Planned use of Error

http://brooks.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/living-with-mistakes/

Seth Godin on standing out

Moderation

It's interesting to watch the two previous videos in juxtaposition, because they seem to contradict each other. Gladwell argues not for Pepsi, but for Pepsis (emphasis on the plurality of the later), and then Schwartz argues not for 100 variations of jeans, but for one!

BUT, I'll admit I interpreted those rather radically. In reality, they both argued to bring the number of options we have to a middle ground. Just one option is often insufficient, but too many options makes us depressed. Therefore, there must be some magic, moderate number of choices which will enable us to get what we want without experiencing the negative psychological effects of "that other grass might have been greener".

Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice

Malcolm Gladwell on spaghetti sauce

Efficiency Laws

Pareto's Principle (the 80/20 rule): 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, both positive and negative.
Parkinson's Law: an action's (perceived) complexity is directly proportional to the amount of time given to complete that action; Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Triangulation: Human swarm theory

It always sounds lame when someone is giving examples to prove a point and they only have two. You really need three. More than that sounds excessive, but three is perfect.

Also, in consoling Aaron in his breakup, I've noticed that if he hears just me tell him to do something, he probably won't think it's a good idea. If someone else seconds me, he starts considering it, though not fully. BUT, if three people tell him the same thing, he takes it as truth! It's swarm theory!