Leo's blog: Quote - 100: The Iron Law of Experience

[integral]

https://www.actualized.org/insights/actualized-quotes-100

Quote

If you discuss any field without extensive personal experience, you are bound to make errors and misleading statements. This is an unchangeable rule of existence. The wise recognize this rule, while the ignorant ignore it.

Most of us talking on the Forum are not talking as if we're speaking from absolute statements. We are commenting, then we get feedback and then we make adjustments. What else is there to do?

Besides working to understand the topic as much as possible before commenting it's nearly impossible to gain any experience when most topics. Actively talking about it is the act of gaining that experience. So there's no way around this you have the first Express all your ignorance to get it out of your system to gain the experience to some degree.

What is the approach we should use to avoid errors and misleading statements?

[Flowerfaeiry]

I’ve done it. We all do it. Life is HARD to figure out and sometimes we think we’ve found an answer only to later realize that’s not how things are at all so we have to backtrack and learn again. 

But I think sometimes on this forum it’s easy to talk willy nilly about things we don’t know much about just because we want in on the conversation or want to seem important. 
 

[Leo Gura]

A few key things:

1) Talk less, experience more. Seek out more experience rather than bullshitting. Don't wait for experience to befall you, strategically plan to acquire it.

2) "Experience" also includes stuff like reading books, talking to experts, doing deep research, and contemplation. Most people talk about stuff not only without direct experience but even without basic research and reading and contemplation. For example, you can talk about war or read a book about war. The book will at least cure basic stupidity on the topic.

3) Practice more humility and not-knowing when talking about things.

4) Just practice recognizing when you don't have any experience on a topic. That alone is a game-changer vs what most people do.

5) You can talk for years and still never get the bullshit out of your system. It's not like there's a finite amount of bad opinions and arguments. Your mind can bullshit endlessly about any topic. But of course you can't always avoid saying stupid things. Stupid things will be said.

Edited yesterday at 04:33 AM by Leo Gura

[Staples]

I used to yap a bit in the politics forum. But I went back and read some of the things I said and quickly regretted it. So no more politics for me.

But if I fully admitted my bullshit I'd have to become a mute.

[Alexop]

I work hand on this one right now. I feel I created an identity of "the life expert" because for the last 15 years I did mostly this, learning and experiencing anything so I can create a better big picture. So many times my intuition just worked, I told stuff I am not 100% sure about just to check them later and realize I was actually right! This gave me too much confidence just to wake up making some stupidly obvious mistakes sometimes.

Another aspect, even if you know you are right about something, before speaking, put a filter between the brain and the mouth which has the questions: "Is it really necessary and appropriate to tell this right now?"; "Why am I telling this? To help people or to inflate my ego?"

I am working on an alter ego now: I call it "the curious fun guy". To use it especially when I meet new people until it becomes second nature. Because I have no idea who they are yet, we meet to socialize and know each other, most people don't really care about our nerdy crap we talk here. It is hard to not talk about World of Warcraft if this is what you do all day, unfortunately nobody cares about your no-life life.

Sometimes I just get the knee jerk reaction of telling an idea, then I breath in and pause, realizing there is no need of telling it and I can continue having fun instead of becoming the group's teacher.

Edited yesterday at 10:30 AM by Alexop

[UnbornTao]

5 hours ago, Staples said:

But if I fully admitted my bullshit I'd have to become a mute.

Humanity in a nutshell.  

[Rishabh R]

4) Just practice recognizing when you don't have any experience on a topic. That alone is a game-changer vs what most people do.

AND also practicing not-knowing about what your experience would be in the future. Great @Leo Gura.

Edited yesterday at 10:58 AM by Rishabh R