Friends of Dave #113: It's Complicated
If everything was just as simple as it seems on the surface, right?
As what often happens, the subject of my preamble this week sort of arose organically from a series of unrelated instances, conversations and observations I had where I saw a pattern.
What I continue to find fascinating (and at times vexing) about the world that we live in is that, at first glance, things can often appear to be simple when in fact they are quite complex.
Sentences. Images. Decision making. Problem solving. Health issues. Political policy making. Relationships. We often get tricked into thinking that what meets our eyes, minds and hearts is exactly as it seems. In our quest to create order in our worlds, we make judgements every day based on observations that usually lack full details or context.
For example, when we look up at a clear night sky, what do we see? Do we see darkness that is interrupted by occasional bright stars? Or are we looking upon a sky that is completely filled with stars, some bright and some faint, but so infinite that our minds cannot comprehend it and choose to fill it with something simple: blackness?
Think about this the next time you are out on a clear night away from city lights. Or when you see a shared image of someone smirking at someone else on your social media feed. Or when someone close to you is struggling to make a decision when the answer seems so clear to you. We need to remind ourselves to take a moment to consider that things are probably much more complicated than what we are seeing.
I know I fall into the trap all of the time. I will say things like "What you really need to do is...." or "Don't they understand that...." I do this because I am trying to fix a problem or resolve an issue mainly so that I can restore order in my own mind. I quickly process the information I observe and come to a swift conclusion so that I can move on to something else.
Some may attribute this to intuition or experience. Others may call it arrogance or ignorance. Either way, maybe now as I increasingly think and learn about the overall proliferation of data available to us for analysis these days, I am beginning to understand that this approach usually just substitutes precision with speed and ultimately leads to imperfect results.
And while I don't believe the alternative should be nervous hand wringing, paralysis by analysis or a complete lack of action, I am thinking that the path to a happy medium has to begin with making ourselves embrace complexity as opposed to shy away from it. By acknowledging that things are probably more complicated than they seem, we can influence outcomes that may not be faster or grandiose, but more precise.
So hopefully we can all agree that "it's complicated".....but you know what you really need to do now (see what I did there)? Check out the links below. And have a great weekend. Long preamble -- simple ending.
XOXO
Dave
Think on These...
ATTENTION: None of The People Pictured Here Are Real — www.theverge.com
Artificial intelligence has the ability to generate and manipulate imagery quickly and at scale. Interesting (and kinda creepy) look at how ThisPersonDoestNotExist.com uses technology open-sourced by Nvidia to generate new portraits on demand. If you don't want to read the story, click on the URL (and hit refresh) and see for yourself -- it will honestly blow our mind.
I felt I needed to compensate for my upbringing by working extraordinarily hard. My first year, I dressed up for class, to which I would arrive half-an-hour early, waiting outside the classroom door. I took frantic, copious notes, but professors often said words I didn’t know — and didn’t explain them.
If you have some time (it is on the longer side), I highly recommend this thought provoking look at the significant role that privilege plays in success at elite private universities. While we may believe that acceptance to an top university can be an instant equalizer for those who come from less means, this inside look shows that talented students from lower income families still face a large uphill climb when they arrive on campus.
A Few For Your Day Job...
The Difference Between Leadership and Management
The one great thing that true leaders understand is the difference between leadership and management. Great leaders know how to attract & retain great managers and know they must trust them to accomplish the team’s goals. Great leaders don’t confuse their own skills with “management” and try to do both.
As always, great insights from VC Mark Suster (who seems to be back to blogging regularly again). Might seem like common sense, but great breakdown here that everyone can apply to their own situations.
The shady economics of ‘buy one, get one free’ deals Free deals can turn even the most rational consumer into a crazed lunatic. Why does the allure of ‘free’ hold us captive? And are these deals even worth it?
Follow up: Ryan Reynolds Has Quietly Become One of the Best Marketers On the Planet
In case you were among the few who missed the hilarious Last Word highlighting Aviation Gin a few weeks ago, Ryan Reynolds' latest effort with Hugh Jackman is just one example of how he's become an incredibly effective (and entertaining) content marketing. Be sure to click on the clips in this article as well -- you will not be disappointed.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
Here’s How America Uses Its Land — www.bloomberg.com
Curiously I am not seeing any swaths devoted to snake farms....
Why Does Music Give You Chills?
More important question for me, why does Taylor Swift make me nauseous?
Inside Germany's Sausage Hotel
What do you look for in a hotel interior? A calming color scheme? Crisp white sheets? Salami?
The official fast food French Fry power rankings
Admit it: this is the study you have been waiting your whole life to see.
And The Last Word....
How NYT Cooking Became the Best Comment Section on the Internet — www.theringer.com
The combination of Cooking’s mindful design, careful maintenance, and enthusiastic participation fosters an unusual sense of trust. Which is exactly what’s missing from the rest of the internet and what Cooking provides in spades: trust that the sentence you’re reading was penned by a real person, not a Russian bot.
Maybe I subconsciously decided to share this as a result of my own recent affinity for cooking anything that has a filling or some other food inside of it, but I found this to be a really cool piece on what attracts us to engage with content on today's internet. WORTH IT.