You went and opened it, didn’t you?
Nosey type aren’t you?
(That’s why I like you.)
Guess we better dig in since you’re here…
Life is confusing. The world is confusing. Hell, the universe is confusing.
How do we make sense out of it?
The fancy term is “Heuristics.”
The not-fancy way of saying it is:
“we build a lot of assumptions & ideas about how the world works from our experiences and our ideas about why they happen until they become second nature (whether or not they actually relate to reality.”
~me
That’s a lot to say at a BBQ so, instead we say Heuristics.
And, actually, heuristics is a weird thing to say at a BBQ, so we don’t say it at all.
In fact, we just keep our mouth shut at the BBQ and ask them how their weekend went.
BUT WE’RE NOT AT A BBQ.
Ok.
~Stay focused~
Interesting enough, staying focused is the first step to one of my favorite approaches to making sense out of the world: Wing Chun Kung Fu.
It’s a technology (yes, technology) that’s broken down into 6 phases.
First Phase: Define zero. Define your boundaries. Know where you stand. Know how to stand there.
Second Phase: Learn how to move from where you are to where you want to be. Straight lines are the shortest distances between two points. All that Euclidian Geometry jazz.
Third Phase: But, sometimes you’ll find obstacles in your way. What do you do? Flow around. Go the indirect route. Sometimes the shortest path between two points is a curved line: Non-Euclidian Geometry as real world stuff.
Fourth Phase: Now that you know who you are, how to move, and how to find the non-obvious paths you’re ready to put it into practice in relationship with other people. Now you can move through space & time in relationship & connection with others. This is the famous “wooden dummy” phase of your kung fu training.
Fifth Phase: Let’s join the ancient proto-humanoids and use some tools! Tools help you increase your area of influence & effect. They extend your effective boundaries, which is why you have to learn about boundaries FIRST before you can have better / bigger / more resilient boundaries. Simple, right? In Wing Chun you’re learning how to use cool-looking swords.
Six Phase: THIS IS MY FINAL FORM! It’s all about leverage. “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall kick that guy’s ass.” ~Archimedes, Kung Fu Master. This is where you learn how to apply massive power with maximum control to affect space/time far away from you.
That’s it! Want to learn how to do anything? Use this process.
Start with the basics. Learn how to move. Identify indirect paths to success. Learn how to work with others. Find tools to increase your effectiveness. Leverage it all for bigger things.
Pretty cool, right?
Who knew heuristics could be so much fun?!
Hint: It was me. I did. This whole time.
Hopefully now you do too.
Best thoughts,
~Jonathan