Picking Unfair Fights (2021)

https://www.thewoodshedd.com/posts/2021-06-12-pickinggames/

by wallflower • 2 years ago

47 20 2 years ago

Jun8• 2 years ago

An important basic life lesson covered in an entertaining way. One of pg’s early essays on how his startup Viaweb succeeded using Lisp covers the same point about seeking unfair advantages: “In business, there is nothing more valuable than a technical advantage your competitors don't understand. In business, as in war, surprise is worth as much as force.” (https://paulgraham.com/avg.html)

LAC-Tech3• 2 years ago

If it makes you feel better Jon Jones is a fairly reprehensible human being.

- hit and run on a pregnant women, though he did return to the scene to get his drugs

- his own daughter called the police on him after he was having a domestic incident with his fiancee

~ arrested for driving while intoxicated

Incredibly dirty fighter too. Stripped of the title 3 times (one for the felony charges on the aforementioned hit and run, and twice for testing positive for PEDs). Not to mention the time he tested positive for PEDs so the moved the whole venue for a UFC event so he could legally compete, and then he kicked his opponent in the dick.

SiempreViernes• 2 years ago

I think this will in fact not make the author feel better, given how they described those two brothers as flawless gods among men.

It definitely takes out much of the honour if the story becomes Mr All-star-team got tossed around by two assholes.

bigbillheck• 2 years ago

I think this will in fact not make the author feel better,

It might, actually. From the intro paragraph: "Both taught me about choosing unfair fights and playing by your own rules…"

hermitcrab3• 2 years ago

Also famous for eye pokes. He is an incredibly talented fighter, but also a cheat with no respect for his opponents. And we definitely shouldn't be encouraging that sort of unfair fight.

LAC-Tech3• 2 years ago

TBH Jones is a big reason why I stopped watching MMA. That and finding out how truly little the fighters are paid, and a spate of early deaths / suicides... it was just too slimy.

ghusto2• 2 years ago

This sounds like obvious and poor advice to me.

Summary of all those words could be: Don't challenge yourself, only do things that you already find easy because winning is the most important thing.

Of course, this depends on your definition of winning. If "winning" is beating other people at something you find easier than them, I'd like to challenge that definition.

Lio• 2 years ago

I'd like to challenge that definition.

OK, what's stopping you? :D What's your alternative?

I would summarise the author's advice differently as, "keep looking for niches that suit you and don't be afraid to move on if your existing niche disappears" or even simpler "pick your battles".

Put like that I don't see it as terrible advice even if I don't particularly follow it myself.

ghusto2• 2 years ago

Heh, yeah okay fair enough.

So to re-itterate definition I'm challenging: "Winning means beating other people at something you find easier than them". I have two issues with it:

The first keeps in the spirit of "winning" in terms of coming out on top in a competition, and it's this; how can you say you've won, if there was no real competition? The picture on the page where a guy's holding a basketball over the heads of children is apt. If you score more points against those children in a game of basketball, have you won a game of basketball?

The second gets a bit philosophical and calls into question the whole meaning of "winning" anything in life at all. I don't think winning == being successful in business or making money. If you've made money by screwing someone over, you have lost at life.

strken• 2 years ago

It's pretty good investment advice. I don't think it was meant to be general life advice.

wwilim• 2 years ago

I don't like this guy's vibe, but I'm left wondering if we aren't stuck in a heroic mindset, while thinking like a villain is just more efficient. It feels profound, uplifting and _right_ to challenge yourself, but after you've completed your inner journey, how far ahead are the vipers who only learned only to strike and perfected only their viciousness?

kombookcha• 2 years ago

The viper mentality is ultimately parasitic and their benefit will drop off once they've eroded the community they prey upon. A viper in a pit of vipers is just another schmuck.

Choosing to be suboptimal in the short term for yourself, for the long term benefit of everyone, is how you grow.

piltdownman• 2 years ago

Delivered Benefit != Profit

How many of the Top 20 Global Rich List got there through altruism and CSR?

We have dozens of touch-points in Human Culture to aptly demonstrate this, ranging classically from 'The Tragedy of the Commons' to that sterotypical 80s mindset of 'Nice Guys Finish Last'. From Manufacturing/Sweatshops and post-colonial era exploitation of the 3rd world, to a Newt Gingrich led era of destructive political spindoctory in the 1st World.

To be slightly on the nose about it, we're now living in a US-Led 'Too Big to Fail' era of Power and Financial attainment, typified by an incredibly strong lobbying class, and a lax and de-incentivised regulatory class. The two are then weaponised to nefarious ends by power brokers using disingenuous polemic to conflate them to the point of making the hoi polloi into a pastiche of turkeys voting for Christmas.

vonjuice• 2 years ago

Completed your inner journey? I don't think there's an end to the inner journey.

lynx23• 2 years ago

So, the gist seems to be "if you want to win, choose a inferior opponent". First using a somewhat inapproriate sports situation as a teaser (his superior opponents didnt really choose him, they were assigned at random) to later transfer the same idea to investments and general money-making. I am not surprised that a investor outright says that unfairness is the name of the game, what a surprise. But the conflation with sports is just a tad too cold-hearted. I wouldn't want to have a drink with this guy, not even for money.

amoss• 2 years ago

Summarized to "if you want to win play against losers".

Yay capitalism, I guess.

the_cat_kittles• 2 years ago

one big humblebrag

Picking Unfair Fights (2021)

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