I believe that someone can.
But the older I get, the more I realize that we do what we can until our destiny is revealed.
If its useful to think our paths are already predetermined. Use it.
If it helps to think we can change whats in front of us—go for it.
False proxies refer to an indicator or signal that is mistakenly used to measure an outcome. Some easy examples:
Using a test score to assume someone has learned the material. After all, not all doctors are equal. Someone has to graduate at the bottom of the class.
The nonprofit who believes their biggest fundraiser yet can be replicated again. You might have raised the potential ceiling but it might not be a trend either.
Weight on a scale can be an indicator someone is healthy but it is only one measurement.
Someone good at interviewing may not be good at the job they are being hired for. They may just be good at interviewing.
False proxies can also be mis-used in our culture. Someone with a criminal record isn’t treated as someone who once made a mistake but is instead effected in housing and work applications.
We use these proxies because they are simple to measure. They are shortcuts that don’t fill in the whole picture, only a slice of it. But too often, we assume we can see everything so clearly. Which leads to misalignment.
Yes, proxies are useful when we want the gist. With a culture that is focused on fast paced efficiency, we substitute substance and nuance for own story of how we see the world. And make important decisions based on these false proxies.
The challenge of our modern world is that our attention is always mined and occupied, so we have no space to sit with ourselves without distraction.
Gone are the days of being bored in the waiting room.
Many of us struggle to sit with the narration and our feelings about ourselves. As a result, we tend to create drama that isn’t there to distract us from ourselves.
How much conflict is, indeed, self-inflicted? Probably more than we realize.
Insisting that the Titanic cannot sink cost the lives of many.
Every climber who died on Everest was also motivated.
The thing is about ego. It can help propel us into the greatest endeavors, but it can also be our demise.
Understanding (and being honest) about one’s ability and the challenge ahead requires more thought and care. Even then, chance doesn’t always work in our favor. When the margins of success are thin, perhaps it is time to step back.
The saying goes: Keep it simple, stupid. I was surprised to hear that the New York Times writes at an 8th-grade level for its readers. It’s no surprise that 50% of Americans read at an 8th-grade level or less.
I’m also going to guess that the 50% of readers at that level don’t often pick up the Times.
What you write and to whom is a choice. And if the choice is to keep dumbing down the work, eventually, it gets dumb to read. The alternative is to simplify what you are trying to explain.
Simple doesn’t mean dumb. In fact, it’s the opposite. Explaining ways so that a 4-year-old can understand means enrolling everyone so that everyone can be on this journey.
It’s a scientific fact that the brain cannot hold two thoughts simultaneously. It moves quickly between them.
Understanding this, if there is one story we need to tell and focus on to get through another, we can use our biology to our advantage.
Having an app that tells us the distance and time to get somewhere is novel.
We become so reliant that it changes our behavior when we should leave somewhere.
Before apps, the answer was to give yourself plenty of time. Before MapQuest, you had maps and gas stations—it was a total guess to a new place.
Now? Wait until the last minute. We have eliminated the need to decide about when and are now told when.
Of course, when we are always cutting it close or continue to take shortcuts, we don’t build the resilient system needed to take on the unexpected.
Traffic is always changing.
Changing your mind is powerful. When we do so, we open ourselves to new possibilities and apply the wisdom we have learned.
However…
It’s not enough to change one’s mind. It would help if you also had the courage to share it.
But we must acknowledge…
Not everyone can share how they really feel.
The first hunter-gatherers worked hard to perfect the craft. Then, humans developed traps and better tools—with some innovation and domain knowledge that was passed down, opening the door for less physical and emotional labor.
The same happened with farming and industrialism. Over thousands of years, we have invented ways to substitute physical labor for emotional labor. In this modern age, we are seeing the cracks and limits of this decision.
So, we invented AI to manage this. But many worry what does this mean for humans now?
When work is no longer physical or intellectual, what then do we use to define it?
The reason why AI is so useful for writing an email AND why we are so happy to allow it…
It’s because AI is good at replacing mediocre work.
AI can write a mediocre book but not exceptional. Not yet at least.
And so little by little, AI writes an email or puts together a business plan or writes out an itinerary for a trip…that’s just good enough.
We can no longer just work in a sphere of good enough. Soon, that work will be obsolete.
Josh Allred's Blog 