Self-development 3.0

Order is anything that enables survival, while chaos is anything that makes survival difficult.

Humans inherently seek order. We are wired this way because order provides predictability, which is essential for survival. As a product of evolution, we are designed to survive. We are the remnants of all the iterations of ourselves that did not survive. There is something within us that has allowed us to thrive in a chaotic world. Our emotions act as triggers, guiding us towards survival. Uncertainty and the possibility of danger evoke anxiety and fear. Over many centuries, human progress has advanced astonishingly faster than evolution. We have built civilizations and created a world that is much safer than the wilderness. However, our brains remain unaware of this change; our limbic system still operates as if we are in the wild, triggering an anxiety response to perceived threats. We crave order and despise chaos.

Modern humans live in a modern world but are still haunted by the same survival fears they had in the jungle. Although there are no lions or snakes lurking around, part of our brain (system 1) remains unaware of this. This is how it is wired.

Humans want order, not chaos. 

In the pursuit of order we have created systems and structures to simplify our lives. Order brings clarity, clarity makes it easier to navigate life with ease.

We need future plans, we need job security, we need food security, we need them to be able to sleep at night.

This pursuit of order and clarity has been motivating the actions of modern man behind the scenes.

There are many things that give use clarity and order. Religion is one, authority is another. We crave certainty, we need justified belief. No matter how much we think of humans as logical beings, we are wired to feel.

Chaos, uncertainty and danger triggers negative responses. Order, clarity and safety triggers positive emotions.

This need for order requires something reliable or verified to build up the belief system.

Our minds are unable to differentiate between safety and an illusion of safety, between a map that accurately shows the way and one that deceives us into believing we are on the right path. Without this differentiation, it triggers a feel-good response to anything that provides clarity and certainty.

As Taleb suggests, humans are flawed beyond repair and wired to be fooled by randomness. But how?

Key Idea: Humans are inherently wired to seek order and clarity for survival, driven by emotions and systems that often confuse safety with illusion, as our brains remain unaware of modern advancements.

“Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”

— Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly Debates, November 25, 1949

Hero worship is detrimental in both democracy and personal life. It is crucial to admire individuals for their courage, but the true beauty lies in appreciating a person’s qualities while also acknowledging their mistakes.

Humans are neither the worst nor perfect; they exist somewhere in between, possessing both good and bad qualities.

Once someone is labeled as successful, a genius, or a visionary, everything they say or believe is often accepted as truth without being scrutinized for logic and reason. We seek justified belief from authority, as it provides us with a sense of certainty to alleviate anxiety and offers a semblance of order.

As any visionary or genius would likely acknowledge that they are not always correct and are susceptible to mistakes; even Newton was not entirely right.

Hero worship therefore is problematic as it diverts us from the crucial questions that could help us understand the logical reasoning behind the decisions of those being labelled genius.

The problems just don’t stop there. By labeling people as geniuses, we encourage others to emulate their morning routines and work styles, which does not offer any improvement or benefit humanity.

"The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them."  - Zero to One by Peter Thiel

The another reason we opt for labeling individuals as geniuses may be that it is a simplistic and expedient way to explain the complexity behind their success. It seems to reflect our inability to comprehend and articulate what truly exists. It is akin to attributing a magician’s trick to black magic or an unexplained event to a miracle.

These are all what I refer to as fillers—something we use to fill the gap of an unexplained event.

Whatever a famous person writes in his tweets is often accepted by most without verifying its validity, leading to many misunderstandings. As I mentioned in other parts of my writings before, misunderstanding or the illusion of understanding can be more harmful than not knowing at all. I have realized that it’s better to admit, “I do not understand,” than to live with an illusion of understanding.

It feels embarrassing to mention now, but I once fell into the trap of following the lifestyle of successful entrepreneurs, only to discover that it created more friction than value.

We often seek advice from famous individuals. Instead, what we should do is to focus on developing our own judgment by experimenting with different opinions.

People with great judgement and critical thinking skills have wide range and depth of underfunding in their relative fields. This makes them have a strong Framework of Understanding which they can rely upon to make decisions. Each good explanation in the framework of understanding is as close to truth as possible and continues to improve as new evidence arises.

Truth seekers take feedback from nature. They act out their beliefs to find out how they hold the test of reality.

