Look for the Hidden Assumptions

What can we learn from bullet holes on WWII airplanes about hidden assumptions in order to get to better decisions.

Today I am going to share a story about hidden assumptions. I am reading another book about mental models (“How Not to Be Wrong” by Jordan Ellenberg – link to Goodreads) and there is one example which stood out, especially since I had already read about it multiple times. The example is about the mathematician Abraham Wald, who was helping the United States Air Force (USAF) make better decisions during WWII.

When I need to make a decision, I usually find it very easy to get all the known knowns and known unknowns and put them on the table. But all these are explicit assumptions. For example, I recently changed teams within my organization twice in rapid succession. In both cases, I considered the immediate assumptions. I expected the team I was leaving to keep getting worse and I expected the team I was joining to be better than my previous team and to keep getting better. But I kept asking myself, “Was I wrong?”

Here, I will share with you the story about the bullet holes in the USAF airplanes and how Abraham Wald had the insight in correcting a wrong assumption which could have costed many lives.

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How to Improve Book Retention

Stop reading non-fiction books only to forget them after you close the last page. Increase your retention by following three simple steps.

Today I am going to teach you how to improve your retention when reading non-fiction books. After all this is the only reason why we read such kinds of books, right?

I have gone over several methods that do not work. From passive reading (i.e., I just read the book and then I take the next one), to highlighting quotes and important passages, and all the way to extracting my highlights and creating a mind map organized by chapter. But when I read a great book like Adam Grant’s Think Again, I will find myself unable to generate a thoughtful review about it or remember even one important idea from the book.

Here, I will show you my latest method for improving retention. It is based on the book How to Take Smart Notes (link to Goodreads).

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Which Brain Is in Charge of Your Eating?

Learn to engage your deliberate brain in your eating choices, you will be able to improve your health and well-being.

We humans have three brains in our heads – the lizard brain, the monkey brain, and the human brain. This is a wrong model, but it is a good approximation of the true (details here, link to Wikipedia). We still don’t know for sure, but we kinda know which part of the brain is responsible for which function. When it comes to controlling basic needs like eating, nutrition, things become tricky. Is it better to keep eating the food which we always ate (as in thousands of years ago)? Or is it better to go against our nature, because we know that it is leading us to obesity and other problems?

In this article, I am sharing my experience, opinion, and knowledge on this subject. It is inspired by a podcast episode I recently listened to (Tim Ferris’s interview with Dr. Michio Kaku) in combination with several books about the brain and nutrition which I read over the last few years (for more details about my reading – Tin’s List of Best Books 2021 and Tin’s List of Best Books 2020).

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, or a scientist. All information in this article is based on my own experience and beliefs. Please consult with a specialist before following any of my tips.

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How to Adopt a Journaling Habit

Creating a journaling habit will help you organize your mental space and set yourself in a predictable, positive mood every morning.

Journaling is one of the top three morning productivity habits that you can adopt in your life on your way to being happier, more productive, and more successful (the other two are meditation and exercise). Although it looks deceptively easy (you sit down and write, how hard could it be?), I would argue that it is the hardest to adopt.

The benefits of journaling are numerous and the list of people who are dedicated to this habit is impressive. That list varies from Marcus Aurelius, through Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, to Warren Buffet and Richard Branson. It this article, I will share my top tips for adopting this habit and making it stick.

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How to Improve Your Financial Education

Books contain the answers to most of our problems. This article contains the financial education books that will help you get wealthy.

As a reader, I dedicated my 2021 to financial education. I selected over 50 books and I read about half of them (among other things). If you have been following my articles, you have noticed that this is my approach to everything. If I want to improve my tennis game, I would read a bunch of books and I will go out and play tennis. Or, if I want to improve my running, I would read some books and I will go out running (in the rain, in the ice, and sometimes when it is sunny).

Ever since I read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” in my twenties, I have been fascinated how people do not understand money, finances, and the simple (but not easy) steps to become rich (or to be more precise wealthy). This article is a collection of the best books about money, budgeting, saving, investing, which I have uncovered so far in my quest to attain financial education. I was tempted to post affiliate links to the books that I will quote, but then I remembered that I am determined to keep my blog free and ad free. So, if you feel the urge to support me – go and buy my book in the Books section above.

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