3-1a4b1.2 Define and stay within your circle of competence

“It’s not competency if you don’t know the edge of it” – Charlie Munger

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance” – Confucius

“跂者不立、跨者不行。自見者不明、自是者不彰。自伐者無功、自矜者不長。其於道也、曰餘食贅行。物或惡之。故有道者不處。” – 老子 (Lao Tzu)

This concept from Buffett is epistemological.

Being successful in one area doesn’t automatically translate to other areas.

Knowledge is knowing the edge.

Next:

• 3-1a4b1.3 Your circle of competence can be widened, deepened, made clearer
  • 3-1d1 We must start with our own peculiar constraints
  • 4-1a4b6b0 We can make almost anything happen (in the way we want) regardless of contextual constraints because we can tweak everything (in piecemeal engineering fashion) by using symbols
  • 7-1a4b Understanding the measurement-constraints amounts to understanding the system-incentives. That is, creating explanations.

Related:

• When you know your game, you are the game (game-changer)revisit
  • 3-1c1b You are what you think and you think what you see, and you see what you think
  • 5-1b1b2b Don’t try to be the best. Be the only.
  • 9-1b You can’t really transfer your knowledge to others, because each knowledge has to be created individually
  • 12-1e4 Nothing is objectively and independently good
• Know thyself:
  • 1-2d You have to know your problem-situation (and your web of ideas) as best as you can to judge the merit of new explanations
  • 5-2c2a0 Avoiding bullshit takes you far enough. Maybe the extra bit comes from really knowing about yourself.
  • RUL3 - List ⇒ Rank ⇒ Iterate
• To the extent that you can widen your moat, the following works both waysdevelop
  • 2-2a ‘Emergence’ - Knowledge can be created out of nothing and is unpredictable
    • 5-1b2 Don’t invest in prediction, because knowledge is inherently unpredictable
      • 5-2c2b0 The truer and deeper the idea is, the more likely it will survive criticism, change in society, and withstand unpredictable consequences brought about by itself
• 足るを知る者は富む
  • 1-1a5a3 Knowledge is about knowing the edge
  • 2-1b2c1 Knowing your sustainable growth is the key to consistency. Do not depend on will power.
• 2-1b3a ‘Circle of competence’ & ‘Niches’ - Build a moat. Thrive in where you can.
• 2-1b3a1 Narrow it down so you can have a chance to build your own moat
• 2-1c1b ‘Two-front war’ - Deal with it effectively by knowing your priority. Use it effectively against those whose priorities are vague.
• 5-1b1b2b Don’t try to be the best. Be the only.
• 5-2c2a0 Avoiding bullshit takes you far enough. Maybe the extra bit comes from really knowing about yourself.

Contradictory?revisit

• 1-1a5a2 Good writing happens at the edge of explicit-inexplicit or explicit-unconscious — that is, via surprises.
• 7-1a2a1.1 ‘Scale’ - Anything that scaled started small, at the edge, at the frontier, as an avant-garde
• 7-1a6b Successful founders apply new technology to solve problems at edge cases
• 7-1d1c You can be at the edge of the newest technology