Key Concepts
Working too hard can lead to diminishing returns due to fatigue
Curiosity, delight, and the desire to impress are powerful motivators
Following one's interests often requires overcoming obstacles and taking risks
Seeing new ideas requires an exceptionally sharp eye for the truth
Being earnest and intellectually honest is a source of power and can lead to new ideas
A field should become increasingly interesting as one learns more about it
Having unique interests can lead to productivity and discovery of new things
Working hard on ambitious projects may be sufficient for doing great work
Gaining knowledge about a subject can reveal gaps in understanding
Creating something that people want is important when making something for others
Many discoveries come from questioning things that others take for granted
Discoveries often come from noticing connections between different fields
Finishing a project can lead to significant work and discoveries in the final stages
Spending an unreasonable amount of time on a problem can lead to great work if one finds the work engaging
Chasing outlier ideas can lead to significant discoveries
Trying to be the best can be exciting and simplifying
Undirected thinking can solve problems that cannot be solved by direct approach
Enjoying even the tedious or frightening parts of a job is an indication that one is suited for that kind of work
Pretentiousness, fashion, fear, money, politics, and other people's wishes can lead one astray when trying to figure out what to work on
Interest in a subject can drive one to work harder than diligence alone
The process of figuring out what to work on can be complicated and requires experience in the field
Intellectual dishonesty hinders the ability to see the truth
Ambitious people tend to be conservative about the scope of their work
Ambition can make it difficult to decide what to work on
Educational systems often require commitment to a field before one has sufficient experience to make an informed decision
Developing a habit of working on personal projects can lead to great work
Excited curiosity can drive great work and guide one's focus
Hard work is required to do great things
Being curious and trying many things can increase the chance of discovering what one wants to work on
Working on something exciting is not always straightforward and requires techniques similar to sailing
Starting work can be more difficult than continuing it
Procrastination can be dangerous, especially when it camouflages itself as work
Underestimating the cumulative effect of work can lead to surprise at how far one has come
Work that compounds can lead to exponential growth
Cultivating taste in one's field of work is important for aiming for the best
Working in a distinctive style without trying to is a sign of authenticity
Admitting mistakes frees one from the burden of carrying them
Informality focuses on what matters instead of what doesn't
Energy spent on appearances detracts from being good at something
Nerds have an advantage in doing great work because they expend little effort on seeming anything
Great work requires a level of innocent boldness
Criticism is easier than creating great work
Optimism is advantageous for doing great work
Earnestness is necessary for doing great work
Great work is consistent with itself
Willingness to redo work can lead to better results
Cutting unnecessary elements can lead to a more concentrated and understood result
Mathematical elegance is a useful standard beyond math
Laborious solutions often have more prestige in the short term
The best work often seems like it took little effort because it was already there
Great work often serves as a foundation for others to build upon
Expressing ideas in their most general form makes them truer than intended
Great ideas must be both true and new
Originality is not a process, but a habit of mind
Original thinkers generate new ideas about whatever they focus on
Putting ideas into words can generate new ideas
Changing context can generate new ideas
Exploring different topics can generate more new ideas
Curiosity feeds originality by providing new things to work on
Willingness to break rules is necessary to fix broken models of the world
Good new ideas often seem bad initially because they break rules or norms
Comfort with breaking rules can come from enjoying it or being indifferent to them
Overlooked ideas can be discovered by working from what's obscuring them
Working on unfashionable problems can lead to great work
Problems that seem unimportant often matter more than they seem
Originality in choosing problems is more important than originality in solving them
Big ideas often come from asking good questions
Originality consists partly of being puzzled about important things that no one else understands
The best way to acquire new questions is to try answering existing ones
Trying lots of things will mean trying lots of things that don't work
Great things are often made in successive versions
Starting with something small and evolving it can lead to great outcomes
Making successive versions is useful when creating something for people
The simplest thing that could possibly work often does
Starting small and evolving a project is an alternative to planning in advance
Planning is sometimes necessary but it's a response to unforgiving conditions
Risk is proportionate to reward in an efficient market
A project that fails can still be valuable
The advantages of youth include energy, time, optimism, and freedom
The advantages of age include knowledge, efficiency, money, and power
Copying existing work can be a learning process
