Save or Savor

The Dimensionality of Our Thoughts, Knowledge, and Real-World Experiences


"Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results." - Margaret Atwood

Bad ideas are the same as bad actions if you only judge by the real-world results.

We usually don't think of our thoughts, knowledge, or real-world experiences as having dimensions, like space and time do. But these do indeed have dimensional properties and can be described as such with simple mathematical examples and diagrams.


Some highlights below include:

  • Thoughts are one-dimensional and aren't "real", but we can create real knowledge by acting on our ideas
  • Knowledge is two-dimensional, real, and can be seen/heard/read by others. Knowledge = Ideas x Action
  • Real-World Experience is three-dimensional, real, can be seen/heard/read AND can be felt by others. Real-World Experience = Ideas x Action x Environment
  • Wisdom is what stands in the end after the summation of all of our experiences over time


Let's get going.


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1st Dimension = Thought Value



Picture a number line [-10] on the left to [+10] on the right, centered around the number [0]. The numbers represent value added to your life, both positive value [+] and negative value [-].



Zero represents your current position in life -- we'll call this your Initial Starting Position.  Everyone starts at [0] on this number line because that's where they currently are at in life. 


Whenever we have a thought or idea, we're going to assign a value to that thought. We'll call this Thought Value.


Any idea that benefits your Initial Starting Position is considered a [+] Idea; since it adds positive value to your life we'll move on the number line to the right, regardless of if the idea is a small benefit or a large benefit to your life. The best possible idea you could have regarding any given scenario would be considered a [+10] Idea, whereas no idea/no positive value added to your current situation is a [0] Idea.



We don't only have good ideas unfortunately, so any bad idea would be considered a [-] Idea. These are given a negative Thought Value and move your position to the left on the number line. The worst possible idea -- the idea that would hurt you the most in life -- would be considered [-10] Idea and a bad [0] Idea doesn't hurt you at all.



Now this next bit is very important: since your Thought Value had both a magnitude (7) AND a direction (right [+]), it's technically considered a vector of [+7]. The opposite negative Thought Value vector would be [-7] (7 to the left [-]).


Here's something interesting about vectors: vectors are one-dimensional. Since we're saying this Thought Value is a vector, Thought Value is also one-dimensional. 


Why is this important? 


While the thoughts and ideas that we have matter greatly to us, it's tough to hear but they don't really matter that much to the rest of the real world. How many thoughts have you had over the years? And the ones that stayed as just thoughts, what did they amount to in the end? Think of the energy it takes to have a thought, any thought, whether good or bad. It's negligible. Good ideas by themselves are a dime a dozen.

But there is something we can do to make those ideas real and create real-world value. 


We can act on them.


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2nd Dimension = Knowledge Value


We're now going to add another number line to the one before, this one similarly centered around the number [0]. However, now the second number line is going to be oriented vertically, with [-10] on the bottom and [+10] on the top. Plus, this new vertical number line (the Y-axis to our Idea X-axis) doesn't rate an idea like the horizontal one. This one rates whether the action that we took on the idea was positive or negative.



You may have two important questions: 
1. How can an action on an idea be considered positive or negative? 
2. How do we know how this action is applied -- whether the positive action is added to the positive idea, or if it's multiplied times it?


Let's first dive into how an action on an idea can be considered positive or negative. 


In this example, imagine you had a [+7] Idea at work; for instance, you realize a way to cut supply costs by 10%.
  • [+] Action on this [+7] Idea would be to email it your boss with some quick supporting facts. Let's consider this a +4 Action
  • [0] Action would be doing nothing with this [+7] Idea and letting it pass
  • [-] Action on this [+7] Idea would be doing the opposite of the [+] Action above = NOT saving 10% after having that [+7] Idea by choosing to avoid telling your boss about it. In this case, this would be considered a [-4] Action

Now, to the second question from before, how can we know if this Action is added to or multiplied times the Idea?


The answer is Ideas and their Actions have a multiplicative relationship and their values should be multiplied. Consider this simple math question as proof: if you took a [0] Action (or better yet didn't take any action at all) on a [+7] Idea, would the combined Idea-Action be unchanged in total value at [+7] -- thus indicating an additive relationship since [+7] + [0] = [+7] -- or would the new total value be [0] -- thus indicating a multiplicative relationship since [+7] x [0] = [0]? 


The relationship between Ideas and Actions is multiplicative, since taking a [0] Action on a [+] Idea results in... nothing happening.

Ideas without actions go nowhere, and actions without ideas produce nothing. Think about how much energy is required to have a good or bad idea -- it's negligible. Ideas without actions are worthless. 

Here's an exciting thing about vectors though: when you multiply two one-dimensional vectors together, you get a two-dimensional plane! This two-dimensional plane is knowledge.




Knowledge isn't a fancy degree, it's what you do with that degree.  Knowledge is not using complicated language when writing, it's what you convey with that writing.

  • [+] Idea x [0] Action = [0] Knowledge Value
  • [-] Idea x [0] Action = [0] Knowledge Value

Conversely, think about the opposite scenario:

  • [0] Idea x [+] Action = [0] Knowledge Value
  • [0] Idea x [-] Action = [0] Knowledge Value

"Action without knowledge is foolish and knowledge without action is futile." -  Jim OShaughnessy


There's a big difference in the real world between one-dimensional vectors like Thought Value vs. the two-dimensional plane of Knowledge Value: knowledge can be written down, talked about, and shared with someone right next to you or with someone that lived centuries ago half a world away, but thoughts only exist in our heads. 


