Because I am a font of wisdom and experience compared to some of you whipper-snappers here:
Being Able To Look It Up Isn't A Substitute For Thinking
Data you don't know about and haven't internalised can't really be used for thinking, only for reference. The internet only makes you capable of finding things out, not what is worth knowing. Once you know something, you can use it, form connections with other pieces of knowledge you have. Therefore you should try and learn as much as possible, and not rely on being able to find information when you need it.
Attempts To Impose Order Increase Disorder
The Aneristic Delusion. Micro-managing or coercing people just causes them to rebel against you in covert and harder to detect ways, which then require more resources to deal with than whatever the original problem was. Enough said.
Knowing And Explaining Are Synonymous
If you can't explain something, you don't understand it, and if you don't understand it, then you don't know it.
Anything That Can Aid You Can Also Harm You
Every extra thing you rely on in your life to achieve your goals can be turned against you, or used in a way it was not originally intended. The more things you rely on, the more open to attack you become.
Rewards and Punishment
When studying any system, law, group or process, ask yourself what behaviour is rewarded and what behaviour is punished. Once you know how that system incentivizes people, you not only know how it works, but also how to manipulate or disrupt it, if you want. Also consider this if you are ever in the position where you have to create a system or law or anything similar.
Arguing Rarely Persuades People
More often than not, if you argue with someone, they will become more set in their ways and more stubborn, less open to criticism. If you have to convince someone, use examples, not words.
Human Nature Doesn't Change
Any argument which implies this should be immediately dismissed. Conversely, what constitutes human nature is often wider than what many people suppose. Remember to take into account various other cultures and groups throughout history, to fully understand what is meant by this term.
Black Swans Are Rare
Real discontinuities in history or day to day life do not often occur. The ipod is a better cd player is a better walkman. The "communication revolution" of the 90s just speeded up processes that had been going on for decades, if not centuries. Things usually change by degrees and slow accumulation over time. When someone declares a change as revolutionary or life-changing, it is normally a sales pitch or attempt to obscure the past, or both.
There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
Everything has a cost, in time, effort, money or some other fashion. If something is free, then a scam is in effect, probably with you as the mark.
Smartness Just Means You Have Better Excuses
If you twist logic into loops to "prove" your point, then you are wrong. Smart people can make you believe anything, given enough data to manipulate. This is the Law of Fives in effect in the real world, smart people are very, very good at seeing what they want to see, and sometimes at making others see the same thing. People like this are not to be trusted.
Hard And Complicated Are Not The Same
Climbing a canyon is hard work. But it is simple. You just walk until you are out. Conversely, building Lego models is easy, since all you are doing is clipping certain blocks together, but complicated. Especially some of the larger sets. Whenever someone tells you something is complicated, check to see if they mean it is hard or not. The same if they tell you something is easy. For instance, solving public debt is not complicated, but it can be hard as hell, since you either have to raise taxes, or lower spending.
Always Attack The Base Of Something
When dealing with people, attempt to either strike at the root of their power or their root motivation for conflict. Rendering them either powerless or without a reason to fight saves time and is a lot easier than fighting through attrition.
Accept What Is Obvious
People are not rational. Invading foreign countries will cause death of innocent people, resentment and hatred. The stock market has nothing to do with how most people live their lives. People who die for their beliefs are not cowards. You cannot declare an entire race or religion has certain innate characteristics. There is no such thing as perfect security. Popular does not equal good. Oil will eventually run out. If you cannot even accept the obvious, then when you try to understand what is complicated, you will fail.
Bureacracy Is The Same Wherever You Go
One of the more strange beliefs of the modern era is that while a government bureacracy will automatically fail and inflate costs when it attempts to do something, a corporate bureacracy will somehow succeed, despite both having the same hierarchical model. Because both corporations and governments are structures designed to accumulate and direct power, they devote massive resources to centralization and control of access, which, because of the Aneristic Delusion, quickly becomes an unmanageable mess. Both only survive through increased taxation of the general public, which can offset the increasing costs of controlling and managing data, access and use of power (directly in the case of government, through "contracts" in the case of corporations).
Ideas Are Tools
No theory accounts for everything. Fit the tool for the job in front of you. Want to understand state versus state conflict? Read up on Realism. By contrast, if you want to understand civil wars, sociology and constructivism might fit better. Marxism is great for understanding how means of production and class interact, but not so hot on root causes of terrorism. Decontructionism in literary theory is cool, though not so good when it comes to hard sciences. Memetics is great for the viral spread of ideas, crap at understanding the current financial crisis. Anyone who is merely a Feminist or a Jungian Psychoanalyst or a Post-Modernist is an idiot, a one trick pony.
Never Trust A Liar
Lying here is not the same as making a mistake. If someone goes out of their way to mislead you in order to get you to do something, then you should never trust them again when they try and convince you about anything.
