Secret Knowledge

Alexander Lyadov
2 min readNov 24, 2023

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Felice Beato, Samurai, Yokohama, 1864–1865

All we know today are not truths but merely models.

We use them because:

  1. They are helpful,
  2. We’re all used to them,
  3. We haven’t got anything better yet.

A map, like any model, is a limited representation of the terrain. Sure, you can navigate by it, but no smells, traps, or snakes.

Question: Do you know the limitations of a particular model? Often, that answer decides loss or victory, life or death.

Everyone is eager to teach you their models. But seldom does anyone specify that this is by no means a dogma and that there are exceptions 1, 2, and 3.

That’s why an educated person sometimes turns out more vulnerable than a novice. The illusion of knowledge makes them careless.

It is your responsibility to learn when Model X is no longer useful, akin to conceiving a child or packing a parachute.

The bonus is that such knowledge can be considered secret because:

  • It gives you an invisible lever,
  • Where others see a hardship, you see an opportunity,
  • What horrifies others fills your heart with hope.

“The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions,” said the American physician, poet, and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

But, you and I won’t wait for old age to become wiser, will we?

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander

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Alexander Lyadov

As a business therapist, I help tech founders increase the value of their business by unlocking the potential of their personality.