"90% of everything in the world is garbage, and we should focus our limited energy on those things that are insignificant but valuable. ”
- Staking's Law
Sowell said:"The first lesson in economics is scarcity".Compared with human desires, all resources are always scarce
"Wasting limited time on the most beautiful things" is our ideal, but the reality is often the opposite- Either exhausted by the trivial matters of flies and dogs, or tormented by people and things that we hate but cannot do anything about.
Not only that, in the era of fragmentation, we are also "fed" by various algorithms and the huge hand behind the algorithms. According to the statistics of China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the average daily time of Chinese people has far exceeded 2 hours, and in this era of "entertainment to death" and "fragmentation", there are always too many such things to distract our attentionWe are addicted to these highly addictive things and cannot extricate ourselves, like the spiritual opium of the new era
Unfortunately, despite the fact that many people are aware of this danger, people still try to quickly understand the world and expand their cognitive boundaries in this way. And this can only be the opposite of the opposite, it seems that a lot has been gained, but in fact there is nothing, it seems that everything is paid attention to, and the result is that nothing is learned.
Therefore,This is a time when you have to regain your "attention".to focus your limited energy on what is most meaningful. The question is what exactly is the most important thing to watch.
We will introduce two screening mechanisms to solve this dilemma.
The first layer of mechanics: Stequin's Law
Only 10% of the world is worth paying attention to
In the 50s of the 20th century, science fiction ** has not yet matured, and it is still widely regarded as a "vulgar **" In the face of this criticism, the American science fiction writer Sttkin countered:"90% of everything in the world is garbage".
90% of everything in the world is garbage, and science fiction is no exception, so why hold on to the 90% of criticism and not focus on the more valuable 10%? This phrase of Sttking is known by the people- Staking's LawIt tells us that 90% of everything in the world is unworthy of attention, and may even be "toxic" garbage, and we should focus our limited energy on the remaining 10% of valuable things.
There are many things that fall into this 10% value category:
A figure who has made great contributions to human civilization。Great scientists and thinkers such as Newton and Kant are leaders in their respective professional fields, but their influence has long broken through their own fields, and their influence on the world and human civilization is everywhere.
Technology and ideas that subvert human cognition。For example, Darwin's theory of evolution and Locke's "finite" thought undoubtedly subverted human beings' inherent cognition of themselves and power, and a new thinking paradigm instantly occupied the human brain and fundamentally transformed human society.
Great companies and brands that change the world。Brands such as Microsoft, Apple, and Space X are all exploring the boundaries of what the world can do in their respective fields. iPhone smart phone broke the inherent model of mobile phone equal to mobile communication device, a mobile Internet revolution led by smart phones swept the world, and then mobile payment, instant call became possible, bringing us a new way of life; Space X is even imagining the "crazy plan" of colonizing Mars, thinking about the major issue of where human civilization is going.
Classic books that have stood the test of time。For example, the pre-Qin classics of China in the Axial Age, the works of Plato and Aristotle in ancient Greece, the classics among these classics have withstood the test of thousands of years, are often read and updated, and have a huge space for thought, which is undoubtedly the source and the greatest treasure house of human wisdom.
Focusing on these 10% of great things is the first step in opening the "road to value". However, the absolute number of valuable things in the world is still very large, therefore,We have to introduce a second layer of screening to continue to screen the "10% of what's valuable."
The second layer of mechanics: Eisenhower's Law
- Only 1% of things are the most noteworthy at the moment
In our work life, we are often told what needs to be done first and what needs to be done later. It seems that whether a thing is worth our energy in the moment is not only about it".important (valuable)".Whether it is or not, it is also about it".Urgent"Whether or not.
Eisenhower's LawLed by American management scientist Stephen R. CoveyCovey) system, which is also often used by Eisenhower, is also known as the "four-quadrant method of time management". The law is used".Importance—urgency"Divide things into "four":
Important and urgent. Important is not urgent.
Urgency is not important.
It's not urgent, it's not important.
According to this model, when we deal with things, we should give priority to those that are "important and urgent", and then "important and not urgent". Continuing to screen for the "10% of the valuable things in Stdingkin's Law" based on the criterion of "important urgency", we obtained"Important, urgent, and of value".The number may not even be 1%.And it is this 1% that should be the most noteworthy thing for us at the moment.
What is important and what is urgent? "Important" represents the value of the thing itself, and "urgent" means that it must be related to the problems that we urgently need to solve, and has a strong sense of reality and timeliness。On the other hand, "non-urgency" means that things are not directly related to our vital interests and urgent needs of the moment.
Taking reading as an example, Darwin's "The Origin of Species" is of course a classic masterpiece that subverts cognition and changes history, but ideas such as "evolution" have long been widely accepted, and their impact on the world is close to the extreme. Therefore, it can be said that such books are "extremely important but not urgent".
On the contrary, our current society may be suffering from a serious political and economic crisis, with authoritarianism rampant and free market destruction.
What is the most important and urgent thing in the world today?
Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities: ". .This is the spring of hope, this is the winter of disappointment; There is everything in front of people, and there is nothing in front of people; People are on the road to heaven, people are walking towards the gates of hell. This description of 19th-century Britain seems more apt today.
At the moment, the world is confronted with the four major threats prophesied by Lord Acton:
the strongman's desire for concentration of power;
the resentment of the poor over unequal wealth;
the ignorant's yearning for utopia;
People without faith confuse freedom with indulgence;
Under this threat, the dark cloud of ambitious politicians and populists "conspiring" hangs over everyone. The most important and urgent thing for the present time is to solve the dilemma of this eraFor individuals, only by keeping a clear mind, understanding the present, and alerting to the future, can we not lose our way in the torrent of the times. The only thing that can improve our cognition and awaken the minds of the world is reading.