One Plus One Equals: The Unknown

In simple math, we’ve already been through the equation 1 + 1 > 2. But if you want to get to the really fun math: 1 + 1 = unknown.

I might even walk out to the edge of the diving board into the deep end of mathematics and dare to try: 1 + 1 > unknown.

Whoa. I know.

I get this question quite a bit, “Dude, do you have to use so much math in your work? You’re freaking me out.”

Yes.

This is an excerpt from “Every Single Day,” available now on pre-order from Amazon. I swear, it’s not a math book.

A partner brings in ideas that you didn’t, don’t and won’t have. That’s the beauty of looking outside yourself. You know what you get with yourself (same old, same old). With a partner, it opens up possibilities you didn’t know existed. Maybe they’re terrible, but maybe they’re fresh and exciting. But one thing is certain: they’re not yours. (Hint: that’s a good thing.)

A friend visited and we riffed ideas back and forth for hours. Nothing seemed to come of it until the next morning it was clear what I needed to do in 2019. I might have had thoughts around the topic, but because he was there and he thinks “bigger” and “broader” than I do, it rustled up my brain and got me thinking bigger and broader and we came up with an idea that was bigger than anything I had thought of on my own.

By definition, you can’t know what others will think or say or suggest. But here’s the best part: when you’re with someone else, you might be surprised at what you think and you say and you dream up.

You’re intertwined with those you interact with. It’s not only that you’re waiting for their ideas, but that your own ideas morph into an area that math loves to discuss: the unknown.