Standing on One Leg
This concept, inspired by Rabbi Hillel's approach to teaching the Torah, advocates compressing complex ideas into a core generating principle (an axiomatic framework) rather than a mere summary. The author's own generator is: we favor the visible, embedded, personal, narrated, and tangible, while scorning the abstract.
THE IDEA
THIRD THOUGHT: STANDING ON ONE LEG
I have been periodically challenged to compress all this business of randomness into a few sentences, so even an MBA can understand it (surprisingly, MBAs, in spite of the insults, represent a significant portion of my readership, simply because they think that my ideas apply to other MBAs and not to them).
This brings to mind Rabbi Hillel’s story, when he was asked by someone particularly lazy if Hillel could teach him the Torah while the student was standing on one leg. Rabbi Hillel’s genius is that he did not summarize; instead, he provided the core generator of the idea, the axiomatic framework, which I paraphrase as follows: Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you; the rest is just commentary.
It took me an entire lifetime to find out what my generator is. It is: We favor the visible, the embedded, the personal, the narrated, and the tangible; we scorn the abstract. Everything good (aesthetics, ethics) and wrong (Fooled by Randomness) with us seems to flow from it.
When to use it
When explaining a complex topic to a non-expert, identify and share the axiomatic framework rather than a list of facts.
In product design, focus on the core user need (generator) instead of enumerating all features.
When evaluating a business proposal, look for the underlying principle that drives the idea, not just the projected numbers or stories.
To avoid being fooled by randomness, consciously check whether you are being seduced by visible narratives over abstract evidence.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Investment Decisions
When choosing stocks, investors are often swayed by a compelling story about a company's charismatic CEO (visible, narrated) rather than by abstract statistical data showing the low probability of long-term success. They favor the visible over the abstract.
Medical Diagnosis
A doctor might anchor on a patient's vivid description of a rare symptom (personal, narrated) while overlooking base rates of more common diseases (abstract), leading to misdiagnosis.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a recent important decision you made. Did you rely more on vivid, personal stories or on abstract data and probabilities? How might the outcome have differed with a more balanced approach?
In your field of work, what is a core generative principle that could replace lengthy summaries? Try to articulate it in one sentence.
Identify a situation where you scorned the abstract (e.g., ignored statistical evidence) and favored the tangible. What was the result?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Fooled by Randomness The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)