Copying can be a sign of superiority rather than subordination
Originality is the presence of new ideas, not the absence of old ones
New discoveries often have to be conceived initially as variations of existing things
Working with people you want to become like will influence you positively
Quality is more important than quantity in colleagues
Morale is the basis of everything when working on ambitious projects
High morale helps you do good work, which increases your morale further
Setbacks should be considered a part of the process when solving hard problems
An audience is a critical component of morale
Taking care of your physical health is important for maintaining morale
Wanting to impress other people is okay if you choose the right people
Competition can be an effective motivator but it shouldn't dictate your choices
Curiosity is integral to doing great work
Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort
Luck cannot be controlled in the process of doing great work
Fear and modesty prevent many people from attempting great work
Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible
New ideas often come from noticing anomalies in everyday life
Finding something to work on involves coevolving with the problem
Curious people are more likely to find the right thing to work on
Making things for an audience perceived as less sophisticated can be detrimental to achieving great work
Procrastination can cause significant damage over several years
Getting paid for doing exactly what you want is usually not possible, especially early on
Beliefs that are unfalsifiable are safe to treat as unquestionable
Affectation is easier to cure than intellectual dishonesty
Originality and uncertainty are connected, giving conventional-minded individuals an advantage in disputes
Attacking a project as a "toy" indicates a lack of substantial criticism
Producing is less likely to be a waste of time than consuming
Having previously published opinions can bias one towards evidence that supports those conclusions
Building something that enables people to bypass intermediaries and engage directly with their audience is generally beneficial
The importance of a task is often hard to judge at the time it is done
There are numerous ways to do great work
Being prolific increases the chance of discovering something new
Unanswered questions can lead to new ideas
Great work often contains elements of strangeness
The work one chooses should be something they have a natural aptitude for, deep interest in, and offers scope to do great work
New ideas often seem obvious once they are seen, but require changing the way one looks at the world to be discovered
Broken models of the world leave clues where they clash with reality, which can lead to new ideas
Logical Relationships
Broken models of the world leave clues where they clash with reality, which can lead to new ideas and Willingness to break rules is necessary to fix broken models of the world implies Good new ideas often seem bad initially because they break rules or norms.
High morale helps you do good work, which increases your morale further and Setbacks should be considered a part of the process when solving hard problems implies An audience is a critical component of morale.
Curiosity feeds originality by providing new things to work on and New ideas often seem obvious once they are seen, but require changing the way one looks at the world to be discovered implies Broken models of the world leave clues where they clash with reality, which can lead to new ideas.
Trying lots of things will mean trying lots of things that don't work and Great things are often made in successive versions and Starting with something small and evolving it can lead to great outcomes and Making successive versions is useful when creating something for people implies The simplest thing that could possibly work often does.
Curiosity is integral to doing great work implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Working with people you want to become like will influence you positively and Quality is more important than quantity in colleagues implies Morale is the basis of everything when working on ambitious projects.
The importance of a task is often hard to judge at the time it is done and New ideas often come from noticing anomalies in everyday life implies Finding something to work on involves coevolving with the problem.
Excited curiosity can drive great work and guide one's focus implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Laborious solutions often have more prestige in the short term and The best work often seems like it took little effort because it was already there and Great work often serves as a foundation for others to build upon and Expressing ideas in their most general form makes them truer than intended and Great ideas must be both true and new implies Originality is not a process, but a habit of mind.
Copying can be a sign of superiority rather than subordination and Originality is the presence of new ideas, not the absence of old ones implies New discoveries often have to be conceived initially as variations of existing things.
Beliefs that are unfalsifiable are safe to treat as unquestionable and Affectation is easier to cure than intellectual dishonesty implies Originality and uncertainty are connected, giving conventional-minded individuals an advantage in disputes.
Wanting to impress other people is okay if you choose the right people and Competition can be an effective motivator but it shouldn't dictate your choices implies Curiosity is integral to doing great work.
