Companies break promises all the time. A self-guaranteeing promise does not require you to trust anyone. You can verify a self-guaranteeing promise yourself. <a href="https://stephango.com/file-over-app">File over app </a>is a self-guaranteeing promise. If files are in your control, in an open format, you can use those files in another app at any time. Not an export. The exact same files. It’s good practice to test this with any self-proclaimed file-over-app app you use. “Stainless steel” is a self-guaranteeing promise. You can test it yourself on any tool that makes this promise, and the stainlessness of the steel cannot be withdrawn. Terms and policies are not self-guaranteeing. A company may promise the privacy of your data, but those policies can change at any time. Changes can retroactively affect data you have spent years putting into the tool. Examples: <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1682829662370557952">Google </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1688606865058574339">Zoom </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1735032935336829230">Dropbox </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1762864738499952756">Tumblr </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1791266503456907554">Slack </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1798459810981220621">Adobe </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1808167319694368999">Figma </a>.

Terms and policies are not self-guaranteeing. A company may promise the privacy of your data, but those policies can change at any time. Changes can retroactively affect data you have spent years putting into the tool. Examples: <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1682829662370557952">Google </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1688606865058574339">Zoom </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1735032935336829230">Dropbox </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1762864738499952756">Tumblr </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1791266503456907554">Slack </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1798459810981220621">Adobe </a>, <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1808167319694368999">Figma </a>. A self-guaranteeing promise about privacy gives you proof that the tool cannot access your data in the first place. Encoding values into a governance structure is not self-guaranteeing. Given enough motivation, the corporate structure can be reversed. The structure is not in your hands. Example: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_OpenAI">OpenAI </a>.

Open source alone is not self-guaranteeing. Even open source apps can rely on data that is stuck in databases or in proprietary formats that are difficult to switch away from. Open source is not a reliable safeguard against the biases of <a href="https://stephango.com/vcware">venture capital </a>. Examples: <a href="https://x.com/kepano/status/1851555417165598790">Omnivore </a>, <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39396130">Skiff </a>. When you choose a tool, the future of that tool is always ambiguous. On a long enough timeline the substrate changes. Your needs change, the underlying operating system changes, the company goes out of business or gets acquired, better options come along. It is possible to accept the ambiguousness of a tool’s future if you choose tools that make self-guaranteeing promises.

It is possible to accept the ambiguousness of a tool’s future if you choose tools that make self-guaranteeing promises.

A self-guaranteeing promise does not require you to trust anyone. You can verify it yourself.

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Philosophy

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

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Cybersecurity

computerscience

Computer Science

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Self-guaranteeing promises

Several reasons why change is difficult:<ul><li>Fear of Failure 😕: People are afraid of taking risks 🙊</li><li>Lack of Confidence 😔: Self-doubt can prevent us from pursuing big goals 🤔</li><li>Conformity 🚶‍♂️: Social norms discourage unconventional thinking 🙄</li><li>Resistance to Change 🙅‍♀️: People are resistant to changing from their comfort zones 🚫</li><li>Short-Term Thinking: 💬📆 Innovators believe in their long-term vision despite short-term setbacks 🚀</li></ul>The key to being an innovator is overcoming these obstacles & embracing change with an open mindset. 💡 Don't let fear, doubt, or societal expectations hold you back.

Factors that Hinder Innovation 🔒

The science behind the traits and quirks that drive creative geniuses to make spectacular breakthroughs What really distinguishes the people who literally change the world -- those creative geniuses who give us one breakthrough after another? What differentiates Marie Curie or Elon Musk from the merely creative, the many one-hit wonders among us? Melissa Schilling, one of the world's leading experts on innovation, invites us into the lives of eight people -- Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk, Dean Kamen, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs -- to identify the traits and experiences that drove them to make spectacular breakthroughs, over and over again. While all innovators possess incredible intellect, intellect alone, she shows, does not create a breakthrough innovator. It was their personal, social, and emotional quirkiness that enabled true genius to break through--not just once but again and again. Nearly all of the innovators, for example, exhibited high levels of social detachment that enabled them to break with norms, an almost maniacal faith in their ability to overcome obstacles, and a passionate idealism that pushed them to work with intensity even in the face of criticism or failure. While these individual traits would be unlikely to work in isolation -- being unconventional without having high levels of confidence, effort, and goal directedness might, for example, result in rebellious behavior that does not lead to meaningful outcomes -- together they can fuel both the ability and drive to pursue what others deem impossible. Schilling shares the science behind the convergence of traits that increases the likelihood of success. And, as Schilling also reveals, there is much to learn about nurturing breakthrough innovation in our own lives -- in, for example, the way we run organizations, manage people, and even how we raise our children.

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Motivation & Inspiration

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Human Resources

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Leadership & Management

Melissa A Schilling

Quirky

Building great teams requires trust, effective communication, and a shared goal. Teams that foster a positive and supportive environment can tap into a state of flow where tasks are completed effortlessly.
Teamwork goes beyond individual skills; coordination, collaboration, and inclusivity are essential for success and to avoid failures.
Success in team dynamics relies on effective collaboration and active contribution from all team members, going beyond individual brilliance. Ignoring this can lead to negative consequences.

