Adam Robinson: Positioning Yourself For Success
Adam Robinson, co-founder of The Princeton Review and US Chess Federation life master, discusses leveraging positional advantage, cultivating intuition, and accelerating learning cycles to become a "learning machine." He also shares his unique perspective on using AI like ChatGPT as a thought partner to ask better questions.
Deep Dive Analysis
12 Topic Outline
Processing Information in the Body and Intuition
The Evolution and Nature of Consciousness
Operating from a Position of Strength in Life
Applying Intuition and Avoiding Bad Decisions
Chess vs. Poker: Information and Risk in Decision Making
Adjusting Bet Size to Conviction Level
Utilizing ChatGPT as a Thought Partner
The Art of Asking Better Questions
Becoming a Learning Machine: Accelerating Feedback Cycles
Real-World Experiments and Iterative Learning
The Challenge of Warnings and Stupidity
The Book: How Not to Be Stupid
6 Key Concepts
Processing Information in the Body
This refers to an intuitive, kinesthetic awareness where one 'feels' their way to answers or insights, rather than relying solely on logical, conscious thought. It's a primal way of processing information, similar to how animals survive, and can provide signals about situations before the rational brain fully engages.
Consciousness (Julian Jaynes' Thesis)
Julian Jaynes' thesis suggests that consciousness, as we experience it with inner monologue and self-awareness, is a relatively recent development in human history (2,000-3,000 years ago). Before this, humans functioned, built complex structures, and developed mathematics without being consciously aware in the modern sense, attributing inner voices to gods.
Positional Advantage
Derived from chess, this concept suggests that in life, identifying and steering oneself towards situations or 'positions' where one naturally excels leads to better outcomes. Operating from a position of strength means that nearly every subsequent move is beneficial and accumulative, whereas a poor position leads to worsening situations.
Conviction Level
This concept, applicable in investing and broadly in life, refers to the degree of certainty or belief one has in a particular decision or idea. The principle is to adjust the 'bet size' or commitment level proportionally to one's conviction, making larger commitments when conviction is high and smaller ones when it's lower.
Learning Cycles
This refers to the iterative process of trying something, getting feedback, and then reflecting on that feedback to improve. Accelerating these cycles, by reducing the time and friction between action and feedback, is key to becoming a 'learning machine' and rapidly acquiring expertise.
Stupidity (Adam Robinson's Definition)
Adam Robinson defines stupidity as 'overlooking or dismissing conspicuously crucial information.' This often happens because people dismiss warnings or insights as obvious or irrelevant to themselves, failing to imagine themselves in similar situations or learn from others' mistakes.
6 Questions Answered
Most people think Adam Robinson is primarily 'in his head,' but he explains that he processes information largely 'in his body,' feeling his way to answers and reasoning kinesthetically.
One can learn by pausing when encountering new ideas or situations, and noticing how it 'feels' in their body, recognizing that their intuitive insights have a unique 'vocabulary' that needs to be learned and refined as an early warning system.
Chess is a game of complete information where all pieces are visible, and mistakes are internal (overlooking something). Poker involves incomplete information (hidden cards) and probabilities, requiring assessment of odds and opponent behavior, with mistakes often related to judgment and bet sizing.
ChatGPT is best used as a thought partner or super-smart research assistant to help users ask better questions and refine their inquiries, rather than solely for getting answers. It excels at boiling down conventional wisdom but doesn't typically offer unconventional insights.
To become a learning machine, one must accelerate the number of learning cycles by reducing friction between questions and answers, and by intentionally running experiments with clear objectives, stockpiling results, and iterating on what is learned.
Human beings often ignore warnings because they dismiss them as obvious or believe the warning doesn't apply to them, failing to imagine themselves in similar situations. This leads to a failure to learn from others' mistakes, even when presented with clear examples.
22 Actionable Insights
1. Steer Life to Strengths
Identify the specific situations or ‘positions’ in life where you naturally excel, and then consciously steer your life and decisions towards those advantageous circumstances. This strategy ensures you operate from a position of strength, maximizing your chances of success.
2. Accelerate Learning Cycles & Feedback
To become proficient or master any skill, actively increase the number of learning cycles you engage in, diligently seek out feedback on your performance, and then reflect deeply on that feedback to inform your next iteration. This rapid, iterative process is the key to accelerated learning and mastery.
3. Master Asking Best Questions
In an age where machines can answer almost anything, cultivate the skill of asking superior questions, as this becomes the primary competitive advantage. Focus on developing your inquiry skills rather than just memorizing answers.
4. Process Information with Body
When encountering new ideas or information, pause and process it through your body’s ‘felt sense’ by noticing how it physically resonates or feels. This taps into an ancient, intuitive way of understanding and reasoning that precedes logical thought.
