Principles: The Foundation of Effective Research

Principles are what endure in a fast changing world. Your goal should be to integrate these research principles into your own process as you begin to develop that in the future. Each principle has a purpose, and that is to provide guardrails for you to consume information at a higher quality.

Embrace the evolving target

In the world of research, clarity is king. But here's a twist: the clearest path often leads you down an unexpected road.

Imagine an archer standing before a target, bow drawn and ready. Now, picture that same archer, eyes closed, spinning in circles before losing the arrow. Which scenario do you think leads to better results?

The answer seems obvious, doesn't it? Yet, surprisingly, many people unknowingly adopt the second approach. They dive into their studies without a clear target, hoping to stumble upon something meaningful. It's the equivalent of throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Good research isn't about luck. It's about precision, focus, and adaptability.

Start with a clear, well-defined research question or objective. This is your bullseye, your North Star. It's what gets you excited to uncover new insights.

As you delve deeper into your research, collecting data and analyzing information, you might find that your initial question wasn't quite right. Maybe it was too broad, too narrow, or simply missed the mark entirely.

The beauty of research lies in its ability to surprise us. To challenge our assumptions and lead us down paths we never expected to tread. Your purpose isn't a static entity; it's a living, breathing thing that evolves as you do.

Engage in a mental dialogue

Maryam Mirzakhani, a Stanford professor, said, "You can look at the same problem from different perspectives and approach it using different methods." This insight gets to the heart of what makes research truly effective.

Converse with your own thoughts. As you consume information, you're not just absorbing - you're constantly evaluating, questioning, and deciding. It's a fluid process of give and take, where every new piece of information prompts an internal dialogue:

1. Does this make sense?

2. How does it fit with what I already know?

3. What would [insert your favorite thinker] say about this?

4. Should I dive deeper or change direction entirely?

This internal conversation is what transforms consumption from reading into genuine research. It's the difference between being a passive recipient of information and an active participant in the creation of knowledge.

The quality of your research is directly correlated with the depth of your internal conversations. The richer and more nuanced your mental dialogue, the more insightful your conclusions will be.

Seek the source, not the echo

Have you ever played a game of telephone? You know, the one where a message gets whispered from person to person, becoming increasingly garbled with each retelling? Well, it turns out that much of our information consumption follows a similar pattern.

Enter the 98/2 rule: 98% of what we consume comes from just 2% of sources. This isn't an official statistic, but rather a useful mental model for understanding how information spreads – and often gets diluted – in our hyper-connected world.

For example, the field of artificial intelligence was revolutionized by something called the "transformer" model. If you've heard of ChatGPT, you've encountered a transformer. But how many people learning about AI have actually read the paper that introduced this concept, "Attention Is All You Need"?

Chances are, most of what those people know about transformers comes from secondary or even tertiary sources. It's like getting your news exclusively from social media headlines instead of reading full articles. The information isn't necessarily wrong, but with each retelling, nuances get lost and misinterpretations creep in.

A curious mind cuts through the noise in three ways:

1. Go straight to the source: Whenever possible, seek out primary documents, original research papers, or direct quotes from experts in the field.

2. Find trusted curators: Identify writers or researchers whose work consistently demonstrates deep understanding and rigorous sourcing. Their reputation is on the line with each piece they publish, which often leads to higher quality output.

3. Practice "close reading": When you do find a valuable source, take the time to engage with it deeply. Understand not just what is being said, but why and how the conclusions were reached.

In a world drowning in information, the ability to identify and engage with high-quality sources is becoming an increasingly valuable skill.

Interdisciplinary awareness

The ability to think across disciplines is a secret weapon.

Before I wrote about The Evolution of Work, I found myself in a conversation with an old college friend that meandered from work to sociology, biology, and artificial intelligence. As we talked, I realized something profound: each pivot in our discussion was fueled by insights from seemingly unrelated fields.

We often assume that to be successful, we need to drill deep into a single subject. But the real magic happens when you allow your mind to wander across intellectual borders.

In October 2022, I embarked on an unusual journey. For eight straight months, I immersed myself in physics – a subject I'd never formally studied and one that had no obvious application to my daily life or career. On the surface, it might have seemed like an unproductive use of time. But here's the thing, I wasn't just learning facts about the physical world. I was learning how scientists think.

Some of history's greatest breakthroughs came from cross-pollination of ideas.

