Anticynical #17: Favorite Problems
Anticynical #17: Favorite Problems
Favorite Problems, Value of Internet
Hello and welcome to the 17th edition of Anticynical! 🌟
If there is one thing I have learned working as a software engineer at Apple, it's the value of focus: ruthless prioritization in the service of a better product. This high level of focus, applied at all levels in the company, has undeniably been a cornerstone of its success.
Such focus isn't exclusive to the tech world; it's just as pertinent to our personal lives. How do we discern and concentrate on what truly matters in today's information-dense era?
In the previous edition on the Future of the Extended Mind, I mentioned an impending age of information saturation — with a deluge of content with answers at every turn. But are we not already immersed in this reality? In such a world, curation, filtering, and focus — and posing the right questions — becomes crucial.
This emphasis on discernment and direction suggests that we might benefit from a personalized "information strategy." This week’s idea — favorite problems — is a critical component of such a strategy.
Idea: Favorite Problems
When thinking of how to better focus and prioritize your life in a world brimming with choices, the Favorite Problems framework is one of my favorites. The core idea is simple: have a set of "problems "or questions at the forefront of your mind, ready to be deployed should an appropriate situation arise.
With these questions or "problems" alive in our minds, we create a cognitive filter to continuously scan our experiences, interactions, and even seemingly unrelated information for insights or pieces of wisdom that could bring us closer to an answer. It's not about harboring unsolvable conundrums but nurturing curious inquiries that encourage us to delve deeper, think harder, and stay persistently open-minded.
In my essay Future of the Extended Mind, I wrote, "Questions and filters serve as guides, limiters, and guardians of our attention" in an age of information saturation. In a world with answers for almost everything, asking the right questions becomes indispensable. Thus, the Favorite Problems framework is a critical component of your "personal information strategy."
I first read about the Favorite Problems framework in Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte, and it is often associated with the renowned physicist Richard Feynman. The precise number of problems doesn't really matter as long as it's not too small to be limiting and too large to be overwhelming. Eight to fifteen is a good ballpark.
Some example questions:
How can I build lasting courage and confidence?
How can I achieve tranquility and equanimity of mind?
How can we be parents that bring out the best in our children?
How can I become a world-class writer and thinker?
How can I be a leader that can inspire others (to act)?
Picture this: "How can I build lasting courage and confidence?" is one of your favorite problems consistently lingering in your consciousness. As you go about your day, this question serves as a catalyst, nudging you towards bolder decisions. For instance, during a negotiation with your boss, this quest for courage emboldens you to assertively voice a differing opinion. Instead of passively agreeing when your boss suggests a one-week project delivery, you confidently propose a more realistic timeline. Over time, these consistent, courageous decisions accumulate, and you may find that your inherent confidence has grown substantially.
Take another scenario: Holding the question "How can I achieve tranquility and equanimity of mind?" close to your heart can become a protective shield against unproductive habits. Instead of succumbing to the allure of mindless scrolling or engaging in self-destructive behavior, you find yourself drawn to introspection and mindfulness. This quest might also prompt you to reevaluate deeply ingrained beliefs. Such introspection may lead to a more nuanced understanding of the religion or philosophy you were raised with, enabling you to discern its core values from mere dogma, ensuring a more harmonious alignment with your personal values.
The beauty of the Favorite Problems lies in their ability to focus our thinking without narrowing it. They act as anchors for our curiosity, ensuring that while we explore a world teeming with information, we are not swept away by the current of data overload. Instead, we're grounded in themes and questions that genuinely resonate with our life's quest. These problems become the themes of our personal narratives, the ongoing stories we tell ourselves as we navigate the complexities of life, encouraging a synthesis of experiences through a very personal and profound intellectual odyssey.
Finally, many of you, especially if you are driven and have a zest for life, already have some variation of the Favorite Problems software running on the operating system of your mind. It may manifest as goals, objectives, or specific processes you've set for yourself. These problems, then, are complementary to your existing processes. Unlike definitive goals, questions are inherently open-ended. This invites our minds to engage in diffuse thinking over extended periods, often yielding deeper insights than if we were merely outlining steps toward a particular objective.
Crafting Your Favorite Problems
So how do you get started? I suggest carving out a dedicated period — perhaps 1-2 hours — in the upcoming week. This will give you enough time for your thoughts to simmer and your subconscious to weave its magic.
When you sit down for this, some problems/questions may come to you quickly — they will just "feel" right. Trust your intuition on those. For more elusive questions, reflect on your core values and aspirations. Referring to a vocabulary of values might help to better structure this introspection. Remember, it's okay if your first list isn't perfect. Life changes and your questions might, too.
Keep this list somewhere you'll see it often. We aim for the opposite of "out of sight, out of mind." Furthermore, consider revisiting and refining your list periodically—perhaps every few months. Update it in response to new experiences, insights, or shifts in your life priorities.
A Personal Anecdote
I have been using the Favorite Problems framework for over a year. A few months ago, when I returned to the first set of questions I wrote for myself in August 2022, I was astonished to find that most of the questions/problems on the list were now “resolved.”1 I had expected the problems would be my companions for many years.
One of the questions on the list was, "How can I become totally financially independent at the earliest?" It propelled me into an odyssey of research, of cultivating habits, of engaging in deep conversations with friends and family, and even exploring my thoughts in reflective circling sessions.
All of that made me vividly realize that financial independence was not the destination but rather the vessel—a means to chart a course toward what truly mattered.
It was a means to spend more time on meaningful projects. Things like writing this blog, improving at software engineering and AI, pushing my fitness limits, reading and pondering philosophy, and much more. It was possible to reorganize my life in the present to make more time for those meaningful projects.
The pursuit of financial freedom still resonates with me; however, it's no longer a precondition to living a fulfilling life. I learned I could architect my present to accommodate these pursuits, breaking free from the self-imposed constraints that financial fixation often brings. This framework didn't just help me solve problems—it reshaped my understanding of what constitutes a meaningful problem to begin with.
I’d like to thank Michael Shafer, , Simoun Redoblado, and Clare Chika for their feedback on the draft. The piece is substantially better because of it.
Question: If I gave you a million dollars to stop using the Internet forever, would you do it?
What about 10 million dollars? A billion dollars?
(no cheating, like hiring an assistant to do your “internet work”)
I'd love to hear from you…
What are some of your favorite questions?
Is the Internet almost priceless for you?
Or anything else at all. Just hit reply.
To be clear, I don’t mean I had perfect answers to all my questions. But I had acquired a set of automatic tools and habits that made me confident I would get closer and closer to the ideal over time.