3 ms·

I quite like the article, but I think it is missing reflection on what other common models are and why activation energy is more helpful. In practice the model

by roenxi 2mo ago

I quite like the article, but I think it is missing reflection on what other common models are and why activation energy is more helpful. In practice the model par excellence is the humble linear model - put a bit more effort in, get a bit more result out. Increase the widget budget by 10%, get 10% more widget. People seem to default to that sort of thinking quite readily. And then obviously if someone applies linear thinking to a fire hazard they're going to get really bad results, because once enough energy has gathered to spark a flame, reducing the available energy by 10% is not going to be enough to get the situation back under control. There are really important non-linear situations - many involving soft skills. Relationships, reputation, motivation and the like. Having a nonlinear model for them is quite important.

0xf8 2mo ago
I love this take. You hear a lot about non-linearity dynamics of complex systems in academia and even more practically in conceptualizing commonplace phenomena we tend to interpret linearly or assume it’s governed by complete chaos. but I could see how it underlies many soft skills as you ascribed. Do you happen to have any reading recs on the topic in this domain ?
sfink 2mo ago
Another model: nihilism. Putting in 10% more effort isn't going to achieve enough to be worthwhile, so it's short-term at best and ultimately pointless, so why bother doing anything at all? Or closely related: I'll call it inertia. The belief that anything I do will only provide benefit as long as I keep it up, and the minute I lose vigilance, the benefit will drain away. Another: certitude. I am fundamentally a godlike being and whatever I choose to spend effort on is the Right thing, whether I understand why or not, and therefore whatever I am doing is critically important to keep doing regardless of actual or perceived benefit. Another: diminishing returns. Initial effort brings outsized rewards, but later effort becomes less effective over time. Another: compound interest. 10% effort initially doesn't achieve much, but the longer I keep at it, the more the benefits compound. (This one is interesting, in that it can lead to positive behavioral changes yet is, in a way, the opposite of the activation energy model.) Another: behaviorism. Effort doesn't matter, only observable outcomes. There's no point in doing things that have no short-term visible effects. Related: momentum. (Also note that it's a synonym of inertia!) I need to do things where I can feel the success, in order to fuel the next thing, and then the next. Meta-model: optimization (aka desperation). There is no single right model, and so I need to choose a different model for each situation, and it's critically important that I choose the best one. ---- I doubt the activation energy model dominates[1] all of the above, but it very well may be the best one to focus on. At least for a time, as the author suggested at the end of the article. [1] Is better in all circumstances.
- larksimian 2mo ago
  Compound interest can be demotivating. Oh if I'd started investing 10 years ago I'd be rich, I'll never get as much out of it if I start now, so I might as well just not do it. Comparing the future value not against present inaction, but against earlier action start.
  - a96 2mo ago
    This is why while the best time to start many things was a long ago, the second best is still now.
- ctchocula 2mo ago
  Certitude can be framed a bit more positively. For example, someone on HN said they work out every day, not because they think it will make them super buff, but because they consider it a virtuous thing to do. If they miss a day, they will forgive themselves and try their best to pick it up the next day. They consider doing this virtuous act to be the end in and of itself, while treating any health benefits as a bonus. I quite like this mental model for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's the similarity to virtue ethics, which was always for elites and I have an elitist streak.
  - sfink 2mo ago
    I agree. I had a negative spin on a lot of these. Perhaps the mood I was in. The original idea was more positive, and somehow it went the other way as I wrote it up. When reflecting on that post, the certitude one is the one that bothered me. I'm wondering if your description could be an example of migrating a goal or practice to a value? Some of the others have natural pairings too (eg momentum/inertia). Perhaps there's a taxonomy struggling to get out, where there's a bright and dark side to each? Though it kind of depends on the aspect you reflect them on; activation energy's "opposite" could be compound interest or nihilism. Clearly I need to write a game in the tradition of Ultima IV, where different groups/races/species represent the extreme of each model, and perhaps its reflection....
perilunar 2mo ago
> There are really important non-linear situations I would even say that most things in life (including life itself) are non-linear. Exponential growth and decay, homeostasis, sigmoid curves, hysteresis, quadratic and other higher order curves, sine and other waves, Gaussians, etc. Linear relationships are more the exception than the norm.