Originality is not a process, but a habit of mind implies Original thinkers generate new ideas about whatever they focus on.
Attacking a project as a "toy" indicates a lack of substantial criticism and Producing is less likely to be a waste of time than consuming implies Having previously published opinions can bias one towards evidence that supports those conclusions.
Great work is consistent with itself implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Being curious and trying many things can increase the chance of discovering what one wants to work on and Curious people are more likely to find the right thing to work on implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Great things are often made in successive versions implies Starting with something small and evolving it can lead to great outcomes.
Procrastination can be dangerous, especially when it camouflages itself as work and Procrastination can cause significant damage over several years implies Getting paid for doing exactly what you want is usually not possible, especially early on.
Originality and uncertainty are connected, giving conventional-minded individuals an advantage in disputes and Attacking a project as a "toy" indicates a lack of substantial criticism implies Producing is less likely to be a waste of time than consuming.
Planning is sometimes necessary but it's a response to unforgiving conditions implies Starting small and evolving a project is an alternative to planning in advance.
Working in a distinctive style without trying to is a sign of authenticity implies Cultivating taste in one's field of work is important for aiming for the best.
Developing a habit of working on personal projects can lead to great work implies Hard work is required to do great things.
Nerds have an advantage in doing great work because they expend little effort on seeming anything implies Great work requires a level of innocent boldness.
New ideas often come from noticing anomalies in everyday life and Finding something to work on involves coevolving with the problem implies Curious people are more likely to find the right thing to work on.
Great work requires a level of innocent boldness and Criticism is easier than creating great work implies Optimism is advantageous for doing great work.
There are numerous ways to do great work and Fear and modesty prevent many people from attempting great work implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Hard work is required to do great things implies Underestimating the cumulative effect of work can lead to surprise at how far one has come.
Quality is more important than quantity in colleagues and Morale is the basis of everything when working on ambitious projects implies High morale helps you do good work, which increases your morale further.
Willingness to break rules is necessary to fix broken models of the world and Good new ideas often seem bad initially because they break rules or norms implies Comfort with breaking rules can come from enjoying it or being indifferent to them.
Working on something exciting is not always straightforward and requires techniques similar to sailing and Starting work can be more difficult than continuing it implies Hard work is required to do great things.
Work that compounds can lead to exponential growth implies Underestimating the cumulative effect of work can lead to surprise at how far one has come.
Willingness to redo work can lead to better results implies Hard work is required to do great things.
Being prolific increases the chance of discovering something new implies Trying lots of things will mean trying lots of things that don't work.
Mathematical elegance is a useful standard beyond math implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Getting paid for doing exactly what you want is usually not possible, especially early on and Beliefs that are unfalsifiable are safe to treat as unquestionable implies Affectation is easier to cure than intellectual dishonesty.
Original thinkers generate new ideas about whatever they focus on and Putting ideas into words can generate new ideas and Changing context can generate new ideas and Exploring different topics can generate more new ideas and Curiosity feeds originality by providing new things to work on implies Originality is not a process, but a habit of mind.
Working too hard can lead to diminishing returns due to fatigue and Starting work can be more difficult than continuing it implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Setbacks should be considered a part of the process when solving hard problems and An audience is a critical component of morale implies Taking care of your physical health is important for maintaining morale.
Originality consists partly of being puzzled about important things that no one else understands and The best way to acquire new questions is to try answering existing ones implies Being prolific increases the chance of discovering something new.
Overlooked ideas can be discovered by working from what's obscuring them implies Working on unfashionable problems can lead to great work.
Developing a habit of working on personal projects can lead to great work implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Cutting unnecessary elements can lead to a more concentrated and understood result and Mathematical elegance is a useful standard beyond math implies Laborious solutions often have more prestige in the short term.
Optimism is advantageous for doing great work and Earnestness is necessary for doing great work implies Great work requires a level of innocent boldness.
Making successive versions is useful when creating something for people and The simplest thing that could possibly work often does implies Starting small and evolving a project is an alternative to planning in advance.
Curious people are more likely to find the right thing to work on implies Being curious and trying many things can increase the chance of discovering what one wants to work on.
