the further their area of expertise is from my technical experience the harder it is for me to judge them from just a conversation
it was not super obvious to me that this was true in the beginning tho!
it's a form of Gell-Mann amnesia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-M...
it was not super obvious to me that this was true in the beginning tho!
it's a form of Gell-Mann amnesia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-M...
Gell-Mann amnesia effect - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
the further their area of expertise is from my technical experience the harder it is for me to judge them from just a conversation
it was not super obvious to me that this was true in the beginning tho!
it's a form of Gell-Mann amnesia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-M...
it was not super obvious to me that this was true in the beginning tho!
it's a form of Gell-Mann amnesia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-M...
for example one thing I've learned is that for pure scientists, roughly in my sphere of knowledge, I am great at assessing them from just talking to them
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
for example one thing I've learned is that for pure scientists, roughly in my sphere of knowledge, I am great at assessing them from just talking to them
one good way to do this is to formally measure you and your team's ability to predict who will be a great candidate to a) find your superpredictors and b) uncover the the heuristics underlying your team's models that lead to both good and bad predictions
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
one good way to do this is to formally measure you and your team's ability to predict who will be a great candidate to a) find your superpredictors and b) uncover the the heuristics underlying your team's models that lead to both good and bad predictions
in the longer run you should keep training your internal model and intuition for what makes someone great
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
in the longer run you should keep training your internal model and intuition for what makes someone great
if I feel unsure about someone we won't hire them unless at least one other person on the hiring team has high enough conviction to actively fight for them
and we always pass if one person has high conviction they won't be a great fit and we can't resolve
and we always pass if one person has high conviction they won't be a great fit and we can't resolve
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
if I feel unsure about someone we won't hire them unless at least one other person on the hiring team has high enough conviction to actively fight for them
and we always pass if one person has high conviction they won't be a great fit and we can't resolve
and we always pass if one person has high conviction they won't be a great fit and we can't resolve
examples of the latter include: work trials, extensive ref checks (we do 9 minimum for everyone above RA), back-channeling, and having a diverse recruiting team that you trust such that at least a few people will have high s/n for any given candidate
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
examples of the latter include: work trials, extensive ref checks (we do 9 minimum for everyone above RA), back-channeling, and having a diverse recruiting team that you trust such that at least a few people will have high s/n for any given candidate
so if you think someone could be great but feel uncertain about them you should immediately either pass or figure out if there is some other metric by which you can judge them with high conviction
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
so if you think someone could be great but feel uncertain about them you should immediately either pass or figure out if there is some other metric by which you can judge them with high conviction
tough in the moment but so, so worth it in the long run, especially for early hires: a core nucleus of people who are 100% amazing makes all subsequent hiring so much easier
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
tough in the moment but so, so worth it in the long run, especially for early hires: a core nucleus of people who are 100% amazing makes all subsequent hiring so much easier
we've had multiple roles where we've taken this tradeoff which sometimes meant running an interview process for an entire year until we found the right person
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
we've had multiple roles where we've taken this tradeoff which sometimes meant running an interview process for an entire year until we found the right person
it's essentially a form of sacrifice—trading off someone who could be great rn for someone who definitely will be great later on—which sounds easy from the outside but becomes a much harder decision to make in the trenches when you are trying to scale your co as fast as possible
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
it's essentially a form of sacrifice—trading off someone who could be great rn for someone who definitely will be great later on—which sounds easy from the outside but becomes a much harder decision to make in the trenches when you are trying to scale your co as fast as possible
in practice this cashes out to being ok with waiting longer than you want for the candidate that you 100% know is a rockstar rather than the one whom you think might be
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
in practice this cashes out to being ok with waiting longer than you want for the candidate that you 100% know is a rockstar rather than the one whom you think might be
the corollary of this is that you should pass on people who you think could be great but aren't sure about as fast as possible in order to get to the candidates that you *know* are great
June 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
the corollary of this is that you should pass on people who you think could be great but aren't sure about as fast as possible in order to get to the candidates that you *know* are great
8/ [bonus] take lots of showers
this is my personal hack, to the point where if I’m feeling stuck in my life I’ll consciously make an effort to take more/longer showers. I rarely get out of the shower without an idea or two to write about, think about, or work on
this is my personal hack, to the point where if I’m feeling stuck in my life I’ll consciously make an effort to take more/longer showers. I rarely get out of the shower without an idea or two to write about, think about, or work on
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
8/ [bonus] take lots of showers
this is my personal hack, to the point where if I’m feeling stuck in my life I’ll consciously make an effort to take more/longer showers. I rarely get out of the shower without an idea or two to write about, think about, or work on
this is my personal hack, to the point where if I’m feeling stuck in my life I’ll consciously make an effort to take more/longer showers. I rarely get out of the shower without an idea or two to write about, think about, or work on
...And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
–Rainer Maria Rilke
–Rainer Maria Rilke
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
...And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
–Rainer Maria Rilke
–Rainer Maria Rilke
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them...
