I’m heading to the Philippines soon for work. Members of my team asked me to bring them Mega Stuffed Oreo cookies. The product isn’t available in the Philippines, and they swear the taste is different.I wonder:How do we know this is not a placebo effect?How might regulations about food production influence the taste of our oreo cookies? Is that “better” taste actually “better”? Could “better” be “worse”? (I’m not a nutritionist nor am I food scientist — discount my ideas 100%)Is it that something is rare or unavailable that heightens our perception and sensation of that thing?I’ll pick a side — seduction. There’s a strong desire to want what we can’t have; and when the thing we want is teased in front of us, that desire grows. Marketers, songwriters, entertainment professionals, potential relationship partners, job seekers, and employers all know that — and clearly Oreo knows that too. It’s my experience with humans that the desire for something often increases the perception of the potential satisfaction of having a thing. And once that thing is had, 50% of its value is lost the second after it’s possessed. Like a car.And, possibly, like Mega Stuffed Oreos.

I think a large chunk of my life has been about “cracking” culture. Learning how people do things, why they do things, and how to fit in those people — all of it. By cracking culture I get a unique advantage over my peers — I can create valuable outputs with and through many kinds of people. The first step to cracking the culture code is to immerse yourself in a culture. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations, observe, and be curious — but don’t judge. Yours is not to reason why, yours is to do. An easy way to pick a sub culture of your community you’d like to understand more. Go to a part of town where the sub culture thrives, and immerse yourself. If you are interested in Mexican food, go to Mexican communities in your area and shop at the markets. Actually, go a step further and learn how to order what you want in Spanish AND THEN go to the market. No no no, go even further… watch a video on line, a receta, of someone cooking Mexican food and reciting the recipe in Spanish. Imagine the taste and the smell. Imagine you’re there cooking with the person. Listen over and over again — hear the rhythm of the language. Learn what ingredients you need - the Spanish name of the ingredient. Go to your Mexican market and get it. Go home and cook.This form of culture cracking, the observer method, almost requires you to become the object of your study. And doing that, you’ll come to know many a people. You’ll also come to know that many of us are just like you.

“The present is just past the future.” - John Brady (dad)

My dad said this to me and my sister today. For me, it’s profound because of the implications for how time is perceived.

I’m not a philosopher — but my forming understanding is that there are many philosophies on time.

1. Presentism: the present is all that exists. Very Stoic — with a capital S.
2. Eternalism: past, present, and future all equally exist. Time is an illusion.
3. Process Philosophy: the present is a series of interconnected events rather than a static entity.

The hard sciences - math and physics - also boast a boat load of theories on time.

Happiness isn’t always a good metric to deliver against. Why? Because happiness can be manipulative. Extreme example:I have an employee who scores high on the employee engagement survey. They show up as “super happy.” When I meet this person, they’re happy. When others talk of this person, they say “oh my gosh, they’re sooo happy.” At the end of month the employee’s outputs are negative or nominal at best. Wait I thought they were happy?Analysis: happiness lied! If anything, we learned this person might have been happy doing nothing!Another example:Someone wants you to do something for them. They signal that if you do the action they will become happy. The incentive for you to do the action is to generate happiness in the other person. You are a people pleaser, and you do the thing for the other person. You spend the money, you invest the time, you buy the things, you break your back, and you do all you can to please that person. The problem is — the person is never pleased. Analysis: happiness lied! Happiness served as the means to an end, a red herring. To my knowledge, you - faithful reader, do not have the ability to control the feelings of others. You can do things that cause someone to experience the world a certain way which causes a reaction. But can you make a feeling happen? To my knowledge, no. And if that’s true, why deliver against happiness? A more useful metric would be to deliver against commitments, or better yet — against spec. Now the weight is on the person who benefits (the employee or the requestor) to describe their need in detail and for you (the manager or the do’er) to decide if delivering on that spec is your work that matters.Parting thought: don’t discount happiness all together. Enjoy it for what it is — a byproduct of a job well done.

I read “The Alchemist” last year and took a note that reads:War is a balance of power. War is rarely a fight between good and evil. Both sides believe they’re “good”. Instead, war is power’s way to balance itself in the world.In many ways - life is a war. It’s a relentless push and pull on a system seeking to optimize for its equilibrium. You fight wars every day. Some of these wars are truly moral in nature, and some aren’t. The challenge is realizing what’s what and proceeding forward. Happy Monday.

Musicians I grew up looked for a good meal after a late night gig. Taco Bell is a reliable stop. It’s almost always open late, cheap food, and (for some) the taste is so bad that the disgust will keep you awake for long drives back to your home. There are musicians I know that read this blog. For those of you who stop at Taco Bell at 1am along some interstate, ask yourself if you could be getting the same meal at a cheaper price further down the interstate?Apparently, the price dispersion of a meal at Taco Bell is quite large across the United States.HT Tyler Cowen/Marginal Revolution for the link

I am learning this about myself — what fears I have may be more about me and less about how the outside world interacts with me. Sometimes I wonder if my fear prevents me from optimizing for maximum effectiveness.

There are many kinds of memory. Some things are remembered in the body, other in time, other in smells, the list goes on.

I see my dad — he doesn’t remember the past or has a hard time visualizing the future; however, he has knowledge of things — he can recall some things given the proper context and environment.

Context matters… especially when it comes to visualizing time.

“I have a good memory. I simply can’t visualize the past or the future. However, I see the present very clearly.” — Dad

It resonated.

Today is your day. It’s always your day.You get to decide what to do with your day.Don’t interpret the ability to decide as “every day is fun in the sun.”What makes each day awesome is that you got to decide.