Connor Flynn

| Friendly Futurist | UBC Football Alumni | Proud Vancouverite & Canadian | Big Nerd | Determined | *Tweets are my own

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Thought I would mark today down for posterity. Today was the first day we owned a robot. It’s just a Eufy C10 Vacuum, but I’m going to bed and it’s still cleaning my kitchen floor. That counts as a real robot. In a not too distant future robots will be everywhere. It begins…

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Just finished a 168-Hour Fast.

Water, electrolytes, and espresso for 7 days. (Exit strategy on day 6, had 2 cups of bone broth)

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

How is @OpenAI’s ChatGPT voice not a “home hub” product yet?

Every time I use @Google Home Hub, all I can think about is how much it sucks vs chatGPT.

Google you better get to market with @GeminiApp deployed in your home products, or you’re going to lose your spot in my home.

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Best Masters in years!! Let’s go Rory!!

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Just finished a 60-Hour Fast fast with Zero!

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

@elonmusk Wow that’s amazing!

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

@cafreeland Democracy requires an informed electorate. It does not feel like your party cares about that.

[OneStream Software @OneStream_Soft]

Registration for #Splash 2024 is now open!

Join us in the desert oasis of Las Vegas for a week filled with #learning, connection, and inspiration.

Don't wait, save the date! https://t.co/O99wG2F2Dd

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Just finished a 112-Hour Fast fast with Zero, check it out! https://t.co/ETlMhU6cVq

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

@hylandwx @hylandwx This is awesome! Seems to be to only data online about the debris field! Can’t believe you don’t have more likes/views. Can you validate, timing & trajectory match?

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

@NycPlover @hylandwx Stainless steel in the deep ocean, with methane/oxygen fuel that evaporative is hardly an environmental disaster. Probably a net positive as a artificial reef. NASA, ESA, And Roscosmos, have been doing this for decades, but their fuel is toxic, RP-1, and degrading carbon fibre.

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

In 2009, Stanford business professor Tina Seelig split her class into groups and issued a challenge:

Each group had $5 and 2 hours to make the highest return on the initial money.

At the end, they'd give a short presentation on their strategy.

The results were fascinating...

Most of the groups followed a basic approach:

• Use the $5 to buy a few items.
• Barter or resell those items.
• Repeat
• Sell final items for (hopefully) more than $5.

These groups made a modest return on their initial $5.

A few groups ignored the $5.

They thought up ways to make the most money in the 2 hours of allotted time:

• Made and sold reservations at hot restaurants.
• Refilled bike tires on campus for $1 each.

These groups made a better return on their initial $5.

The winning group took an entirely different approach.

They had three core realizations:

1. The $5 was nothing more than a distraction.

2. The 2 hours of time was not enough to make an attractive, outsized return with a mini-business (like selling restaurant reservations or filling bike tires).

3. The most valuable "asset" was actually the presentation time in front of a class of Stanford students.

Realizing the value of this hidden asset, they offered the presentation time to companies looking to recruit Stanford students.

They struck a deal to sell the time slot for $650, netting a monstrous return on the $5 of initial capital.

The losing groups thought in linear, logical terms and achieved a linear, logical outcome.

The winning group thought differently.

So, what can we learn from this story?

There are two types of problems:

1. Low-Stakes: Lower potential, linear rewards. Decisions are easily reversible.

2. High-Stakes: Higher potential, asymmetric rewards. Decisions are not easily reversible.

With low-stakes problems, given the reward potential is low and the decisions are easily reversible, we can use shortcuts and heuristics to choose our path. We can take a logical, linear approach.

With high-stakes problems, the high, asymmetric reward potential means we need to think differently. We want to take a creative, non-linear approach.

Three steps to start thinking differently:

Step 1: Avoid the Distraction

There will always be an "obvious" solution that is simple, clear, and entirely wrong.

In the challenge, the $5 was nothing more than a distraction. It was a trap.

To find the best path, you have to avoid the distraction.

Step 2: Ask Foundational Questions

Ask and answer questions that expose and vet underlying assumptions and logic.

• What's the real problem you are trying to solve?
• What's your hypothesis? Why?
• What are your core assumptions? Why?
• What evidence do you have?
• What are your core options?
• What alternatives exist?

This takes time, but it's an essential exercise when facing a problem with the potential for non-linear rewards.

Step 3: Select the High Leverage Approach

Slow down and evaluate the options on the table.

Select the path most likely to generate the asymmetric, attractive risk-adjusted returns.

If the story teaches us one thing, it's this:

Creative, non-linear, asymmetric thinking generates creative, non-linear, asymmetric outcomes.

If you enjoyed this or learned something, follow me @SahilBloom for more in future.

[OneStream Software @OneStream_Soft]

Learn about #Dashboards and Reports in the all-new book: Advanced #Reporting and Dashboards. Brought to you by Roy Googin, Jessica Toner and Andrea Tout, this new title will release just in time for summer reading if you pre-order. https://t.co/p06IOuEQv6

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Wrapping up my longest fast ever! 85 hours, with nothing but a water, a pinch of salt, & couple espressos. I feel great, not hungry. #fasting

[Gavin Dew @gavindew]

.@jamesbasnett of @ShapeImmersive is at the cutting edge of innovation in #bctech.

At Shape, they're making the Metaverse and architecting virtual worlds through NFTs, 3D, AR & VR.

To lead BC, the @bcliberals must be able to navigate both traditional sectors and new ones.

[OneStream Software @OneStream_Soft]

Congratulations to OneStream brand ambassador, @b_dechambeau and Team USA on a well-earned victory and great demonstration of sportsmanship at the @RyderCupUSA! https://t.co/ww9dcNntOb

#LeadAtSpeed#TeamOneStream

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

Looking forward to tonight’s BC liberal leader debate with @vlitwin #bcpoli

[Val Litwin @vlitwin]

Today, I'm launching my campaign to become leader of the @bcliberals, to redefine what success looks like for the party & BC #bcpoli #bclib22

[NASA @NASA]

It happened. Today our #MarsHelicopter proved that powered, controlled flight from the surface of another planet is possible. It takes a little ingenuity, perseverance, and spirit to make that opportunity a reality: https://t.co/oT3rrBm6wj

[Connor Flynn @live_connor]

@SamHarrisOrg @wakingup @SamHarrisOrg this was a masterpiece which should be studied alongside the great thinkers of all time! You have subjugated my freedom to believe anything else on the subject.