Nothing Matters Detector

The business world likes to subtly influence you, often with the intent of guiding you to purchase, align with its brand, or simply to capture your attention. This adds a layer of pervasive artificial noise to an already complex world. Ray Dalio's principle 2.4 states to remember that many people are only pretending to work for you while actually pursuing their own interests; his advice is to be aware of the associated interests and not to be too naive.

How can you determine if certain people or things are genuinely helpful to you? Cultivate your own "Nothing Matters Detector" and frequently ask yourself: You may be right, but is it really useful? These are the good things you talk about, but what do they have to do with me? This can lead to a series of ways to navigate the business world:

1. Do not buy things you do not need, do not invest in companies you do not understand.
2. Distinguish between collective achievements and personal achievements; personal achievements can align with collective achievements, but this alignment must be defined by yourself, not imposed by others.
3. Do not deliberately flatter capitalists; they will not give you money because you are friends; they will only give you money because you provide value. In the age of AI, everyone will ultimately turn to AI for tasks. Why go through you to find AI? Because you are their friend, you are an interesting and reliable person!
4. These are all good things, but they have nothing to do with me. For example:
   1. The way to read most books should be to first look at the title and table of contents, skim most of the content, and read a small portion in depth.
   2. Do not spend too much time on so-called masters.
   3. Consensus does not equal insight.
5. Action is more important than knowledge; the boundaries of the known and unknown are more important than what is internal.
6. To judge whether a person's advice is genuinely helpful to you, pay attention to whether the content aligns with your specific situation.

Of course, a large number of new signals will inevitably be mixed with a lot of new noise. To avoid stagnation, it is essential to listen more to what you should hear, and ultimately, it is up to you to decide what to accept.

What is the difference between this and a "bullshit detector"? The "bullshit detector" targets specific interpersonal communication, while the "Nothing Matters Detector" focuses on the relationship between individuals and the business world.