Ideas that linger
Welcome to all of the beautiful new good young moneyers who have joined us since last Thursday. We’re building a values movement, join us!
Hi 👋 hello. This is the 12th week of GYM, how time has flown. Work is accelerating into Christmas, and so this week, in lieu of an essay, we have a round up of ideas that linger long after you’ve read them. Ideas on judgement, on spending money, on making sense of the world, on community and on morality. Let’s get it. 💫
On judging people for themselves
How easy is it to judge other humans based on things outside of themselves, outside of who they are, but to not apply that same judgement anywhere else.
“It is astonishing that everything except ourselves is judged by its own properties: we praise a horse for its vigour and dexterity - we do not praise it for its harness. We praise a greyhound for its speed - not for its neckband; a hawk for its wings, not for its bells and leg straps. So why do we not similarly value a man for qualities which are really his? He may have a great suite of attendants, a beautiful palace, a great suite of influence and a large income: all that may surround him but is not in him.” ― Montaigne’s Essays.
On spending money
There are few problems in life that money itself will solve, spend accordingly.
“When there’s a problem in an organisation, our first instinct is to spend money. People close to the problem assume it exists because of a lack of resources, so they are looking for funding to solve it. But often, the problem doesn’t stem from a lack of resources. It stems from bad thinking. And when bad thinking is the culprit and you spend money to fix the problem, you fund the further existence of the problem. People learn that they’ll get more money if the problem persists, which incentivises them to make the problem worse - even if they say they’re trying to make it better. The challenge is that creative solutions take time. Their pain is felt in the present, while their benefits are felt in the future. Financial solutions are the opposite. Their benefits are felt in the present, while their pain is felt in the future.” ― David Perrell’s newsletter.
On making sense of the world
A lot of things don’t make sense right now. This has more to do with how we want to see the world than how it actually is.
“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”― Frank Herbert, Dune
“The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but it's inexactitude is hidden; its wildness lies in wait.” ― Peter L. Bernstein, Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
On community
Community is more than connection, it is how we understand our identity.
“No one can play a game alone. One cannot be human by oneself. There is no selfhood where there is no community. We do not relate to others as the persons we are; we are who we are in relating to others. Simultaneously the others with whom we are in relation are themselves in relation. We cannot relate to anyone who is not also relating to us. Our social existence has, therefore, an inescapably fluid character... this ceaseless change does not mean discontinuity; rather change is itself the very basis of our continuity as persons.” ― James P. Carse, Finite and Infinite Games
On Morality
Can there be morality without respect?
“My father once told me that respect for truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. 'Something cannot emerge from nothing,' he said. This is profound thinking if you understand how unstable 'the truth' can be.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune
As always, thank you for reading. I hope you found value here. Essays will be back next week. In the meantime, please let me know what you think about beginning a monthly roundup. Go well.