Building great teams requires trust

Effective teamwork and open communication are crucial in preventing major disasters, as they allow for the identification of hidden threats & the development of effective prevention strategies.
Collaboration & effective communication are vital for both individual teams and larger organizations. Teams must harness their collective intelligence and diverse abilities to solve complex problems.
A team's success is not solely determined by individual intelligence or personality traits, but rather by the collective intelligence that emerges when individuals work together.

Collaborative Vigilance

Building strong relationships within a team does not guarantee better performance. Team effectiveness is influenced by various factors, and our intuition may not always align with actual evidence.
Gender-diverse teams with a majority of women tend to have higher collective intelligence, and successful teams actively pay attention to and respond to each other's thoughts and feelings.
By promoting equal participation, reducing dominance & fostering effective collaboration; groups can optimize their collective intelligence & achieve better outcomes.

Fostering Collective Intelligence

Teams that work together for an extended period of time can establish shared systems for coordination & organization, leading to improved outcomes. Introducing new members too frequently can hinder the team's ability to learn & improve together.
Successful teamwork relies on individuals respecting & valuing each other's capabilities, being willing to rely on others, asking questions, exchanging information, & engaging in open dialogue.

Long-Term Teamwork for Optimal Outcomes

By promoting equal participation, reducing dominance, and fostering effective collaboration, groups can optimize their collective intelligence and achieve better outcomes.

The Secret to Great Teams | Shankar Vedantam | Hidden Brain

The children of wealthy people are not wealthy because of the money that they give them. It's sometimes because of the knowledge that they impart to them.

Knowledge is Wealth

13K likes, 122 comments - businessequity on October 29, 2023: "@benkellyone just started posting on Instagram and is showing everyone how it’s possible to acq..." 

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Money & Investments

Business Equity on Instagram: "@benkellyone just started posting on Instagram and is showing everyone how it’s possible to acquire businesses with none of your own money as a way to build generational wealth. If you want to learn how, check out @benkellyone"

Last week, after five months of striking, the Writers Guild (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reached a tentative agreement. “We can say, with great pride,” <a href="https://www.wgacontract2023.org/announcements/negotiations-update-tentative-agreement">the WGA wrote </a>, “that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”

Writers vs AI

The WGA did secure a couple meaningful gains. As in two. First, there is now a minimum staffing requirement for writers rooms, which translates to more employment opportunities for young writers. Second, they’ve raised the minimum number of weeks studios must employ writers for shows. In other words, work lasts longer. These concessions are meaningful and reflect well on the guild’s commitment to investing in the craft and nurturing talent.

Wins

This whole process, however, was a distraction from what the writers, actors, and all workers in the creative community should be focused on. Henry Kissinger once said of my industry: “The reason that university politics is so vicious is because stakes are so small.” The same holds true in media.

The first step to solving any problem

Last week I spoke with a group of Hollywood executives and writers. (I’m trying TV for the sixth time .) They were concerned about the strikes — but more concerned that their stalwart, the House of the Mouse, has transformed into a distressed asset practically overnight. Disney stock is at a nine-year low. Subscriber losses continue to mount, with a 7.4% decline in Disney+ subscriptions in the most recent quarter. Operating profits from the cable assets have been halved, and the company’s operating margins are down 75%.

Prologue

The writers can keep fighting for a larger slice of the pie, but the pie gets smaller every day. The WGA will have 15 milliseconds of fame before it starts digging through the rubble searching for remnants of its industry. The question they should ask themselves: What would a “meaningful gain” actually look like, & how do we achieve this? Is it really a 6% pay bump? More transparent residuals? A staffing minimum for writers rooms, striking against impaired companies? To achieve a truly exceptional outcome, the writers, the studios, the executives — everyone must do one thing: Think bigger.

Think bigger

When I was on the board of The New York Times Company, two thirds of revenue came from ads. During the print days, it worked — we had strong control over distribution and could price ads on terms that made sense for the business. Then Google offered us what looked like a good deal: Let us crawl your content, and we’ll drive traffic to your website in return. More ad views, great right? Spoiler alert: not great.

Great or not

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Cryptocurrency

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Science Fiction

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Podcasts

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Artificial Intelligence

Think Bigger | No Mercy / No Malice

When I take notes, I always tell myself that I am writing to myself in the future.Why is this approach to note-taking useful? I try to avoid the blind “capture” only mindset. As if capturing, the act of writing something down is what makes a helpful note. Really, a note can take on extra value when we think about how it will be used in the future. When you take notes, be kind to your future self and remember that your future self will forget many details you know today. Therefore, write your note to be of use to your future self.

A Time Capsule to be Delivered to Future You. 

Act from your future, not toward it.

I never really know when a note I am writing today will be used in the future or why, but it will be used, and I can be kind to myself by providing my future self with information that will be…

Self-guaranteeing promises

Quirky

The Secret to Great Teams | Shankar Vedantam | Hidden Brain

Business Equity on Instagram: "@benkellyone just started posting on Instagram and is showing everyone how it’s possible to acquire businesses with none of your own money as a way to build generational wealth. If you want to learn how, check out @benkellyone"

Think Bigger | No Mercy / No Malice

Taez K