questions to ask people

questions to ask people
  • of all the things that you do, what do you think you do best? what do you think you do worst?
    • of all the things that i do, what am i worst at?
  • where do you go to find people who think well?
  • what do you want?
    • what do you want?
  • what are you most wrong about?
  • what are some of the most important problems in your field? are you working on them? why/why not? (the hamming question)
  • if you were put into a room with everyone you’ve ever known, who would you seek out first? (h/t blake)
  • what something weird or unusual you did early on in life?
  • given what we've talked about,
    • what questions should i be asking you?
    • what questions would you ask yourself, if you were in my position?
    • who else should i talk to? could you make an intro?
  • what have i done worst in this conversation? what's been most rude, or annoying, or unkind, or idiotic, etc etc?
  • untested ones below — i can't personally vouch that they work well. half are stolen from tyler cowen's "talent"
    • what blogs or sub Reddit do you read?
    • what tabs do you have open on your browser right now?
    • if we became friends, and then 3 to 6 months later, we stopped being friends, why would that be?
    • pet projects you’re working on?
    • what is something esoteric that you do?
    • the world is a market, so what is your edge?
    • what part of your life are you most unhappy about?
    • what thoughts do you flinch from?
    • of the various nonconsensus opinions you probably have, what's the most important one?

Subscribe to Brass Tacks

Don’t miss out on the latest issues. Sign up now to get access to the library of members-only issues.
jamie@example.com
Subscribe