The African Enterprise (Automation/Automation paradox, Education, Conversations.)
Hi friends,
Greeting from Abuja.
Here's what I have to share with you this week:
Fix boat or Change boat: Building is a lot like setting a boat to sail. A major part of this process, this voyage, is being in a leaky boat. The question is, when you do find yourself in a leaky boat, what do you do? Fix boat or Change boat?
I started writing this essay after I saw a tweet from Bill Ackman that said ‘if you find yourself in a leaky boat, oftentimes you are better off switching boats than patching leaks to complete the mission.’ This tweet struck me because I had just read Confidence game by Christine Richard which detailed how Bill Ackman doggedly persisted in the leaky boat of MBIA short. He toiled for several years to justify shorting a triple A company —even to his own people— until he was proved right. This made me wonder what the difference should be in deciding whether to fix or change boat.
Transient Expertise Trap: This trap explains the very human tendency to speak declaratively and project expertise on topics they know little to nothing about.
This tendency then extends into quick dismissal of counter-opinions to the cherry-picked ones they've used as the basis of their expertise. So, who are transient experts?, and why is transient expertise so widespread?
Coolest things I learned this week
Levels of Automation and the Automation Paradox
Automation in cars is divided into six levels.
Level 0: No automation. Like we’ve always had.
Level 1: Driver assistance. Where an active driver is required at all times but there are driver assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking and speeed assist. The underlying principle of level 2 is “Hands-on, eyes-on, mind-on”.
Level 2: Partial automation. This also is based on “Hands-on, eyes-on, mind-on”; but has more advanced driver assistance features such as lane switching and keeping.
Level 3: Conditional assistance. The underlying principle of this level is “Hands-off, eyes-on, mind-on”. The car is allowed to be self driving but requires a driver to be available to step in when needed.
Level 4: High automation. Where the car can handle all driving situations and the driver is free to do whatever they like. The principle here is “Hands-off, eyes-off, mind-off”.
Level 5: Full Automation. Human off. The car is left to handle all possible situations no matter how unpredictable.
As more cars climb up levels, the Paradox of Automation by Lisanne Bainbridge linger in manufacturers' minds. According to this paradox, the more efficient the automated system, the more crucial the human comtribution becomes.
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Education is Reflection
Human Understanding is divided into
Classical
Romantic
It's the reason why people will inherently interpret the same information in different ways. This difference means we cannot feed people the same kinds of information, and expect the same inferences. Input does not directly equal output.
Hence, when education is based on throwing the same information at people for the same output, they become passive in their own intellectucal development
It's why the ancient indians included Manana in their system of Education.
In Manana which means reflections, students think, analyze, and make inferences
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Conversations and the cube
The Rubik's cube. In Everybody hates Chris, It was called the most diabolical puzzle ever invented. Chris rock narrated in his characteristic comedic tone that It caused nervous breakdowns, divorces, and suicides. People were so frustrated by solving it that they just tossed them for anyone to find.
It comes solved, then it's scrambled so it can resolved.
This Rubik's cube is analogous to conversations.
Every conversation starts in a solved state. A state of understanding. The willingness to even start a conversation is testament to an understanding.
What appears to be confusions and misunderstandings are merely scrambles of the cube. It can be a challenge to resolve. It can even illicit as much frustration to those involved as the most diabolical puzzle ever does. Sometimes, we just resort to dumping it, ending the conversation.
While there's nothing wrong with that — it’s often considered wise to avoid that frustration, with careful reasoning and an openness to the other person's point of view, scrambles are solved.
How Ironic then that it was solved by a homeless man (in the show) who didn't sweat it.
That’s it for this week.
If you have any thoughts or questions, hit reply and we can have a chat. And if you enjoyed it, share with friends.
Till next week,
Kelvin