parents: My Principles
- In highly uncertain and creative domains, prolific creation is a by-product of a robust process, not the direct goal.
- Focusing on volume increases the probability of producing peak-quality work. This is supported by:
- The prolific output of creators like Beethoven (8,000 pages of sketches) and Stephen King (2,000 words daily).
- Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten, which led to over 70 books and 400 papers.
- The Equal-Odds Rule, which states that the average quality of work is unrelated to career longevity; more output simply creates more chances for a hit.
- The “hot streak” pattern, where high-impact works tend to appear in clusters.
How
- To sustain high output, a good system and a high-quality process are essential.
- External pressure or validation is necessary to avoid self-referential loops and ensure the work remains relevant.
- For example, Darwin was prompted to publish his work on evolution after receiving a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace outlining a similar theory.
Open Questions
- How can one effectively evaluate the quality of a creative process?