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ayy players

visakanv
May 7, 2023

someone asked what I mean by A+ talent I personally define it as the ability to step into a situation, figure out what’s going on, identify what needs doing, figure out how to do it, and do it here’s an example from a specific domain: mysteriously winning

I’m mediocre at football, but I’m an A+ talent when it comes to “playing twitter”. I know how to be in the right place at the right time to say the right thing to the right person in the right way. I cannot teach you this skill in a series of tweets, I can only demonstrate it

playing well requires knowing the game, knowing the meta-game, knowing how to switch between meta-games as appropriate. it requires knowing yourself and understanding constraints. it also requires understanding other people. all of this requires practice, study, reflection

wrote this (the instructions I wish i was given) in 2017 for marketers. scanning it again, to summarize it it’s like

  1. identify targets (wins)
  2. stay alive
  3. reorient (move into position)
  4. accumulate upside/advantages
  5. understand constraints

here’s a thread about a diablo 2 speedrunner, who imo demonstrates A+ talent

A players will seem really lucky to others because they’re good at spotting opportunities, are well-prepared, are willing to move around and change things to take better advantage of a particular opportunity

all of this manifests as a dynamic resourcefulness, looks like mischief

maybe worth caveating that when I talk about talent etc i’m usually thinking of open-ended domains, infinite games. i dont have as much interest in “solved problems” like chess. an A player in chess might not seem mischievous, and understandbly: you cant change the rules mid-game

but am i saying that all mischievous people are A+ players? of course not. (if you don’t get that, your logic is bad, and that will limit your effectiveness as a player.)

A+ players occupy the venn diagram intersection of mischievous and Serious. (Are you serious?)

mayhaps we call them ayy players