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them...
...Not too rapidly seeking the safety of knowing or the safety of a legible question, but waiting for a more powerful and subtle question to arise from loose and open attention. This patience with confusion makes them good at surfacing new questions."
–Henrik Karlsson
–Henrik Karlsson
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
...Not too rapidly seeking the safety of knowing or the safety of a legible question, but waiting for a more powerful and subtle question to arise from loose and open attention. This patience with confusion makes them good at surfacing new questions."
–Henrik Karlsson
–Henrik Karlsson
"One thing that sets these intensely creative individuals apart, as far as I can tell, is that when sitting with their thoughts they are uncommonly willing to linger in confusion. To be curious about that which confuses...
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
"One thing that sets these intensely creative individuals apart, as far as I can tell, is that when sitting with their thoughts they are uncommonly willing to linger in confusion. To be curious about that which confuses...
7/ embrace uncertainty
creativity loves uncertainty. notice when you become confused or are entertaining two conflicting viewpoints, and just allow yourself to sit in that tension.
creativity loves uncertainty. notice when you become confused or are entertaining two conflicting viewpoints, and just allow yourself to sit in that tension.
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
7/ embrace uncertainty
creativity loves uncertainty. notice when you become confused or are entertaining two conflicting viewpoints, and just allow yourself to sit in that tension.
creativity loves uncertainty. notice when you become confused or are entertaining two conflicting viewpoints, and just allow yourself to sit in that tension.
"Without great solitude, no serious work is possible."
–Pablo Picasso
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking."
–Friedrich Nietzsche
"The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours."
–Amos Tversky
–Pablo Picasso
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking."
–Friedrich Nietzsche
"The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours."
–Amos Tversky
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
"Without great solitude, no serious work is possible."
–Pablo Picasso
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking."
–Friedrich Nietzsche
"The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours."
–Amos Tversky
–Pablo Picasso
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking."
–Friedrich Nietzsche
"The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours."
–Amos Tversky
6/ make space for ideation
a certain amount of chaos is good for creativity but if your mind is too cluttered or distracted mind it will probably hurt more than it helps. give yourself solitude, let yourself become bored, allow your mind to wander. solvitur ambulando.
a certain amount of chaos is good for creativity but if your mind is too cluttered or distracted mind it will probably hurt more than it helps. give yourself solitude, let yourself become bored, allow your mind to wander. solvitur ambulando.
December 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM
6/ make space for ideation
a certain amount of chaos is good for creativity but if your mind is too cluttered or distracted mind it will probably hurt more than it helps. give yourself solitude, let yourself become bored, allow your mind to wander. solvitur ambulando.
a certain amount of chaos is good for creativity but if your mind is too cluttered or distracted mind it will probably hurt more than it helps. give yourself solitude, let yourself become bored, allow your mind to wander. solvitur ambulando.