Darwin's theory of evolution was partly inspired by economic theories. The structure of atoms was discovered by applying mathematical concepts to chemistry.

Synthesize, don't just accumulate

In 1905, a young patent clerk named Albert Einstein published four groundbreaking papers that would revolutionize physics. His work didn't just rehash existing knowledge – it synthesized disparate ideas into entirely new concepts, like special relativity and the photoelectric effect.

True research isn't about collecting facts; it's about creating new understanding.

Too often, we fall into the trap of information hoarding. We voraciously consume articles, books, and lectures, filling our minds (and notebooks) with an ever-expanding trove of knowledge. But if you're not careful, you end up with knowledge, but are unable to build anything meaningful with it.

Real research – the kind that advances knowledge – requires synthesis. Don't just aim to understand. Aim to create. The goal isn't to have the biggest mental library – it's to add value that contributes to the pool of knowledge.

Seeing both the trees and the forest

When Galileo first pointed his telescope at the night sky, he didn't just see the moon's craters or Jupiter's moons. He saw a universe that challenged everything we thought we knew about our place in it.

Great researchers, like Galileo, possess a unique superpower: the ability to simultaneously focus on the minutiae and the big picture. It's like having a microscope in one eye and a telescope in the other.

Dual vision is crucial in our increasingly complex world.

We're bombarded with information, drowning in data. But information without context is just noise. It's the broader understanding that transforms that noise into insight.

History, in particular, offers an invaluable lens for this kind of contextual thinking. It's like a time-traveling telescope, allowing you to see how ideas and innovations play out over decades or centuries. The tulip mania of 17th century Holland, for instance, offers lessons for today's cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Impactful research isn't just making new discoveries. It’s placing those discoveries within the bigger narrative.

Prove yourself wrong

When was the last time you deliberately sought out information that contradicted your beliefs? If you're like most people, the answer is not recently. We're naturally drawn to ideas that confirm what we already think we know. It's comfortable, reassuring, and... useless for genuine learning.

Every time you nod along to an article that aligns with your existing views, you're essentially patting yourself on the back for knowledge you already possess. It's the intellectual equivalent of treading water – you might feel like you're doing something, but you're not actually going anywhere.

Instead of looking for confirmation, actively seek out information that could prove you wrong.

By challenging your own beliefs, you're setting yourself up for one of two valuable outcomes:

1. You discover you were right all along, but now you understand why with much greater depth and nuance.

2. You realize you were mistaken, and you've just expanded your knowledge in a meaningful way.

Either way, you win.

When you engage with contrary ideas, you're forced to examine your own beliefs more closely. It's a bit like strength training for your mind. Just as lifting weights creates micro-tears in your muscles, forcing them to rebuild stronger, wrestling with opposing viewpoints strengthens your intellectual fibers.

This isn't easy. Our brains are wired to avoid cognitive dissonance, that uncomfortable feeling when we encounter information that conflicts with our beliefs. It takes deliberate effort to overcome this natural tendency.

The point isn't to become a contrarian for its own sake. It's about developing a more nuanced, well-rounded understanding of the world through research.

Embrace the fringe for insights

Groundbreaking ideas often lie not in the obvious, but in the obscure. It's a lesson I stumbled upon while crafting my piece on The Bird In Hand Principle.

You're deep in research, poring over the usual suspects - academic papers, industry reports, the latest bestsellers. But the spark you're looking for, that elusive nugget of inspiration, remains frustratingly out of reach.

Venture into the fringe.

It's a treasure trove of unexpected connections, a place where seemingly unrelated ideas collide and create something new.

The fringe rarely offers up its secrets in neat, pre-packaged forms that align perfectly with your research goals. Instead, it presents a tangled web of information, stories, and concepts that, at first glance, might seem irrelevant or even bizarre.

The magic happens when you start connecting the dots.

Take my experience with The Bird In Hand Principle. I knew I had a solid concept, but I was missing that perfect anecdote to bring it to life. So I cast my net wide, exploring content that, on the surface, had little to do with my core idea. And there, in the unlikely story of Pinterest's founding, I found exactly what I needed.

This approach isn't just about finding a good story, though. It's about uncovering layers of depth that most researchers never reach. It's about diving two or three levels deeper into an idea than the average person is willing to go.

When you're stuck in your research, remember, the solution might not be in the obvious places. It might be waiting for you out on the fringes, ready to spark your next big idea.