Read The Shortest Book
Getting to grips with a new area of inquiry? By all means avoid the classic texts, the materials which the discipline is based on. Instead, read the shortest thing you can find on it. So if you want to understand Nietzsche, read Iconoclasm For Dummies instead of The Will To Power. For Existentialism, read A Very Short Introduction To Existentialism, not Being and Nothingness. Any good short text has to cut out all the extraneous information and deal with the core of the subject. It also acts as a building block so you can later understand the bigger and more complex works. If you have to revise your thinking on the subject later, well, at least you have something to start with.
Putting A Gun To Their Head Wont Get You The Truth
Communication is only possible between equals. Threatening, coercing or otherwise attempting to force someone to give up information will not work for precisely this reason. The only way someone higher up in the hierarchy (social, organizational or otherwise) can get the truth out of someone from lower down is by treating them as an equal and not shooting the messenger.
This Crisis Is Bullshit
Most crisis' are manufactured problems which will sort themselves out with minor adjustments and clear thinking. Whenever someone tries to sell you that there is a crisis, they want you reacting instead of thinking. And usually they want to get you into a panic so they can then sell you their own cure to the problem. Sometimes of course, the crisis is real, but not that often.
Hot Avatar Equals Ugly Girl
Also known as the TGRR Rule. On the internet, any female with an attractive avatar will likely be compensating, unless it is a picture of herself. The latter is very rare though, for obvious reasons.
Never Play Games Of Chance Against Someone Called "Doc"
Or mathematicians. They'll take the shirt off your back if you let them.
:mittens:
This is awesome Cain!
Thanks!
:mittens:
Wonderful advice, Cain! Reminds me a bit of the Laws of Power. But shorter :)
:mittens:
However I have a slight issue with this rule...
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PM
There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
Everything has a cost, in time, effort, money or some other fashion. If something is free, then a scam is in effect, probably with you as the mark.
For a given type of swindling bastard the human race itslef is tantamount to a free lunch. Some of us are the reason this is a law in the first place :evil:
:mittens:
PRINTED !
Great list Cain!
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on January 23, 2010, 07:43:16 PM
For a given type of swindling bastard the human race itslef is tantamount to a free lunch. Some of us are the reason this is a law in the first place :evil:
Swindling still takes work though.
Excellent advice, Cain.
This is nice, a lot of them i agree on how you put them, but a few ones i feel need more explanation. Also, some other ones i feel compelled to share my view.
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PMHuman Nature Doesn't Change
Any argument which implies this should be immediately dismissed. Conversely, what constitutes human nature is often wider than what many people suppose. Remember to take into account various other cultures and groups throughout history, to fully understand what is meant by this term.
Levi-Strauss in "The elementary structures of kinship" comes to the conclusion that "human nature" is culture, culture which itself is chrono-geographically variable.
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PMThere Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
Everything has a cost, in time, effort, money or some other fashion. If something is free, then a scam is in effect, probably with you as the mark.
Parallel to this, a lot of people wish to pay with money for things that are not dependant on money i.e. happiness; thats why i hate publicity so much, the things that are sought for are paid in money but really can only be paid with effort or personal growth.
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PMSmartness Just Means You Have Better Excuses
If you twist logic into loops to "prove" your point, then you are wrong. Smart people can make you believe anything, given enough data to manipulate. This is the Law of Fives in effect in the real world, smart people are very, very good at seeing what they want to see, and sometimes at making others see the same thing. People like this are not to be trusted.
Rationalization is a self-serving, psychical "defense-mechanism".
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PMNever Play Games Of Chance Against Someone Called "Doc"
Or mathematicians. They'll take the shirt off your back if you let them.
I couldnt make sense of this, other than the mathematicians/chance part.
Cain, this is awesome. May I use it for this (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=23803.0)?
Absolutely, all I ask is my username be given with the piece.
this is awesome! I'd add two more:
1) Never eat at a restaurant called "Mom's"
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
also, addendum to the "doc" rule is to never play cards for money with anyone whose first or last name is a state or city.
QuoteBeing Able To Look It Up Isn't A Substitute For Thinking
Data you don't know about and haven't internalised can't really be used for thinking, only for reference. The internet only makes you capable of finding things out, not what is worth knowing. Once you know something, you can use it, form connections with other pieces of knowledge you have. Therefore you should try and learn as much as possible, and not rely on being able to find information when you need it.
Knowing And Explaining Are Synonymous
If you can't explain something, you don't understand it, and if you don't understand it, then you don't know it.
These two ring rather strongly with me. I see a connection to Angel Tech here. To Antero Ali, inteligence is "ability to absorb, integrate and communicate information and/or energy."
As you say, data which hasn't been absorbed isn't available for integration and communication, and absorbed information which hasn't been integrated can't be communicated and isn't really understood.
