👷 The tension between solo and collaborative work

As systems become more complex, we emphasize collaboration more and more. But we must also remember that truth is still largely a solo pursuit. Truth by committee is almost an oxymoron. The new algorithms, the keen insights, and the disruptive inventions are usually not the work of a committee, but rather a lone person exploring the boundaries of knowledge, careful observation, and making new connections from what already exists. And really, invention is not anything new, but rather a discovery of the universal truths that exist in our universe -- the laws of nature.

Increasingly, we need to be good at both -- the focus and solitude required for deep work, and the collaboration required to build complex systems. The great ideas will generally come from the former, but the ability to do anything useful with them requires the latter.

Dysfunction arises when we mix these two modes up.