) April 5, 2020

Yet, I notice I’m not doing much about it. I’ve stocked up food, sure. But I’m still living in a major city. I don’t have a stack of cash at home. I definitely don’t have a gun (OR DO I?). It’s not obvious what level of preparation makes sense.

I should be doing more, but I’m not. Noticing this confusion is half the battle.