Category: Turning Stories
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What’s obvious to you might not be to me
In school and work, you’re conditioned to believe, “Your contribution isn’t valuable if it’s obvious.” But more often than you’d think, you take for granted what you know, and assume that I know it too. What’s obvious to you might not be obvious to me; it might be the first time I’ve learned about it.…
Herbert Lui
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Add purpose to the payoff
Airline loyalty programs are difficult to navigate. They’ve made it this way intentionally, because it provides customers with a sense of challenge—the same way a video game would. The question is, what’s the payoff? Provided enough reward, the more of a challenge something is, the more you’ll strive to chase after it. Will it provide…
Herbert Lui
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Bias for continuity
After over 50 years of operation, the Ontario Science Centre shut down its main building a couple of years ago because the infrastructure was failing, and it was no longer safe. This type of decay happens naturally. The world can be chaotic, and its environment is always changing. Instead of repairing it, the government decided…
Herbert Lui
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Shaping a solution
People have different reasons for going to the gym. You might go to the gym to improve your physical health. I might go to the gym to let off steam from work. Somebody else might go to the gym to improve their self esteem. Still, another person might want to look more attractive, so they…
Herbert Lui
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In praise of the quiet celebration
There are times for loud, big, celebrations. There are many, many more occasions for quiet, small, celebrations as well. They’re lower risk, much lighter, and more memorable in some ways. I’ve been learning to celebrate more, and doing it this quiet way is useful for me. Big parties are expensive. They need you to plan…
Herbert Lui
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Recoverability is more useful than reversibility
A few weeks ago, I explored recoverable and irrecoverable decisions. It resonated with the Hacker News community, and the discussion was very thought provoking. Recoverable is more useful than reversible precisely because many events aren’t reversible. You only get one chance to make a good first impression; that irreversibility is what makes putting off showing…
Herbert Lui
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No more big rings
Many years ago, I bought a gold Versace signet ring as a gift for myself. The search happened very passively, so it took a couple of years until I came across it during a layover at Rome Fiumicino airport. When I first bought it, I felt proud of myself. It represented achievement to me. As…
Herbert Lui
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Did you know many successful artists worked day jobs?
The act of working a second job, known better as moonlighting, generally isn’t something you brag about. People might start asking questions you don’t want to answer, or doubt your commitment to your first job. The creative world is no exception. In my first column for 3 Quarks Daily, I explore artists with day jobs,…
Herbert Lui
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Small talk sets up big ideas
When I’m meeting with someone, I almost always make the first topic discussion an introduction or catching up. I’m genuinely curious about what the person is doing, and what they’re like outside of the meeting. Small talk, its own form of ice breaker, can help make the rest of the meeting smoother. I’ll jog my…
Herbert Lui
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Everything is impermanent
When monk and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh lived in Vietnam during the war, people asked him every day when the war would end. It was a tricky question. He didn’t know the answer, of course, and it wasn’t clear things were getting better. At the same time, if he told them so bluntly, they…
Herbert Lui