The Cabrera Lab Podcast #96: Think It Through: The Hidden Cost of Always Doing What You’re Told
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Dec 3, 2025 Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera tackle the dilemma of excelling in a system that prioritizes compliance over creativity. They share a childhood story about a diorama that highlights the struggle against rigid rubrics. With the humorous 'shit slider' metaphor, they discuss how small compromises can accumulate psychological costs. The duo emphasizes the importance of awareness in navigating bureaucracies and maintaining your identity while advocating for curiosity. Their insights provide a framework for making thoughtful choices in both education and the workplace.
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Diorama Rejected For Not Following Rubric
- Derek Cabrera built elaborate dioramas with his dad and once brought a huge one to class instead of the book report.
- The teacher refused to accept it because it didn't follow the rubric, illustrating how systems can punish creative engagement.
Micro Choices Create Macro Outcomes
- Small, repeated acts create large emergent outcomes because the micro makes the macro in complex adaptive systems.
- Humans are poor at perceiving delayed effects, so repeated micro-choices produce unintended macro consequences over time.
Delay Hides Long-Term Costs
- Delay blurs cause and effect, making people underestimate long-term costs of compliant behaviors.
- This mismatch causes externalities and psychological effects that appear far later than the original choice.