Alex Hutchinson

And that actually can be really rewarding. So I would say, you don't have to go to the South Pole to be exploring. But if there's not some area of your life where you're pushing into territory where you don't know how it's going to turn out, whether it's exploring new music or taking up a new hobby or wandering through your neighborhood by a different route than you normally do.

These are all steps on a very broad scale, and you can be anywhere on that scale. Your want curve is different from everybody else's want curve, and it will change throughout life.

These are all steps on a very broad scale, and you can be anywhere on that scale. Your want curve is different from everybody else's want curve, and it will change throughout life.

These are all steps on a very broad scale, and you can be anywhere on that scale. Your want curve is different from everybody else's want curve, and it will change throughout life.

But if you're way on that left side of the want curve where everything is predictable, everything is the same, you've optimized everything to the point of total predictability, consider that you might enjoy a surprise now and then.

But if you're way on that left side of the want curve where everything is predictable, everything is the same, you've optimized everything to the point of total predictability, consider that you might enjoy a surprise now and then.

But if you're way on that left side of the want curve where everything is predictable, everything is the same, you've optimized everything to the point of total predictability, consider that you might enjoy a surprise now and then.

Yeah, there's a definite yin and yang. And I'm like you, I'm actually, I would describe myself as like a recreational optimizer. It's like, no, seriously, I know how we should load the dishwasher. Like if you put that plate there, then we're not going to get as much water on that. And then we'll be like, I've thought this through, I've gamed it out. I've performed the experiments.

Yeah, there's a definite yin and yang. And I'm like you, I'm actually, I would describe myself as like a recreational optimizer. It's like, no, seriously, I know how we should load the dishwasher. Like if you put that plate there, then we're not going to get as much water on that. And then we'll be like, I've thought this through, I've gamed it out. I've performed the experiments.

Yeah, there's a definite yin and yang. And I'm like you, I'm actually, I would describe myself as like a recreational optimizer. It's like, no, seriously, I know how we should load the dishwasher. Like if you put that plate there, then we're not going to get as much water on that. And then we'll be like, I've thought this through, I've gamed it out. I've performed the experiments.

So don't load the dishwasher this other way. And yeah, There's a fun in the optimization, but it is in tension with my simultaneous desire to have adventure. So I think of this in the context of going on vacations. My wife and I, or my family and I, we do some fun backpacking. I do some canoeing. The goal is to get out and to have an adventure. And yet...

So don't load the dishwasher this other way. And yeah, There's a fun in the optimization, but it is in tension with my simultaneous desire to have adventure. So I think of this in the context of going on vacations. My wife and I, or my family and I, we do some fun backpacking. I do some canoeing. The goal is to get out and to have an adventure. And yet...

So don't load the dishwasher this other way. And yeah, There's a fun in the optimization, but it is in tension with my simultaneous desire to have adventure. So I think of this in the context of going on vacations. My wife and I, or my family and I, we do some fun backpacking. I do some canoeing. The goal is to get out and to have an adventure. And yet...

The instinct is also, let's Google and see if we can find trip blogs from anybody else who's done this trip. We'll find pictures of everything we're going to see there. We'll know exactly what to expect. We'll know whether we need to bring crampons. We'll know whether we need this or that. And we'll be fully prepared for this.

The instinct is also, let's Google and see if we can find trip blogs from anybody else who's done this trip. We'll find pictures of everything we're going to see there. We'll know exactly what to expect. We'll know whether we need to bring crampons. We'll know whether we need this or that. And we'll be fully prepared for this.

The instinct is also, let's Google and see if we can find trip blogs from anybody else who's done this trip. We'll find pictures of everything we're going to see there. We'll know exactly what to expect. We'll know whether we need to bring crampons. We'll know whether we need this or that. And we'll be fully prepared for this.

And then you go on the trip and it's like, all right, it's exactly what I expected. So hang on, why did I come here if I already did all that research? So these... These impulses are constantly at war and always will be, I think. Sometimes you just need to give a push. It was interesting. Last summer, my family, we did a hiking trip in the Pyrenees.

And then you go on the trip and it's like, all right, it's exactly what I expected. So hang on, why did I come here if I already did all that research? So these... These impulses are constantly at war and always will be, I think. Sometimes you just need to give a push. It was interesting. Last summer, my family, we did a hiking trip in the Pyrenees.

And then you go on the trip and it's like, all right, it's exactly what I expected. So hang on, why did I come here if I already did all that research? So these... These impulses are constantly at war and always will be, I think. Sometimes you just need to give a push. It was interesting. Last summer, my family, we did a hiking trip in the Pyrenees.

My wife and I were both super busy leading up to it. We got there and we were like, holy crap, we actually didn't do our usual obsessive level of research on this hiking route. It was awesome. So each day we were like, well, let's figure out what's coming next because we don't know. We didn't research it.