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there’s a learning failure i’ll term “micro/macro confusion” where the micro is constantly mined for information when it’s actually the macro level that contains the real “secret”

it’s the equivalent of watching individual hands of poker to try and figure out how to bet or bluff. the information doesn’t accumulate into anything more than noise without a coherent model to hang the information off of

e.g. when watching a professional sports athlete, it’s very difficult to point at why someone is better. fame is basically used as a proxy. any specific movement likely has someone else who is just as good or better

vacations are also a good example. someone who travel credit card hacks and collects photos in front of every famous landmark over optimizes the micro and misses the point of travel

but b/c the micro is measurable and that measurement can be improved, it creates a sensation of progress. “i started only being able to meditate 10 minutes but now i can do it for 25 hours a day!”