Item 3: Prefer concrete examples to abstract ideas

Think back to when you learned how to walk. You probably first read a theoretical treatise on human movement blah blah blah joke. Except you didn't do any of that. You observed other people walking and mimicked their behavior. You saw a concrete example of someone walking, instead of a theoretical concept of learning how to walk.

When trying to understand a product idea, or convey a concept to a customer, use direct, narrow, "un-scalable" narratives and examples to build up your understanding. Avoid speaking to customers as if they have all of the accumulated experience that you have. And vice versa instead of asking customers about abstract theoretical concepts just ask for concrete examples.

Basically people are bad at imagining. The science behind this is ??. We are really bad at reimagining accurate depictions. That's because our mind is constantly distorting things all around you. (BIBLIO: KHANEMAN)

Also what pitch anything said about painting a picture?? (BIBLIO: PITCH ANYTHING)

You will of course miss subtleties and edge cases by doing this. That is okay. Consider that:

• You would have likely missed or misinterpreted at least one of those subtleties and edge cases
• You may have been so wrapped up in the details that you missed the more important fundamental idea.

Your code also won't be perfect. Also don't worry about this; it turns out your code will never be perfect (more on that later). Trust in that you'll reach a point where you'll have enough insight to evolve it from the narrow into the general.

When understanding products or explaining concepts, follow YCombinator's advice about pitching products: 80% accurate, 100% clear