To have agency and autonomy over our decisions we need to create our own framework of understanding. It is a longer process, but is more reliable and beneficial in the long run. We don’t need advice we need understanding. Seeking advice is the form of memorization. Seeking understanding is the process of taking the control over our decisions and judgments.

Another example of this is the stock market, which can seem like a black box for people like me. People are eager to get rich quickly but lack the knowledge to do so. Consequently, they turn to someone who claims to know and follow their advice. This is where the problem begins.

The illusionist is living a lie. True satisfaction and success come from searching for and embracing your own truth.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” - Carl Jung

Key Idea:

Nassim Taleb in his book Fooled by randomness explains the complexities in the perceived stories of success with an example of Russian Roulette.

Russian roulette is a lethal game involving a revolver with a single bullet placed in one of its chambers. The cylinder is spun, and the player pulls the trigger while pointing the gun at their own head. With each turn, the risk is very real—life or death. The odds vary depending on the number of chambers (e.g., 1 in 6 with a six-shooter).

It’s a game of pure chance. No strategy. No skill. Just luck and death dancing on a trigger.

Imagine for a moment that the person who survives a round of Russian roulette is celebrated—hailed as bold and brilliant by the community. What goes unseen, of course, are the stories of the five who didn’t make it. Their fates are hidden from view, but any thoughtful observer can guess how those tales ended.

It takes insight—and a touch of personal bravery—to recognize the truth beneath the spectacle. And time, as always, reveals the deeper pattern: if the gambler continues playing, fate eventually finds him. If thousands play the same game, a few lucky ones will indeed reach a status of—wealthy, lionized, and oblivious to the countless graves behind their good fortune.

And this, tragically, is the shape of much popular advice. Most success stories we celebrate are built on the bones of invisible failures. We see the survivors, not the silence. The world hands us guides, mantras, and formulas—but so many are illusions dressed as wisdom.

Your only way out may be to understand your way out.

That’s why building your own Framework of Understanding (FOU) isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. Life demands risk. You take a risk each time you back out of the driveway or board a plane. But there is a difference between reckless risk and informed risk.

Awareness changes everything.

Understanding gives you not just a path forward, but the ability to adapt, to pivot, to breathe through chaos. You don’t need shallow templates for success. You need something real, something rooted. Your own understanding can offer that—something concrete in a world that so often runs on illusion.

These terms come from the world of healthcare and longevity, popularized by physician and researcher Dr. Peter Attia, but their meaning extends beautifully into learning, growth, and even philosophy.

⚗️ Medicine 1.0 – The Traditional, Intuitive Era

Medicine 1.0 represents the earliest phase of human healthcare — rooted in tradition, intuition, and ritual rather than scientific understanding.

• It was based on observation, guesswork, folk remedies, and spiritual beliefs.

• Treatments were often tied to cultural myths or divine interpretations.

• There was little distinction between illness of the body and disturbance of the soul.

Think of shamans, ancient herbalists, and mystical healers. While some of their insights were surprisingly effective, this era lacked the tools to test, measure, or deeply understand why something worked.

In the self-help parallel, Self-help 1.0 is like blind faith in charismatic figures or superstitions — following advice simply because it feels sacred, ancient, or comforting, without ever questioning its logic or truth.

⚕️ Medicine 2.0 – The Reactive Model

Medicine 2.0 is the system we mostly live in today.

• It’s built on treatment, not prevention.

• It waits for illness, then responds with pills, surgeries, and quick fixes.

• It’s about managing symptoms, not always understanding the why.

This model has saved lives, but it also creates dependency — where health becomes a constant negotiation with temporary relief.

In the world of Self-help 2.0, this is the equivalent of:

Reading a book to feel better.

Listening to a podcast to escape uncertainty.

Following steps without knowing where they came from.

How to guides and paths.

Helpful for the moment — but not lasting.

🌱 Medicine 3.0 – The Proactive, Personalized Model

Medicine 3.0 is the next evolution.

• It’s about prevention, longevity, and root-cause thinking.

• It doesn’t wait for sickness — it helps you understand your body so you can protect it.

• It’s personalized. Curious. Deeply rooted in understanding.

In the realm of self-development 3.0, this means:

Not just seeking clarity — but learning how to create it.

Not memorizing advice — but building your own inner compass.

Not dependency — but autonomy.