The key is taking action; whether something small like jotting it down or something more involved like writing a 10,000 word blog post or giving a TED Talk about it. Taking action instantly changes something ephemeral into something real, something that can be molded, built upon, and made much larger than ever imagined before. 


But you have to act on it. 


If you don't, then the real two-dimensional Knowledge Value will forever stay an imaginary one-dimensional Thought Value.



The good news -- and this is something that has been hammered home by Charlie Munger throughout the years -- is that you add [+] Knowledge Value to your life in two different ways, since a [+] x [+] = [+] AND a [-] x [-] = [+]! 


What does this mean? You can add positive value to your life by getting smarter AND by avoiding being stupid. Add [+] Knowledge Value to your life by acting positively on good ideas AND by actively avoiding or doing the opposite of bad ideas.



There's another big difference between Thought Value and Knowledge Value: while Thought Value is limited to [-10] to [+10], since Knowledge Value is created by multiplying two of these 10's together it can range from [-100] to [+100]. That means that if you're just going by value added, knowledge can have a much bigger impact on your life. 


It's important to remember though that this excess can be both good [+] and bad [-]. So moral of the story: don't take a [-] Action on a [+] Idea since [-] x [+] = [-] or take a [+] Action on a [-] Idea since [+] x [-] = [-].



Unfortunately though, we know that the world isn't fully in our control and we can't just add [+] Knowledge Value to our lives and cut out [-] Knowledge Value; some things are completely out of our control.


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3rd Dimension = Experience Value


Believe it or not, we're now going to add a third number line. This new XYZ graph has a third, diagonal axis ranging from a [-10] Environment rating where you find yourself in a situation that works negatively towards your knowledge (imagine that you had a really bad boss that felt threatened by everyone else) to a [+10] Environment that is friendly to your knowledge (like having a great boss and mentor).



This third number value is also found by multiplying values together; to prove it once again we'll consider what happens when you apply [+] Knowledge Value in a [0] Environment; for example, take the [+28] Knowledge Value that we found by multiplying a [+7] Idea times a [+4] Action and multiply it times a [0] Experience, and what do you get? Nothing. If your bad boss does nothing with your email containing [+] Knowledge, the real-world result is [0].


By multiplying three different one-dimensional vectors together, we are essentially creating a three-dimensional rectangular prism of real-world experience that we can call Experience Value. 




Just like other 3D objects in the real-world, Experience Value is definitely real and can be seen/heard/read by others, just like 2D Knowledge Value can (and unlike 1D Thought Value - which exists only in our minds). But Experience Value differs greatly in one key area: in that it can be felt by others too! 


Knowledge Value can be found by reading words in a book and knowing their definition, but Experience Value is reading those same words and actually knowing how it feels to have lived those experiences; to have stumbled and fell, but you gathered yourself, got up, and completed your goal. You acted on ideas in the real world and the real world acted back, and you felt it. 


This means real-world experience is more important than just gaining knowledge: the potential magnitude of our real-world Experience Value (3D object of max value 1000) >>> Knowledge Value (2D object of max value 100) >>> Thought Value (1D object of max value 10)! Also important is that both of the values that you can add to your life that are "real" (experience and knowledge) dwarf the value of thoughts that just stay in our heads. 


We must be careful though, because even if we have a big [+] Idea and combine it with a big [+] Action, we could end up with a [-] Experience Value in the end if we introduce the [+] Knowledge into a [-] Environment. Imagine, like before, that you applied the same [+7] Idea with a [+4] Action but that you have a really bad boss that can be considered a [-5] Environment. Since we know we need to multiple these values together, it's [+7] x [+4] x [-5] = [-140] Experience Value in total.



If however you have a good, supportive boss, this would be considered a [+] Environment for this [+] Knowledge to be introduced into. Imagine that your good boss has established a [+5] Environment and finds your [+28] Knowledge Value worthwhile, so she then forwards it on to her director with her recommendation. The resulting real-world value is [+140] Experience Value in the end, since the [+7] Idea applied via a [+4] Action introduced into the [+5] Environment is [+7] x [+4] x [+5] = [+140].



In summary, we can end up with [+] Experience Values in four possible ways:
  1. [+] x [+] x [+] = [+] since [+] Idea x [+] Action x [+] Environment = good boss rewards you for bringing good ideas to fruition
  2. [-] x [-] x [+] = [+] since [-] Idea x [-] Action x [+] Environment = good boss rewards you for actively avoiding bad ideas
  3. [+] x [-] x [-] = [+] since [+] Idea x [-] Action x [-] Environment = bad boss that would harm you for trying to one-up them subconsciously encourages you to actively avoid good ideas
  4. [-] x [+] x [-] = [+] since [-] Idea x [+] Action x [-] Environment = you have a bad idea that you're successful in convincing your boss to try but it fails because of a non-receptive environment or because you both can't bring it to fruition

Therefore, if we want to add positive value in our lives, we should aim for these positive real-world outcomes, ideally in those first two scenarios above.


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Using this dimensionality framework, we can make the argument that there's potentially a fourth dimension, just like three-dimensional space and four-dimensional time. While this idea isn't as fully formed as the previous three dimension, one could consider the summation of the three-dimensional real-world Experience Values over time as a fourth-dimension. I'll call this summation of experiences Wisdom Value.



Wisdom is what is learned -- or what truth stands -- from real-world experiences over the test of time. So if we add up all the real-world Experience Values, what is left over is wisdom. You could argue that Wisdom Value is found from addition, not multiplication, by considering what an additional real-world [0] Experience Value does to your total value. Here, it's clear that a [0] Experience Value doesn't cancel out all other Experience Values that we've accumulated over time, so the relationship must be additive, not multiplicative.


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Thank you for following along.