THE GREAT FILTERS
“six filters to decode anything: money, incompetence, both wrong, time, biology, dopamine.”
The Lesson
Mental filters for understanding the world. (1) Follow the money. If something doesn't make sense, someone's profiting. (2) Incompetence not conspiracy. Often it's just people being bad at their jobs. (3) Everyone is wrong. Both sides might be lying or mistaken. (4) Adams Law of Slow. Moving Disasters. We solve big problems if we see them coming (climate, ozone, population). (5) Biology/mating filter. People show off evolutionary advantages. (6) Chasing dopamine. Explains more than anything, even overrides money for addicts. Run confusing situations through these filters.
Real-World Example
A founder can't understand why their industry works the way it does. They run it through filters. Follow the money: incumbents profit from complexity. Incompetence: half the weird rules are just legacy mistakes. Everyone wrong: neither regulators nor incumbents understand the actual market. Dopamine: executives chase quarterly hits over long-term health. The industry suddenly makes sense-it's not malice, it's filters.
Watch Scott explain this lesson
Watch Lesson on Locals →