Many tasks that previously required either a significant amount of expertise or experience can now be performed successfully by people with only two skills.
Resourcefulness and the ability to follow directions.
Using nothing but Youtube, I’ve been able to do tasks that I would otherwise hire an expert to do.
Strange error message on my computer? Dealer overcharging me to change an air filter?
There’s a video for that.
I’ll just do it myself!
Me, Youtube, and the ability to follow directions.
But it’s crtical to understand the great divide between these level 0 tasks and others.
Level 0 tasks ONLY require these two things – resourcefulness and the ability to follow directions.
Level 1 tasks (and beyond) require resourcefulness and the ability to follow directions – and something else.
And that something else makes all the difference in the world.
It may be expertise. It may be judgement. It may be preparation or training.
But resourcefulness and the ability to follow directions are not enough to complete these tasks.
That feeling of completing a level 0 task is such a rush.
An addicting rush that rewards you with false confidence.
And the line between level 0 and level 1 tasks becomes fuzzy.
Hubris tinted goggles leading you to believe that EVERY task is level 0
And then you find yourself in the ring with Mike Tyson as you Google “how do I box?”
This entire post was inspired by a passing comment made during this episode of “The Tim Ferris Show” w/ Josh Waitzkin
Iterations 