by roenxi 2mo ago

0xf8 2mo ago

I love this take. You hear a lot about non-linearity dynamics of complex systems in academia and even more practically in conceptualizing commonplace phenomena we tend to interpret linearly or assume it’s governed by complete chaos. but I could see how it underlies many soft skills as you ascribed. Do you happen to have any reading recs on the topic in this domain ?

sfink 2mo ago

Another model: nihilism. Putting in 10% more effort isn't going to achieve enough to be worthwhile, so it's short-term at best and ultimately pointless, so why bother doing anything at all? Or closely related: I'll call it inertia. The belief that anything I do will only provide benefit as long as I keep it up, and the minute I lose vigilance, the benefit will drain away. Another: certitude. I am fundamentally a godlike being and whatever I choose to spend effort on is the Right thing, whether I understand why or not, and therefore whatever I am doing is critically important to keep doing regardless of actual or perceived benefit. Another: diminishing returns. Initial effort brings outsized rewards, but later effort becomes less effective over time. Another: compound interest. 10% effort initially doesn't achieve much, but the longer I keep at it, the more the benefits compound. (This one is interesting, in that it can lead to positive behavioral changes yet is, in a way, the opposite of the activation energy model.) Another: behaviorism. Effort doesn't matter, only observable outcomes. There's no point in doing things that have no short-term visible effects. Related: momentum. (Also note that it's a synonym of inertia!) I need to do things where I can feel the success, in order to fuel the next thing, and then the next. Meta-model: optimization (aka desperation). There is no single right model, and so I need to choose a different model for each situation, and it's critically important that I choose the best one. ---- I doubt the activation energy model dominates[1] all of the above, but it very well may be the best one to focus on. At least for a time, as the author suggested at the end of the article. [1] Is better in all circumstances.

larksimian 2mo ago
Compound interest can be demotivating. Oh if I'd started investing 10 years ago I'd be rich, I'll never get as much out of it if I start now, so I might as well just not do it. Comparing the future value not against present inaction, but against earlier action start.
- a96 2mo ago
  This is why while the best time to start many things was a long ago, the second best is still now.
ctchocula 2mo ago
Certitude can be framed a bit more positively. For example, someone on HN said they work out every day, not because they think it will make them super buff, but because they consider it a virtuous thing to do. If they miss a day, they will forgive themselves and try their best to pick it up the next day. They consider doing this virtuous act to be the end in and of itself, while treating any health benefits as a bonus. I quite like this mental model for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's the similarity to virtue ethics, which was always for elites and I have an elitist streak.
- sfink 2mo ago
  I agree. I had a negative spin on a lot of these. Perhaps the mood I was in. The original idea was more positive, and somehow it went the other way as I wrote it up. When reflecting on that post, the certitude one is the one that bothered me. I'm wondering if your description could be an example of migrating a goal or practice to a value? Some of the others have natural pairings too (eg momentum/inertia). Perhaps there's a taxonomy struggling to get out, where there's a bright and dark side to each? Though it kind of depends on the aspect you reflect them on; activation energy's "opposite" could be compound interest or nihilism. Clearly I need to write a game in the tradition of Ultima IV, where different groups/races/species represent the extreme of each model, and perhaps its reflection....

perilunar 2mo ago

> There are really important non-linear situations I would even say that most things in life (including life itself) are non-linear. Exponential growth and decay, homeostasis, sigmoid curves, hysteresis, quadratic and other higher order curves, sine and other waves, Gaussians, etc. Linear relationships are more the exception than the norm.