5. Refine Body’s Warning System
Actively refine your body’s intuitive signals as an early warning system for potential dangers or issues in various life domains, including investments, relationships, or contractual agreements. Do not ignore these subtle cues, but rather learn to interpret them.
6. Heed Early Intuitive Warnings
If something feels ‘a little strange’ or ‘a little bit off,’ treat it as ‘very strange’ or ‘really off’ and remove yourself from the situation immediately without waiting to fully assess it. Your intuition provides crucial early warnings that should not be ignored.
7. Avoid Decisions When Confused
Make a strict principle to never make important decisions when you are confused, tired, or stressed, as these states lead to poor judgment. Operating in this ‘stupid zone’ significantly increases the likelihood of making costly mistakes.
8. Prioritize Avoiding Loss
Adopt a primary focus on avoiding loss in endeavors like investing or skill development, similar to Buffett’s first rule of investing. Preserving your capital or resources ensures you have the means to continue learning and capitalize on future opportunities.
9. Match Bet Size to Conviction
Adjust the size of your commitments or ‘bets’ in life directly to your level of conviction. Make significant commitments when your conviction is high, and scale back or avoid them entirely when your conviction is low.
10. Use AI to Ask Better Questions
Leverage AI tools like ChatGPT not just for answers, but as a thought partner to help you formulate and ask better questions. This approach uses AI to enhance your own critical thinking and inquiry skills.
11. Ask Questions That Expand Choices
Evaluate the quality of a question by whether it prompts further questions or, more importantly, increases the number of choices and possibilities available to you. Aim for questions that broaden your perspective and options.
12. Ask ‘Who Knows How?’
When faced with a ‘How do I X?’ problem, reframe your inquiry to ‘Who knows how to do X?’ This shifts your approach from individual problem-solving to efficiently leveraging external expertise and resources.
13. Run Google Auto-Suggest Experiments
Conduct ‘Google experiments’ by typing the beginning of a question into the search bar and observing the auto-suggested completions. This can reveal common inquiries, help you refine your own questions, and understand public interest.
14. Learn Something New Daily
Cultivate a daily habit of learning, striving to go to bed smarter in concrete ways than when you woke up. This commitment to continuous, tangible personal growth is essential for excelling in life.
15. Increase Employee Learning Cycles
For organizations, actively seek and implement ways to increase the number of learning cycles that every employee experiences. This strategy fosters continuous improvement, adaptability, and collective intelligence across the entire team.
16. Experiment, Iterate, Share Learnings
Actively experiment with different approaches to achieve your goals, especially when current methods are ineffective, and continuously iterate based on the results. Crucially, document and share successful experiments within an organization to accelerate collective learning and prevent wasted effort.
17. Treat Life as Mindful Experiment
Adopt a mindset where every interaction and action is treated as a mindful experiment with a clear, if sometimes subtle, objective. This approach fosters continuous learning, upgrades your knowledge about the world, and opens you to serendipitous discoveries.
18. Systematize Experiment Results
Establish formal, iterative systems to gather, analyze, and implement the results of your experiments, both personally and within organizations. This ensures that valuable insights gained are not lost but are systematically applied to improve future actions.
19. Embrace Experiment, Learn Always
Embrace an experimental mindset, understanding that true failure is impossible because every experiment, regardless of its immediate outcome, yields valuable learning. This reframes setbacks as essential opportunities for growth and knowledge acquisition.
20. Avoid Dismissing Crucial Information
Actively combat ‘stupidity,’ defined as overlooking or dismissing conspicuously crucial information. This requires vigilance against cognitive biases that lead you to ignore important details or insights, even if they seem obvious.
21. Heed All Advice as Warning
Recognize that all advice, wisdom, or best practices implicitly contain a warning about potential negative consequences if not followed. Actively combat the human tendency to ignore or dismiss warnings, internalizing wisdom more effectively.
22. Learn from Others’ Mistakes
When observing others’ mistakes or misfortunes, instead of assuming it won’t apply to you, ask ‘Under what circumstances might I make the same mistake?’ This fosters self-awareness and proactive prevention of similar errors.
6 Key Quotes
Whenever things are a little strange, they're very strange. If something seems a little bit off, it's really off.
Adam Robinson
The key thing is not that it can answer questions. It's that it gives me a tool to ask even better questions.
Adam Robinson
You want to go to bed smarter than when you woke up.
Shane Parrish
A good question is one that prompts other questions. Or a good question is one that increases the choices that I have.
Adam Robinson
All advice is a warning. All wisdom is a warning.
Adam Robinson
This book is loaded with good ideas and appropriate warnings.
Warren Buffett