Bill Clinton’s speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention nominating Barack Obama for a second term as president is considered a masterpiece in persuasion.
Procopius and Anekdota
The Byzantine official Procopius wrote three historical works in Greek. In the first two, he dealt with wars and public works projects, but the third was something of a departure from this kind of history. Referred to as “Anekdota,” from the Greek a-meaning “not,” and ekdidonai, meaning “to publish,” it contained bitter attacks on the emperor Justinian, his wife, and other notables of contemporary Constantinople.
Chief Slowdown Officer
Lex Fridman interviews Jeff Bezos about making decisions:
YouTube comments:
“I think this is very liberating for perfectionists, most decisions are not permanent and you can pick another door if necessary, if they are one way door decisions then you can allow for some perfectionism.”
“I’m the same age as Bezos. Also studied engineering and moved into management. What he’s talking about is, basically, exactly what we were taught in our control systems engineering classes back at university. Almost all engineer managers of our age group say the same thing.”
“I think everyone fails to understand the message of this discussion. It’s not about decision-making mechanisms, it’s about truth-seeking and the idea that no matter what the debate is about the objective should always be to try to get as close as possible to the truth to make the decision that resembles closest to the truth. That’s the whole point of this conversation, to leave the ego aside and search for truth.”
Nature of the Problem
H.R. McMaster, February 2017 until April 2018 National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump, describes how critical it was at the beginning of his tenure to get clarity on scope. Listen to minutes 3:00 to 4:15 about “the nature of the problem”, and about “framing out the problem”:
McMaster earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in History, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He turned his dissertation on the strategy of the U.S. in the Vietnam War into his book entitled Dereliction of Duty.
to orient
Task: An assigned piece of work often to be finished within a certain time; something hard or unpleasant that has to be done; duty, function, subjection to adverse criticism, reprimand.
Job: A piece of work; a small miscellaneous piece of work undertaken on order at a stated rate; the object or material on which work is being done; something produced by or as if by work; something that has to be done; a specific duty, role, or function.
Orient: To cause to face or point toward the east; to set or arrange in any determinate position especially in relation to the points of the compass; to ascertain the bearings of; to set right by adjusting to facts or principles; to acquaint with the existing situation or environment; to direct toward the interests of a particular group.
Agassi hacks Becker
Two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Looking for any advantage, no matter how slight, in order to gain an edge. Andre was a very careful observer.
Take risks
Jeff Bezos. Founder of Amazon. About being bold: 0:00 to 2:45 minutes.
Are Americans dumber?
Spend any time in Germany, and perhaps in other countries, and you will hear directly or indirectly how poorly informed (aka dumb) Americans are.
Keep in mind, however, that Germans consider themselves to be intelligent. And they are. Many of them consider themselves to be more intelligent than Americans. And they are. On average. Perhaps.
George Carlin
New York Times. May 11, 2022. One of America’s greatest stand-up comics. A satirist in the deepest sense. George Carlin. Always critical of his homeland. Its short-comings. Its deceits. For many a true patriotic American.
