Competence

I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.

-Billy Joel

I have pet peeves. Mosquitos buzzing in my ear, smoke alarms beeping when low on battery, noises when I’m working, people being aggressively opinionated in areas they have no experience in, etc. But what irks me more than anything else is incompetence.

Being adaptable is the most important human trait. It’s also one of the top traits necessary when having a life partner. If you have a family and are gone, your partner has to take care of them. Your partner needs to make decisions in your stead. You need to trust them to make key decisions without your presence.

I told someone to double check something important. They needed to make sure it was completed. They said they did, and it’s fine. But it wasn’t done. It wasn’t fine. They called me in a panic when things went wrong. It wasn’t the first time this happened. A companion has to be competent. A partner has to spar.

I’m slow to judge. But I still judge. We’re all judging all the time. That’s legit how our mind works. We’re judging and predicting every moment. We should judge actions, morals, words, people, content. Judging allows us to ruthlessly prioritize.

Ruthlessly prioritizing still means one can party or go on a leisurely stroll for an indeterminate amount of time. Sometimes that’s the best thing to do. Sometimes it’s best to decompress for a couple days to reset your mind. You can even intentionally meditate on having no intentions. Judging leads to ruthless prioritization.

Everything should be judged within context. Understanding someone’s baseline is incredibly important, e.g. they’re not angry it’s just resting bitch face. A five year old can say and do things a 28 yr old shouldn’t. When someone is inebriated maybe they get leeway, but if they’re frequently inebriated, less leeway. Having morals and principles that are set and followed helps one judge. More than anything else in my life and as an entrepreneur, I judge competency.

This is what irked me about House of Dragons. None of the characters are competent. None of the characters are even moral. They’re bad at getting what they want. I have no attachment or caring for any of the characters.

I recently reread The Design of Everyday Things. When going through O’hare airport in Chicago, I couldn’t help but marvel at the awful user experience. We live in an age of theater. Security theater included, but the incompetence of the system design was palpable.

There were signs pointing me to terminals 2, 3, and 5. I followed them. Then, there’d only be signs to terminals 2 and 3. I was looking for terminal 5. I eventually found a hidden sign on the inside of a wall going the opposite way that pointed to terminal 5. It was extra confusing as the sign directed me out of security. I asked the TSA person if I had to leave. They said “I think so”. Great. I exited the building to take a tram to terminal 5. I just had to go through security again.

I arrived at terminal 5. The TSA officer strictly enforced the TSA-pre line. They stopped everyone to check their boarding pass to determine if they’re TSA-pre or not. TSA-pre went to one line. Non-TSA-pre went to another line. I waited in this line for 15 mins. I’m TSA-pre. I go in the TSA-pre line. I walk down a hallway, and the lines converge. It's the same area. TSA-pre and non-TSA-pre lines lead to a big, open space with 6 different lines you can choose. 

One of the six lines in the middle said TSA-pre in large letters. It had the longest line, so big that it blocked other lines. A TSA officer behind the line yells out that non-TSA-pre people should go to his line because it's empty. He does this every minute. Passengers can’t see because the TSA-pre line is blocking the other lines. 

The security is a basic metal detector for all security lines. I don’t want to take out my liquids, laptop, and remove my shoes so I choose the only TSA-pre line. After showing my ID and boarding pass, I’m handed a dirty, old laminated paper saying “You are TSA-pre”. I’m told it’s important to hold onto the card. It’s the only TSA-pre line and everyone in it is TSA-pre, but they insist I need to hold the card saying I’m TSA-pre. I go through the metal detector and give the card saying I’m TSA-pre to the TSA agent. They hand it off to another person who brings the laminated paper back to the TSA agent looking at boarding passes in the only TSA-pre line.

What shocked me was the sheer amount of incompetence in the processes and how everyone working just went along with it. If there were proper incentives, TSA would be automated. There’s no reason the TSA should exist beyond one or two people dealing with extreme edge cases. The same way 95% of what a doctor does should be automated with predictive AI sans extreme edge cases. Never underestimate how bad things can get with broken incentives.

Be competent. Be adaptable. Be amazing at something. Be amazing at anything. Double down at what you’re best at. The O’hare life is not worth living.