George Mack

DOUBLETHINK is the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct. In other words, being a hypocrite can be a SUPERPOWER.

1. We're told by society that idiots think in black OR white (This is partially true) 2. We're told that smart people think in shades of grey DOUBLETHINK is the ability to think in black AND white at the same time The shades of grey are often where smart people go to die.

Einstein, Jobs, Bezos, Musk, Thiel, Kanye etc all paradoxically exist with two opposing personality traits: 1. Very disagreeable 2. Very open to new ideas "Strong Opinions, Weakly Held". Doublethink is Antifragile. You get the upside of both stubbornness and humility.

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” - Fitzgerald

@John_Kavanagh says the best fighters exist in a state of Doublethink. During training, they are completely egoless. They seek out their weaknesses. As a result of this, when fight week comes - they believe they are unstoppable. Their ego goes from 0 to 100.

@matthewsyed says that before Tiger Woods takes a swing - he has to exist in a state of EXTREME self doubt about what club and stroke he should use. HOWEVER... Once he's made that decision, he needs to switch to a state of extreme self-confidence to perform his swing.

@wolfejosh's investment approach is called "100-0-100". - 100% certainty he will be investing in the cutting edge. - 0% certainty what the cutting edge idea will be, leading to perpetual paranoia. - 100% certain he will find it in his cutting edge professional circles.

What is fascinating about @wolfejosh's "100-0-100" is that if you took away the 0% certainty part - Josh would lose all his humility and paranoia that drives his success. His extreme self doubt creates his extreme confidence. The 0 gives birth to the 100's.

Charles Darwin used to follow a golden rule: Whenever a new piece of evidence contradicted his beliefs, he would make a note of it. His extreme self doubt lead to a man without that much natural ability to discover one of the most fundamental scientific theories of all time.

@NickSzabo4 has a beautiful fork on this idea for dealing with complex arguments called QUANTUM THOUGHT: "Run down the arguments as if each one of the would be true, even if they and their sub arguments contradict each other. You have to keep both of them in your mind at once".

“This isn't how we are socially taught to think... We are taught that you have to have a point of view or an answer, you have to pick a side, pick your tribe, fit in, then defend it, and be consistent. But the reality is really complicated.“ - @naval on Quantum Thought

@joerogan's charisma is that he is simultaneously: 50% - Shredded jock that loves fighting, running hills and discipline. 50% - DMT smoking, free loving hippie that loves profound conversations with public intellectuals. (And isn't afraid to cry). What a quantum mind!

Doublethink can be useful for issues of IDENTITY. Identity can be a super power ("I'm a non-smoker" - @JamesClear) Or it can blind you ("I'm a republican/democrat so all my ideas have to line up neatly") Turning identity ON and OFF is where the magic is.

Another Doublethink identity hack: Identify as someone who has no identity. You have to constantly maintain having no identity, because it is your identity. State it publicly to friends. Your brand is hypocrisy. You're free to view reality objectively in the moment.

I've found the optimum work strategy via Doublethink: - 4-5 hours of intense solo focused deep work (BLACK) - Followed by hours of intense socialisation and feedback loops with the most intelligent people I know (WHITE). NOTHING in between. I call this "The Manic Ambivert".

The WORST working strategy I've found is the opposite... 16 hour days working on shallow tasks with no breaks but constant gossip and push notifications. (SHADES OF GREY) You're left exhausted with nothing completed. It's the worst of both worlds.

Doublethink for friendship: 1. 80% of your time spent with a handful of friends you admire that can compound for years. 2. 20% of your time seeking out new friends to add to that handful.

The majority of people exist in the opposite of this - the shades of grey. 90% of their time is spent having shallow conversations about the weather or gossip with people they've known for years and still don't click with.

@rabois encourages Doublethink via "Pairing Indicators". If a customer service team is only measured by a reduction of fraud rate, they start treating every customer like a potential con artist. So he measures both effect (Fraud Rate) and countereffect (Service quality).

Josh Waitzkin trains Doublethink through HIIT training. He practices turning it ON - heart rate up to 180 beats per minute. Extreme focus. He then turns it OFF - heart rate down to 120 beats per minute. Extreme relaxation. He can then create those states at will.

Final thought: I find it fascinating that what feels like a disaster at the time can often become the best thing that ever happens to you. 1st law of Thermodynamics - Emotion cannot be created or destroyed. It just changes form. Now that's true DOUBLETHINK.

SUMMARY: 1. Be like water 2. Invest time and energy in polar opposite extremes 3. Have pairing indicators 4. Be disagreeable but more open to new ideas than anyone you know 5. Turn your mind into a quantum computer 6. If in doubt, be a hypocrite.