Abraham Thomas

3 notes in the collection. Writes at pivotal.substack.com (opens in a new tab)

First saved Strong Opinions, Weakly Held on September 22, 2026.

Strong Opinions, Weakly Held(favorite) Sep 22 4 min
Thomas reads Andreessen's motto through a lost traveler at a fork: commit fully to a path, then turn around fast when it dead-ends, which maximizes your rate of learning.
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- How to be more agenticCate Hall
- Risk-takers decide fasterSebastian Bensusan
- On the importance of infinitesimal actionsJakob Greenfeld
- The illusion of productivity (and why we stay stuck)Brian • The Tiny Wisdom
Read the original of Strong Opinions, Weakly Held (opens in a new tab)
The Perils of Prudence Sep 22 10 min
Thomas argues that in unknown, unforgiving settings like startups, speed lowers risk, which is why Amundsen's fast, light team reached the South Pole in comfort while Scott's slow, cautious one died.
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- Don’t Edit Your ImaginationBrian Chesky
- Do Too MuchAlexandr Wang
- Optimism Shapes RealityAlexandr Wang
- Just keep goingWill Ahmed
Read the original of The Perils of Prudence (opens in a new tab)
The Worst Outcome is a Mediocre Success Sep 22 4 min
Thomas argues that startup experiments should be designed to succeed or fail clearly, because a mediocre result, like two sales from 100 cold calls, teaches you nothing about whether to double down.
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- Information CompressionAlexandr Wang
- Incentives as selection effectsSebastian Bensusan
- Agency problemsChris Dixon
- Steve Jobs on problem solvingChris Dixon
Read the original of The Worst Outcome is a Mediocre Success (opens in a new tab)

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