NonTrivial

Externalizing your memory to machines ultimately makes you less productive. It feels like the opposite when you first do it. That’s what today’s products depend on.  But what feels like an advantage is really just seeing the isolated definition of a task become optimized.  Real world tasks do not function according to such isolation definitions. In the long run, externalization causes you to do ma...

In this episode I discuss the potential of the human mind in terms of assumed versus actual boundaries. People frame their mental potential in terms of space and time complexity (although most don't call it that); in other words, they assume their potential is limited by the speed and space of the task (how much time it takes, the amount of raw information involved). But nature computes in wa...

You can read more effectively by hovering above words and waiting until the text you thought would be too much to comprehend materializes in the mind. But if you try, sometimes it seems to work and sometimes it doesn't. But if you learn to hover and wait, it eventually always works. There is a universal pattern at play here, that occurs in many areas of life. In this episode I talk about the...

In this episode I discuss how to be more niche in your life and with your projects, and why that's the only way to truly grow.  Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full member app. This includes data visualizations of the core concepts in each episode, a Study Space for learning fundamentals, and premium articles on Techniques...

In this episode I discuss how standing too close to the techniques we use can end up ruining their ability to help us. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full member app. This includes data visualizations of the core concepts in each episode, a Study Space for learning fundamentals, and premium articles on Techniques and Mindsets....

In this episode I argue that all that is required to produce your best work is the title of that work. The title captures the essence of what you're hoping to communicate, while everything else can be achieved automatically. The "everything else" includes the structures, transitions and details that will appear very deliberate, and at times even "academic", yet in reality...

Most of us want some kind of work-life balance. We tend to assume this means creating a distinct separation between when we work and when we play. In this episode I argue that balance is more naturally achieved when we bring work and life together into a single flow. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full member app. This include...

In this episode I argue that it often makes more sense to go through life caring less. In today's society we are told we need to care more about how we look, how we speak, what we contribute to, etc. But we all care by default, and the real challenge is caring less about things that don't matter. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get acc...

In this episode I talk about the need to realize that we are always in a war of some kind. This is true for our personal lives as much as society. If we stand for anything, than we must accept that messy friction is a part of life, and that embracing this reality leads to less problems in the long run. If we believe in anything, we must be willing to pick up the sword. Support the show Become a Me...

In this episode I look at the online judgement directed at those who post reading lists. I argue that what really matters is not so much what you read, but how you read, since the information you are after can only be gleaned by reading many different books. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full member app. This includes data vi...

In this episode, I discuss the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and the ongoing criticism regarding the performance of the Secret Service. I argue that while diversity is critically important, when forced, it ends up creating more problems than solutions. I show how both the Left and the Right are in fact committing the same transgression, assuming they know what diversity is supposed...

In this episode I talk about a study that says smarter people listen to less music. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full member app. This includes data visualizations of the core concepts in each episode, a Study Space for learning fundamentals, and premium articles on Techniques and Mindsets. Members can also save personal not...

In this episode I discuss the problem with thinking we know what smart looks like. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full member app. This includes data visualizations of the core concepts in each episode, a Study Space for learning fundamentals, and premium articles on Techniques and Mindsets. Members can also save personal note...

In this episode, I challenge the idea that we can learn effectively by "learning from scratch." I discuss how starting with the basics runs learning in the wrong direction, and how genuine learning only happens when we embed ourselves inside real environments. I use the difference in strength between bodybuilders and naturally strong individuals to highlight the problem with trying to de...

Society has become a little too enamoured with analysis and explanation, at the cost of building real things. Nature only validates by making things that work. This is what true validation looks like; less talking, more pointing (at what has been made). In this episode I use Mike Tyson as an example of the difference between real and polished.  Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcc...

In this episode I discuss the increasingly popular idea that valuing death is irrational, and that death should be treated as a problem to solve. I argue that such a stance is itself irrational, and that death should be viewed more objectively as an essential piece to how nature works. I show how the death-as-a-problem stance suffers from being intractable, and fails to align to the fundamental ro...

In this episode I use a recent statement made by Sam Altman, regarding the emergence of intelligence, to highlight the outdated way both laymen and many scientists view AI specifically, and complexity more broadly. I argue that, despite what we are told, a truly scientific and rigorous theory or decision does not demand a causal explanation, and in fact such causal approaches are quite counter to...

In this episode I discuss one of the core flaws in IQ research, showing how it violates basic logic (let alone any notion of complexity). I discuss how such studies are not mere niche areas of research, but rather directly affect people's lives through the policies they encourage. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial Premium members get access to the full membe...

For video version: https://youtu.be/kAnnsjl-jyg In this episode I discuss the problem with taking only the final/best parts of something, and using those parts as a system to run our lives. I look at the importance of "waste" and redundancy in natural systems, and how this runs counter to our modern world's obsession with stripped down efficiency.  Apologies for audio quality on thi...

Reputations are things people tend to protect. But protecting our reputation means blocking our values from being known, which I argue invites the wrong opportunities into our lives. Having a life filled with wrong opportunities means never having the chance  to deliver your real potential to the world, which really is a tragedy. Support the show Become a Member at dekyon.io/seanmcclure/nontrivial...

Many people proclaim to understand something because they study it. But you cannot know a thing by studying the thing, you have to create the thing. Playing Beethoven is replicating what you see in front of you, it is not creating the thing you see in front of you. Those who don’t create don’t understand.  It doesn’t matter what you create, but if you want to understand something you must attempt...

Placing bets means wagering something of value on the outcome of an uncertain event with the hopes of achieving a payoff.  The decisions we make in life are akin to placing bets, and as with all bets, access to good information is what increases the chances of a bet achieving a payoff. Most people approach accessing good information by conducting research, analysis, understanding odds and placing...

Getting triggered means someone experiences a strong emotional reaction to a particular stimulus or event. But there is a good side to being triggered. Getting triggered can compel us towards positive action. We can deliberately trigger ourselves to produce good work by putting in place things that compel us to write/speak/draw etc. in the best way possible.  In this episode I argue that we should...

A lot of people try to be their hero. But not only can we not do what our heroes do, our heroes cannot do what we do. It is our unique abilities that make us bring value to the world. The same thing can be achieved in countless ways, and those different ways are what the world needs. We need to stop trying to be our heroes. We should use heroes as nothing more than peripheral inspiration, and inst...

Math education consists primarily of learning rules to arrive at results. But these tricks bypass what is really happening. They can lead to a superficial grasp of mathematical concepts and hinder deeper learning and problem-solving abilities. Many of the skills we learn in schooling, and after, are akin to the mindless rules we learn in math. We have to learn something far deeper than rules to tr...