I know that I fall frequently into the trap of believing that I see “reality”. When really, I get a variety of electric signals to my brain which then interprets them. It usually seems like a distinction without significance, but it’s part of why I always want to know how magic tricks are performed. I need the map to make sense. And as much as I think Thoreau is right here, I wish this were worded better. Though I’ve not thought of a way to do so. “Looking at” is still active participation in deciding. We often find what we look for. It’s why one of my early management coaches would repeat “look for what you like.” Business books seem to never tire of pointing out that auto racers don’t look at the wall they’re trying to avoid. They look at the line they’re trying to follow. So, I think the question is what you look at and what you see!
There’s another version of this thought that I like. I’m also not sure of the quote but it’s something like, “I’m sorry I wrote you such a long letter, I didn’t have time to write a short one.”

What I think is most useful in this is the power of simplicity. Something simple is easier to grasp and to convey. The true challenge is moving toward simplicity without losing the power of the depth and nuance. In my mind, there’s a sequence of utility and power and it goes simple -> complex -> simple. It’s easy for something to be simplistic and wrong. Adding complexity can add correctness. And this is where a lot of people stop. But the real power, the power to “move mountains” is when you take the next step into simple again.
Oof. Yeah, I have a love/hate relationship with this one. In my world, both firefighting and fire marshaling are important. While fire marshaling is arguably more important, the house that’s burning now often brings an urgency that can’t be ignored. So, I think the issue is how do you as little as possible in the firefighter realm so that you can optimize for fire marshal time.
It gets even more complicated when fire fighting is emotionally satisfying (“I saved your house!”) and fire marshaling is the opposite (“Yes, I’m making your construction project take an extra 3 days while you wait for my inspector to become available.”). And yet, improving this skill is the essence of being entrusted with more responsibility. In the beginning, if you’re a great firefighter, you get to lead teams of fire fighters, junior fire fighters look up to you. But so long as your focus is just fire fighting then you get stuck in reactive mode, just having more fires. It takes an almost counter-intuitive effort to start to let some fires burn.
