- From Atlas Shrugged. A=A
- The idea is that reality does not have contradictions, but when we extend our explanations beyond their reach, they lead to predictions that do not match reality.
- Contradictions appear if we use explanations with too little reach.
- When we derive a contradiction, we have to look at our premises again. It might be hard to spot which of our premises are leading to the contradiction and it might require a completely new set of premises to increase the reach of our explanation. We create better explanations through conjecture, criticism and testing.
- “That’s simply not how things work.” is a statement that points towards checking ones premises again.
- Proof by contradiction is a common method in mathematics. You start out with the statement that the proposition is false and when you reach a contradiction you have shown the proposition holds.
- The beginners mind is marked by naturally assuming that our explanations are incomplete and need updating. So what we later experience as contradictions is experienced as curiosity in a beginners mind.
- Been Horowitz:
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You do not want to smooth over conflicts. You want the conflicts to surface and you want to resolve them. If you don’t, you have got problems. If you do surface and resolve them you will be a pretty good manager.But the conflict is where the truth is. And so when there’s a conflict in the organization, you do not want to smooth it over. You want to sharpen the contradictions, heat up both opinions, and resolve it. Good CEOs are really good at doing that.
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- Socrates elevated consistency to a prime instrument in getting closer to truth. This is why the dialogues often involved getting people to confess multiple points, that might seem unrelated at first, and then point out that they can’t be both true.