I learnt of the phrase by reading Taleb:

[I]n practice it is the negative that’s used by the pros, those selected by evolution: chess grandmasters usually win by not losing; people become rich by not going bust (particularly when others do); religions are mostly about interdicts; the learning of life is about what to avoid.

https://fs.blog/2014/01/a-wonderfully-simple-heuristic-to-recgonize-charlatans/

And it is wonderful advice of course, always worth keeping in mind: sometimes the best way to learn is by cutting out the bad parts, rather than trying to add in new good ones. There is merit to both, of course – cutting out the bad and adding in the good. But maybe cutting out the bad ideas first is a, er, good idea?

Losing fat before adding muscle is one way to think about it.¹

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And so also with public policy! Pranay Kotasthane, co-author of Anticipating the Unintended, has a lovely video out on this topic:

Definitely worth a watch, and while I am tempted to list out the eight, I won’t – for at the margin, some of you might be tempted to not watch the video 🙂

But I’ll militate against the spirit of this post, and add one of my own to the list that you’re about to learn: time.

I think a student of public policy ought to avoid short-termism. Fancy pants speak that simply means don’t just think about the short term benefits, but also worry about the long term consequences.

Unfortunately (public policy is hard!) policies have a way of sticking around for long after they’ve outlived their usefulness, but that’s a story for another day.

For the moment, please watch the video 🙂

1. I’m good at spouting theory, not so good at the practice![↩]