Hey friend,

In this episode, you will learn how to improve a technical system by inverting the function of its components (and how to make a better greenhouse).

If you prefer watching, you can find the YouTube video here. If reading is your thing, then enjoy the transcript below.

Welcome to The Daily Recall show. I'm your host, Vasili.

Today you will learn how to improve the efficiency of a system by inverting one or more of its parameters.

Let's say you've got a pack of pencils. The function of this system is to draw things.

You can improve the efficiency of the whole pack if you add an object to the system which does the opposite action than the object that is already present. A pencil helps you draw things; create lines on paper. The opposite would be to erase lines. So you can add an eraser to the pack.

Now you've got a pack of pencils with an eraser.

And that's a much more useful pack of pencils because it's hard to make a good drawing without errors; and now you can not only draw but correct and erase stuff.

Another example would be a greenhouse.

Let's say you've got a greenhouse and you need to improve the efficiency of the greenhouse somehow.

The way to do that is to have half plants that produce oxygen and half that consume oxygen. By adding plants that consume oxygen instead of producing it you increase the efficiency of the greenhouse because it becomes symbiotic. Plants complement each other.

That's how you improve systems by inverting what their parts do. You take a look at what’s in there and figure out a way to invert one of the system's components to perform an opposite function.

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedailyrecall.substack.com