The Price of Connection and the Price of Functionality

An open heart is the highest possible bar for behaviours that lead to connection. If you ask yourself, "what would need to be true for me to open my heart to this person?" — then you have the price of connection. And it isn't perfection.

Surplus is the highest possible bar for functionality. If you ask yourself, "what would lead to surplus in the long term?" — then you know the price of functionality.

The full argument → Sardines and Mansions

Sardines and Mansions

You can sleep like sardines in a room with people whose character you love and trust — you are bonded by much more than comfort and wealth. You actually take comfort and emotional nourishment from each other's presence. But you will not want to spend time, even in a

A Formulation of Five Principles

A formulation of five key, rather widely-accepted, principles of human emotional life, expressed in the simplest form I can, are: 1. Do not abandon. 2. Do not exploit weakness — protect it. 3. Do not betray. 4. Do not control. And: 5. Be honest. If you realise any of these things

Getting It Wrong

One of the key principles of maths when you are learning it is that you will get it wrong. Very often. There is nothing "moral" about this. If you have never been taught it properly — working up from ground principles to the more complex ones that stack on

The Math Behind It All

When people talk about doing the right thing as "moral," it almost escapes the whole beauty of the thing. The beauty lies in the mathematical precision behind things — and that social life too is ruled by principles. These principles are beautiful to ponder in their own right. Staring

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Sardines and Mansions

A Formulation of Five Principles

Getting It Wrong

The Math Behind It All