The advantages of youth include energy, time, optimism, and freedom and The advantages of age include knowledge, efficiency, money, and power implies Copying existing work can be a learning process.
Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible implies The importance of a task is often hard to judge at the time it is done.
A project that fails can still be valuable implies The advantages of youth include energy, time, optimism, and freedom.
Great ideas must be both true and new implies Expressing ideas in their most general form makes them truer than intended.
Original thinkers generate new ideas about whatever they focus on implies Originality is not a process, but a habit of mind.
Curiosity, delight, and the desire to impress are powerful motivators and Following one's interests often requires overcoming obstacles and taking risks implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Being earnest and intellectually honest is a source of power and can lead to new ideas implies Seeing new ideas requires an exceptionally sharp eye for the truth.
The work one chooses should be something they have a natural aptitude for, deep interest in, and offers scope to do great work implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort and Luck cannot be controlled in the process of doing great work implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Planning is sometimes necessary but it's a response to unforgiving conditions implies Risk is proportionate to reward in an efficient market.
A field should become increasingly interesting as one learns more about it and Having unique interests can lead to productivity and discovery of new things implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Hard work is required to do great things and Curiosity, delight, and the desire to impress are powerful motivators and Working hard on ambitious projects may be sufficient for doing great work implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Problems that seem unimportant often matter more than they seem implies Originality in choosing problems is more important than originality in solving them.
Informality focuses on what matters instead of what doesn't implies Energy spent on appearances detracts from being good at something.
Gaining knowledge about a subject can reveal gaps in understanding and Creating something that people want is important when making something for others implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Originality consists partly of being puzzled about important things that no one else understands implies The best way to acquire new questions is to try answering existing ones.
Building something that enables people to bypass intermediaries and engage directly with their audience is generally beneficial implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Discoveries often come from noticing connections between different fields implies Many discoveries come from questioning things that others take for granted.
Risk is proportionate to reward in an efficient market implies A project that fails can still be valuable.
The best work often seems like it took little effort because it was already there and Great work often serves as a foundation for others to build upon implies Expressing ideas in their most general form makes them truer than intended.
Starting work can be more difficult than continuing it and Finishing a project can lead to significant work and discoveries in the final stages implies Hard work is required to do great things.
Trying lots of things will mean trying lots of things that don't work and Great things are often made in successive versions implies Starting with something small and evolving it can lead to great outcomes.
Spending an unreasonable amount of time on a problem can lead to great work if one finds the work engaging and Underestimating the cumulative effect of work can lead to surprise at how far one has come implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Cutting unnecessary elements can lead to a more concentrated and understood result implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Great ideas must be both true and new and Originality is not a process, but a habit of mind implies Original thinkers generate new ideas about whatever they focus on.
Many discoveries come from questioning things that others take for granted implies Chasing outlier ideas can lead to significant discoveries.
Cultivating taste in one's field of work is important for aiming for the best and Trying to be the best can be exciting and simplifying implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
New ideas often seem obvious once they are seen, but require changing the way one looks at the world to be discovered and Broken models of the world leave clues where they clash with reality, which can lead to new ideas and Willingness to break rules is necessary to fix broken models of the world and Good new ideas often seem bad initially because they break rules or norms and Comfort with breaking rules can come from enjoying it or being indifferent to them implies Overlooked ideas can be discovered by working from what's obscuring them.
Great work often contains elements of strangeness implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Working in a distinctive style without trying to is a sign of authenticity and Being earnest and intellectually honest is a source of power and can lead to new ideas implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Work that compounds can lead to exponential growth and Undirected thinking can solve problems that cannot be solved by direct approach implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Expressing ideas in their most general form makes them truer than intended implies Great ideas must be both true and new.
The advantages of age include knowledge, efficiency, money, and power and Copying existing work can be a learning process implies Copying can be a sign of superiority rather than subordination.
Hard work is required to do great things implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Criticism is easier than creating great work implies Great work requires a level of innocent boldness.
