Here at Hacker News, I‘m sure more people will read this and connect the author’s insight to the lean startup. What is true for startups is also true for careers if one want’s meaning and rewarding outcomes. One needs to continually test, learn and potentially pivot. Sticking to a rigid career plan is typically a recipe for failure.
My immediate reaction is to notice that this method is actually closely mirrors Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle, a go-to tool for McKinsey consultants for the last 40 years or so. One way to build so-called Pyramids is to go bottom up: gather raw facts, aggregate them into themes, themes align into arguments, and only then does the polished narrative (or the key idea) emerge. As far as I can tell, McPhee recommends a very similar approach.
Scientists should in general tread carefully on "hot" political questions or they risk being cast as political actors rather than guardians of evidence. Science is strongest when it stands apart from activism; once researchers are seen as tailoring their findings to politics, trust erodes rapidly. We saw this during COVID-19, when some justified different distancing rules for the George Floyd protests—an inconsistency that did lasting damage to credibility. Few things are more harmful than the perception that evidence shifts with ideology. If science becomes just another partisan tool, its authority collapses. The challenge now is defending truth without becoming political combatants.
Not sure this analysis adds much to what any follower of the Premier League has noticed: that the gap between the top and bottom has been widening for years. The biggest clubs have money, history, and stability on their side, which helps keep them at the top. But it’s also true that a new middle class has emerged in recent years. Teams like Brighton and Brentford show that smart planning, data use, and strong recruitment can help a club not only survive but become regulars in the league despite the financial imbalance.
To me, exercise is compounding in action. Each workout may feel small in isolation, but like interest accruing, the benefits multiply invisibly over years. Extra vitality today, resilience tomorrow, and ultimately, more time across decades.
I was adamant on using one of those health/exercise tracking devices, mainly out of distaste of our modern habit to be constantly in the know of everything, but I gotta say, since I've started using one, it's just so satisfying seeing the accumulated numbers over N months or even years!
