Obliquity:
The idea that goals are more likely to be achieved when pursued indirectly.

John Kay

Individuals (or companies) who are most successful at making money (or profits) are not the ones focused on making money.

To understand how any organization really works, you need to know what’s not in their official (written or verbal) records.

And, the greatest happiness is rarely achieved by those who set out to be happy.

The direct approach works best when it comes to simple tasks, but obliquity is the way to go when it comes to complex systems and uncertain environments.

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Un Optimize

Social filters and algorithms that optimize content to show us more of what we already ‘like’ are all around us, now.

Combine that with cognitive biases, and you will soon realize that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to learn new perspectives outside our world-view.

Unless we find tools that force us to leave our comfort zones/filters/biases, that is. Unless we “un-optimize“.

Some examples of how to un-optimize:

Follow random book of the week recommendations, read editorials in mainstream media, encourage difference of opinions among friends/colleagues, and reset your browser cookies often.