yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

The Foundations Are Math and Logic


3m read
·Nov 3, 2024

Processing might take a few minutes. Refresh later.

And to me, foundational things are principles. There are algorithms. They're deep-seated logical understandings where you can defend it or attack it from any angle.

And that's why microeconomics is important because macroeconomics, a lot of memorization. A lot of macro, as Nassim Taleb says, it is easier to macro than it is to micro because macroeconomics is voodoo. Complex science meets politics. You can't find two macro economists to agree on anything these days.

Different macro economists get used by different politicians to peddle their different pet theories. There are even macro economists out there now peddling something called modern monetary theory, which basically says, “Hey, except for this pesky thing called inflation, we can just print all the money that we want.” Yes, except for this pesky thing called inflation. That's like saying, “Instead of limited energy, we can fire rockets off into space all day long.” It's just nonsense.

But the fact that there are people who have macroeconomists in their title and are peddling modern monetary theory just tells you that macroeconomics, as a so-called science, has been corrupted. It's a blanch of politics. So you really want to focus on the foundations. The ultimate foundation are mathematics and logic.

If you understand logic and mathematics, then you have the basis for understanding the scientific method. Once you understand the scientific method, then you can understand how to separate truth from falsehood in other fields and other things that you're reading. So, be very careful about reading other people's opinions, and even be careful about reading facts because so-called facts are often just opinions, but you know, with a veneer around them.

What you really are looking for is algorithms, but you're really looking for his understanding. It's better to go through a book really slowly and struggle and stumble and rewind than it is to fly through it quickly and say, “Well, now I read 20 books” or “I've read 30 books” or “I've read 50 books in the field.”

It's like Bruce Lee said, “I don't fear the man who knows a thousand kicks and a thousand punches. I fear the man who's practiced one punch ten thousand times or one kick ten thousand times.” It's the understanding that comes through repetition and three usage and through logic and foundations that really makes you a smart thinker.

To lay a foundation for the rest of your life, I think you need two things. If I was going to try and sum it up: one, practical persuasion; and two, you need to go deep in some technical category, whether it's abstract math or you want to read Donald Knuth books on algorithms, or you want to read Feynman's lectures on physics.

If you have practical persuasion and a deep understanding of some complex topic, I think you'll have a great foundation for learning for the rest of your life. Yeah, if I can expand it a little bit, I would say that the five most important skills are, of course, reading, writing, arithmetic, and then, as you are adding in, persuasion, which is talking, and then finally, I would add computer programming just because it's an applied form of arithmetic that just gets you so much leverage for free in any domain that you operate in.

If you're good with computers, if you're good at basic mathematics, if you're good at writing, if you're good at speaking, and if you like reading, you're set for life.

More Articles

View All
The Real Reason Robots Shouldn’t Look Like Humans | Supercut
When people think about robots, they usually imagine something like a Boston Dynamics robot, metallic and humanoid. But the robots we’ll see in the future might not look like that at all. I mean, if humans are interacting with something on a daily basis, …
Why I Stopped Holding Cash
What’s up, Graham? It’s Guys here, and I want to talk about something rather concerning that’s been brought up a lot lately on my channel, and that has to do with this statement here: “25% of all US dollars were created in 2020.” Now, usually, it’s easy …
Should You Follow Your Passion? – Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel
Guess what gives you passion? You want to hear the secret? Guess what keeps you attached to an idea? That damn thing — working, success, users, revenue numbers — that makes a lot of these folks that have no particular ideas suddenly care a lot more when t…
2015 AP Calculus AB 6c | AP Calculus AB solved exams | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy
Part C: Evaluate the second derivative of y with respect to x squared at the point on the curve where x equals negative one and y is equal to one. All right, so let’s just go to the beginning where they tell us that d y d x is equal to y over three y squ…
Down on Luck | Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks
Perfect time to catch the blue fin. Oh, oh, there’s some tones over there! They’re coming this way. Looks like a pretty good pot of them too. Dear Jesus, please God, let us get a fish right now. We are desperate to get some more meat on the boat. We’ve o…
Reasons To Stop Worrying (Break The Habit of Excessive Thinking)
The ability to plan for the future is a cornerstone of our civilization. The human race would never have flourished if we didn’t organize, arrange, design, prepare, and delay gratification for greater causes. Take, for example, this structure: the Kölner…