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
this is awesome! I'd add two more:
1) Never eat at a restaurant called "Mom's"
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
also, addendum to the "doc" rule is to never play cards for money with anyone whose first or last name is a state or city.
Never encountered the first, but the last two are definitely accurate.
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 09:32:24 PM
Absolutely, all I ask is my username be given with the piece.
Of course. Thank you.
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
It always sucks being the least crazy person in a relationship.
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
Troof! I know from personal experience. It'll only end in tears and frustration!
I am stealing this. Of course with your username, Cain, as the creator of the piece. (if it's not ok just say the word)
Fantastic work in writing this and thank you for sharing.
Quote from: dimo on January 23, 2010, 11:06:06 PM
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
Troof! I know from personal experience. It'll only end in tears and frustration!
Yeah but the catch is that the one's with the problems are usually the freakiest.
Troof! Sex with a balanced person is, well, balanced :sad:
I have not met a well balanced person in my life, everyones either psycho or psychotic
Cain, you deserve much praise for that.
The last rule reminds me of the rules of life from Teen Wolf
1. Never sleep less than twelve hours a day.
2. Never get involved with a girl who has a tattoo of a dagger
3. Never play cards with anybody who has the name of a city (the Cincinnati Kid, Chicago Jim, etc)
Regarding the last rule, I'd like to point out that there is a famous swindler from Omaha history who was known as 'Canada Bob'. Supposedly he introduced the game of Three Card Monte to Omaha in the late 1800's.
Quote from: Z³ on January 25, 2010, 02:45:10 PM
The last rule reminds me of the rules of life from Teen Wolf
1. Never sleep less than twelve hours a day.
2. Never get involved with a girl who has a tattoo of a dagger
3. Never play cards with anybody who has the name of a city (the Cincinnati Kid, Chicago Jim, etc)
Regarding the last rule, I'd like to point out that there is a famous swindler from Omaha history who was known as 'Canada Bob'. Supposedly he introduced the game of Three Card Monte to Omaha in the late 1800's.
Canada Bill Jones?
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
Fuck that, I'd be celibate.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 25, 2010, 05:53:55 PM
Quote from: Z³ on January 25, 2010, 02:45:10 PM
The last rule reminds me of the rules of life from Teen Wolf
1. Never sleep less than twelve hours a day.
2. Never get involved with a girl who has a tattoo of a dagger
3. Never play cards with anybody who has the name of a city (the Cincinnati Kid, Chicago Jim, etc)
Regarding the last rule, I'd like to point out that there is a famous swindler from Omaha history who was known as 'Canada Bob'. Supposedly he introduced the game of Three Card Monte to Omaha in the late 1800's.
Canada Bill Jones?
Yeah, thats the one. Its been a while since I'd read about him, so I guess I got the name wrong.
Some more rules for life:
1. No good deed goes unpunished.
2. If one person fucks you over and another one listens to you scream about it, you should punish the one who tried to help, as it prevents the need for admitting to yourself that you made a mistake trusting the person who fucked you over.
3. Friend = Sucker
4. The Scott Adams "What is more likely" rule. If your boss wants to "restructure" your benefits, is it more likely that he is going to suddenly get generous, or that he is about to chew away at your compensation like a weasel on speed?
5. Human Resources is NOT your friend. Period.
Quote from: Burns on January 24, 2010, 06:34:21 AM
Quote from: dimo on January 23, 2010, 11:06:06 PM
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
Troof! I know from personal experience. It'll only end in tears and frustration!
Yeah but the catch is that the one's with the problems are usually the freakiest.
I disagree. The more hangups someone has, the less likely the chance that they'll put them aside to explore new terrain. Unless you have some one really screwed up, like with a daddy complex or an alcoholic, which in that case, you're a predator. Maybe a satisfied predator, but...
Quote from: dimo on January 25, 2010, 08:07:20 PM
Quote from: Burns on January 24, 2010, 06:34:21 AM
Quote from: dimo on January 23, 2010, 11:06:06 PM
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
Troof! I know from personal experience. It'll only end in tears and frustration!
Yeah but the catch is that the one's with the problems are usually the freakiest.
I disagree. The more hangups someone has, the less likely the chance that they'll put them aside to explore new terrain. Unless you have some one really screwed up, like with a daddy complex or an alcoholic, which in that case, you're a predator. Maybe a satisfied predator, but...
what are you talking about?
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 25, 2010, 08:00:04 PM
Some more rules for life:
5. Human Resources is NOT your friend. Period.
They're the ones with your permanent record.
Call them once = they own your ass = time to make serious about finding the better job.
