Fake it Until You Make It

I prefer the saying “make it so you don’t have to fake it” - that’s the key.

On Lying

How can you tell people who are faking it vs. people who are genuinely smart? (You can also use this on yourself, as a gauge on whether you are faking things)

1. Elon Musk on How to Tell if People Are Lying: “When I interview someone … ask them to tell me about the problems they worked on and how they solved them. And if someone was really the person that solved it, they will be able to answer at multiple levels—they will be able to go down to the brass tacks. And if they weren’t, they’ll get stuck. And then you can say, ‘oh this person was not really the person who solved it because anyone who struggles hard with a problem never forgets it.‘”
2. Consider the time scales they operate under. The shorter the axis they work on, the more likely they are a mimic.
3. They’re able to delay gratification (drugs, sex, etc.).
4. They can simplify and deep dive.
5. They have the ability to walk you through things step by step, without requiring great leaps.
6. They spend a lot of time reading.
7. Intelligent people normally get excited when you ask them why or how, whereas mimics normally get frustrated.
8. Look at whom they hang around with.
9. They can argue the other side of an idea better than the people who disagree with them.
10. They know how to focus and typically create large chunks of time.
11. They don’t waste a lot of time.
12. They’ve failed.