LessWrong (Curated & Popular) “So You Want To Make Marginal Progress...” by johnswentworth
Feb 8, 2025
Join a group of friends as they embark on an adventurous quest to navigate the best driving route from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The tale highlights the importance of tackling major challenges, like identifying critical bottlenecks, while also exploring how small, incremental steps can contribute to a larger goal. Each friend's unique approach adds layers to the strategizing process, revealing the complexities of collaboration in problem-solving. Discover the balance between significant hurdles and marginal gains!
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Road Trip Planning
- Seven friends planned a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles before Google Maps existed.
- Various approaches to route planning, from tackling subproblems to general helpfulness, were employed.
Generalizable Progress
- Marginal progress on non-bottleneck subproblems requires generalizability.
- Solutions must work with various bottleneck solutions, unlike bottleneck solutions themselves.
Marginal Contributions
- For marginal contributions, find generalizable solutions or predictable subproblems within central problems.
- Robust generalization is key, as bottlenecks significantly change problem landscapes.