The work one chooses should be something they have a natural aptitude for, deep interest in, and offers scope to do great work and Enjoying even the tedious or frightening parts of a job is an indication that one is suited for that kind of work implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Hard work is required to do great things and Working hard on ambitious projects may be sufficient for doing great work implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
There are numerous ways to do great work implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Originality is the presence of new ideas, not the absence of old ones and New discoveries often have to be conceived initially as variations of existing things implies Working with people you want to become like will influence you positively.
Making things for an audience perceived as less sophisticated can be detrimental to achieving great work and Procrastination can cause significant damage over several years implies Getting paid for doing exactly what you want is usually not possible, especially early on.
Pretentiousness, fashion, fear, money, politics, and other people's wishes can lead one astray when trying to figure out what to work on and Fear and modesty prevent many people from attempting great work implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Curious people are more likely to find the right thing to work on and Making things for an audience perceived as less sophisticated can be detrimental to achieving great work implies Procrastination can cause significant damage over several years.
Planning is sometimes necessary but it's a response to unforgiving conditions and Risk is proportionate to reward in an efficient market implies A project that fails can still be valuable.
The work one chooses should be something they have a natural aptitude for, deep interest in, and offers scope to do great work and Interest in a subject can drive one to work harder than diligence alone implies Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort.
Taking care of your physical health is important for maintaining morale and Wanting to impress other people is okay if you choose the right people implies Competition can be an effective motivator but it shouldn't dictate your choices.
Great work is consistent with itself and Willingness to redo work can lead to better results and Cutting unnecessary elements can lead to a more concentrated and understood result implies Mathematical elegance is a useful standard beyond math.
Admitting mistakes frees one from the burden of carrying them implies Being earnest and intellectually honest is a source of power and can lead to new ideas.
Gaining knowledge about a subject can reveal gaps in understanding implies The process of figuring out what to work on can be complicated and requires experience in the field.
Big ideas often come from asking good questions implies Unanswered questions can lead to new ideas.
Finishing a project can lead to significant work and discoveries in the final stages implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Curiosity is integral to doing great work and Great work involves the combination of ability, interest, and effort implies Luck cannot be controlled in the process of doing great work.
Excited curiosity can drive great work and guide one's focus implies Curiosity is integral to doing great work.
Intellectual dishonesty hinders the ability to see the truth implies Seeing new ideas requires an exceptionally sharp eye for the truth.
New ideas often come from noticing anomalies in everyday life implies Original thinkers generate new ideas about whatever they focus on.
Seeing new ideas requires an exceptionally sharp eye for the truth and Intellectual dishonesty hinders the ability to see the truth implies Admitting mistakes frees one from the burden of carrying them.
Ambitious people tend to be conservative about the scope of their work implies Working hard on ambitious projects may be sufficient for doing great work.
Cultivating taste in one's field of work is important for aiming for the best implies Trying to be the best can be exciting and simplifying.
Fear and modesty prevent many people from attempting great work and Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible implies The importance of a task is often hard to judge at the time it is done.
Discoveries often come from noticing connections between different fields implies There are numerous ways to do great work.
Putting ideas into words can generate new ideas and Changing context can generate new ideas implies Exploring different topics can generate more new ideas.
The process of figuring out what to work on can be complicated and requires experience in the field and Ambition can make it difficult to decide what to work on implies Fear and modesty prevent many people from attempting great work.
Earnestness is necessary for doing great work and Great work is consistent with itself implies Willingness to redo work can lead to better results.
Great work often serves as a foundation for others to build upon implies Great work involves expanding people's ideas of what's possible.
Overlooked ideas can be discovered by working from what's obscuring them and Working on unfashionable problems can lead to great work implies Problems that seem unimportant often matter more than they seem.
Informality focuses on what matters instead of what doesn't and Energy spent on appearances detracts from being good at something implies Nerds have an advantage in doing great work because they expend little effort on seeming anything.
Originality in choosing problems is more important than originality in solving them and Big ideas often come from asking good questions implies Unanswered questions can lead to new ideas.
Finding something to work on involves coevolving with the problem implies The process of figuring out what to work on can be complicated and requires experience in the field.