Quote from: Burns on January 26, 2010, 12:49:16 AM
Quote from: dimo on January 25, 2010, 08:07:20 PM
Quote from: Burns on January 24, 2010, 06:34:21 AM
Quote from: dimo on January 23, 2010, 11:06:06 PM
Quote from: Emerald City Hustle on January 23, 2010, 09:50:10 PM
2) Never start having regular sexual relations with anyone who has more problems than you.
Troof! I know from personal experience. It'll only end in tears and frustration!
Yeah but the catch is that the one's with the problems are usually the freakiest.
I disagree. The more hangups someone has, the less likely the chance that they'll put them aside to explore new terrain. Unless you have some one really screwed up, like with a daddy complex or an alcoholic, which in that case, you're a predator. Maybe a satisfied predator, but...
what are you talking about?
He is trying to make a distinction between abusing the trivial problems of your partner to keep the relationship together and abusing the big problems of your partner to keep the relationship together.
His point is that the more fucked up someone is, the more likely they are to be loyal.
Not always true, and always bad if that is what you need to keep a relationship together.
:mittens: Cain--this is publishable stuff--and so fucking true, dammit!
nothing about making the world a little better than how you found it?
Quote from: Baron Von Stevenstein on January 26, 2010, 09:13:04 PM
nothing about making the world a little better than how you found it?
I think you have us confused with the Buddhists.
Fucking Buddhists...here today, and here tomorrow.
Also thats an aspiration, not a rule.
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PM
Knowing And Explaining Are Synonymous
If you can't explain something, you don't understand it, and if you don't understand it, then you don't know it.
I've been thinking about this lately, and the more I do, the more I think that it can't be fully accurate. But then again, maybe I'm wrong. Like a talented artist, for example. They
know how to paint, but they might not know how to explain the subtleties of their technique. Does that mean they really don't know how to paint after all? Or, any situation where someone has a working knowledge of one particular subject or feild, but they so happen to lack skills in verbal communication, due to a language barrier or maybe they just don't know how to communicate well. Maybe I'm taking this rule the wrong way?
How in gibbering heck did I miss this the first time around? It's good stuff.
Quote from: dimo on April 18, 2010, 03:22:04 PM
Quote from: Cain on January 23, 2010, 05:02:35 PM
Knowing And Explaining Are Synonymous
If you can't explain something, you don't understand it, and if you don't understand it, then you don't know it.
I've been thinking about this lately, and the more I do, the more I think that it can't be fully accurate. But then again, maybe I'm wrong. Like a talented artist, for example. They know how to paint, but they might not know how to explain the subtleties of their technique. Does that mean they really don't know how to paint after all? Or, any situation where someone has a working knowledge of one particular subject or field, but they so happen to lack skills in verbal communication, due to a language barrier or maybe they just don't know how to communicate well. Maybe I'm taking this rule the wrong way?
You raise a point I hadn't before taken that seriously. I hadn't taken it seriously because so many of the skillsets I'm interested in are conceptual in nature, not visceral or "intuitive", whatever that may be. Maybe one could reinterpret "explain" to "demonstrate and explicate".
Ooorr, or or... Maybe there is a divide in what we think of as "mastering" an ability, and "knowing" it. A master painter may paint magnificent artwork, but do they "know" how to paint in the epistemological sense of the word to "know"?
I stumbled over that bit as well myself, when I read it, but I didn't want to be pedantic about it, then.
But I'm in fact really not sure what it means. Explaining also implies the ability to communicate something. What if you know something, but are simply unable to find the words to explain it?
Personally, I usually have no trouble at all converting any conscious thought I have into words and explain them to another. But I know a few people that do. I can deduce from their actions that they "know" something, but if you press them to put it to words, they get stressed out, or start rambling.
So, some people are just not very good at explaining, or verbal skills. Does that mean they are also not very good at knowing?
It seems like a really reasonable logical conclusion for those who are good at explaining stuff. And I believe that most of the people on this board are pretty good at explaining and verbal skills.
But when I look at people, and believe me it annoys me to no end sometimes, some people just cannot speak their thoughts in a clear manner. But I can't just conclude they're not good at "knowing", right?
Strikes me you might be trying to overanalyse this. It's a rule, so there are exceptions. Generally speaking, tho, if someone knows something, they will be able to explain it to you. If they don't but they want you to think they do then the tells are usually pretty obvious. Again this is a generalisation there are some pretty fucking good bullshitters out there too. I know - I'm one of them :evil:
Figured as much. That's why I didnt reply right away :)
I was kind of hoping for a different answer because it does bug the fuck out of me when people cannot form their thoughts into coherent sentences, while I do know it's in their head, just not in a shape that's made of words. And I get that a lot lately, so they just barf a few words at me, and expect me to do the deciphering and thinking ...
By the way I only just noticed the tiny spider in your sig. It's a horrific pun and I think I hate you for it :argh!:
:mittens:
Don't know why I didn't see this yet.
Bump -- Because this thread was really awesome...and ... I think I could use more of these.