Nate’s Notes 86: Jeff Strnad | Interconnected Beyond Belief and Embracing the Inevitable

I love the lessons that Jeff shared today.

First, in some sense, the separation of people is an illusion. We have a bigger influence on people than we often appreciate. There are some 10,000 unconscious signals going back and forth between people when we communicate, making us more interconnected than we realize. Which leads to the second lesson:

Our impact on one another propagates itself into the future, for either good or bad. Remembering that our behavior impacts the world indefinitely will hopefully help us be kinder and more careful.

Third, beware of the Jungian shadow. We can so quickly, and unconsciously, attribute negative group identities to others, for example just by living in South San Jose compared to North San Jose. Our group identities can be so powerful and dangerous, so it’s important that we examine them for darkness.

Fourth, the 2^nd law of thermodynamics establishes the concept of entropy, in which everything declines into disorder, including schools, countries, and even people. But we don’t have to go to a dark place. Acknowledging the eventual death of our ideas, our hopes, and even ourselves, can help us enjoy and appreciate things more, improve our values system, and help us avoid negative group identities.

In summary, Jeff’s class in law school was excellent.

It’s a simple idea. Please take it seriously.

Jeff Strnad Bio:

Jeff Strnad, Stanford Law Professor and psychotherapist, teaches courses on mental health law, game theory, Bayesian statistics, blockchains, cryptocurrency, securities regulation, taxation, and finance law. Before joining Stanford Law School, Jeff was a professor of law and economics at the California Institute of Technology. Jeff received an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a law degree from Yale, and a PhD in economics from Yale. I hope you enjoy learning from Jeff Strnad today, because I always do.