Seven Principles
A little over a year ago, a friend asked me a question that stopped me cold: "How much of your potential are you actually utilizing every day? Are you being active or passive in your approach to life?"
I stumbled through some vague response about staying curious and engaged, but the truth was, I didn't have a clear answer. I recognized this pattern in myself, while the freedom and flexibility of not having formalized principles gave me options, it also created problems. Without clear guidelines, I found myself overthinking decisions, second-guessing my instincts, and spinning my wheels on questions that should have been straightforward.
Since then, I've been on a mission to articulate the frameworks that actually guide my thinking. Not rigid rules that constrain me, but principles that create clarity in complexity. After months of reflection and refinement, I distilled my approach into seven core principles that help me show up more intentionally in the world; thought I'd finally publish them for the brave new world.
These aren't just abstract ideas, they're practical frameworks I return to daily. They've shaped how I learn, how I solve problems, and most importantly, how I answer my friend's question with confidence. As someone who finds deep learning concepts surprisingly applicable to life, you'll recognize a few nods along the way, some that translate perfectly, others only in part. :)
The seven principles -
- Recursive Curiosity
- Total Absorb
- Mind Melding
- Iterative Courage
- Beginner's Wisdom
- Systems Dissolution
- Gravitational Pull
1. Recursive Curiosity (multi-layered representation learning)
Most people stop at the first answer. I've learned to start there.
Recursive curiosity means treating every answer as a doorway to deeper questions. When someone explains something to me, I don't just nod and move on, I follow the thread. Why does that work? What assumptions underlie that explanation? What would happen if we changed one variable?
Think of it like a depth-first search through knowledge space, where each answer spawns new branches to explore.
This isn't about being contrarian or difficult. It's about recognizing that the most interesting discoveries live beneath the surface. The first layer of understanding is usually incomplete, sometimes misleading. Real insight comes from following chains of "why" and "how" until patterns emerge that weren't visible before.
In practice - When reading about a new concept, I spend as much time on the footnotes and citations as the main text. In conversations, I ask follow-up questions that surprise people. When solving problems, I interrogate my initial assumptions before jumping to solutions.
2. Total Absorb (attention is all you need)
Attention is the scarcest resource of our time, and most of us scatter it like seeds in the wind.
Total absorb is about bringing complete presence to whatever I'm engaging with. No multitasking, no mental background noise, no partial engagement. Whether I'm in a conversation, reading a book, or working on a problem, I give it everything I have.
This principle has transformed both the quality of my experiences and the depth of my understanding. When you're fully present, you notice subtleties that others miss. You remember more. You connect ideas that seemed unrelated. You show up as someone worth engaging with.
In practice - Phone goes away during conversations. Single-tasking becomes the default. When I read, I read - no music, no distractions. The goal isn't inefficiency; it's depth.
3. Mind Melding (knowledge distillation and transfer learning)
Empathy gets talked about a lot, but mind melding goes deeper.
Instead of just understanding how someone feels, I try to understand how they think. What mental models do they use? What assumptions shape their worldview? What would I believe if I had their experiences and knowledge?
This isn't about agreeing with everyone, it's about expanding my cognitive repertoire. Every person I encounter has figured out something I haven't. By temporarily adopting their perspective, I collect new ways of processing reality.
In practice - Before disagreeing with someone, I try to argue their position better than they can. I read books by people whose worldviews differ from mine. I ask questions designed to uncover thinking patterns, not just opinions.
4. Iterative Courage (gradient descent with momentum)
Courage isn't a personality trait you either have or don't have. It's a skill you build through practice.
Iterative courage means taking small, consistent actions toward meaningful goals despite uncertainty or discomfort. Instead of waiting for a moment of heroic bravery, I create regular opportunities to stretch beyond my comfort zone.
The magic is in the compound effect. Each small act of courage makes the next one easier. Over time, what once felt impossible becomes routine. Your comfort zone expands not through dramatic leaps, but through steady, intentional steps.
In practice - I seek out conversations that make me slightly nervous. I share ideas before they feel perfect. I say yes to opportunities that scare me a little. I treat fear as information, not instruction.
5. Beginner's Wisdom (dropout and regularization)
Expertise can be a trap. The more you know about something, the harder it becomes to see it clearly.
Beginner's wisdom means maintaining intellectual humility regardless of experience level. I approach familiar subjects with fresh eyes, question my own assumptions, and remember that mastery often involves recognizing how much you don't know.
This principle keeps me curious when others become rigid. It helps me spot opportunities that experts miss because they're too invested in how things "should" work. It makes me a better collaborator because I'm not threatened by being wrong.
In practice - I regularly revisit fundamentals in areas where I consider myself knowledgeable. I seek out perspectives from people new to fields I know well. I practice saying "I don't know but I'm ready to learn" more often.
6. Systems Dissolution (dimensionality reduction and feature engineering)
Most problems aren't actually problems, they're symptoms.
Systems dissolution means questioning the fundamental assumptions that create a problem in the first place. Instead of accepting challenges as presented, I deconstruct them into component parts, examine the system that generated them, and look for leverage points others miss.
The goal isn't to solve problems faster, but to solve different problems -- often simpler, more fundamental ones. Sometimes the best solution is realizing you're solving the wrong problem entirely.
In practice - Before brainstorming solutions, I spend time reframing the problem. I ask "What if this constraint didn't exist?" and "What problem is this problem a symptom of?" I look for root causes, not just immediate fixes.
7. Gravitational Pull (emergent behavior)
Leadership isn't about commanding, it's about becoming the kind of person others naturally orbit around.
Gravitational pull means taking responsibility not just for your actions, but for the energy and outcomes in every space you enter. Instead of waiting for someone else to step up, you become the person who speaks up when something isn't working, who organizes the chaos, who takes action when others are paralyzed by uncertainty.
This isn't about being pushy or controlling. It's about creating a field of positive influence that draws people toward better outcomes. When you consistently show up with solutions instead of complaints, initiative instead of excuses, others start looking to you for direction, not because you demanded it, but because you earned it.
In practice - You volunteer for the projects others avoid. You take responsibility for group outcomes, not just your individual contributions. You act like an owner in every situation, regardless of your official role. You lead by example rather than by authority.
Living the Principles
These principles work best in combination. Recursive curiosity generates better questions for mind melding. Total absorb deepens the insights from beginner's wisdom. Iterative courage gives you the strength to practice systems dissolution even when it challenges conventional thinking. Gravitational pull emerges naturally when you consistently apply the other six.
They're not rules to follow perfectly, but directions to move toward. Some days I embody them better than others. The goal isn't perfection, it's progress toward a more curious, present, and thoughtful way of being.
For the readers now - What principles guide your life? I'd love to hear about the frameworks you use to navigate complexity and create meaning. Email me your thoughts at arvinsingh@protonmail.com - I'm always open to adopting better approaches and learning from different perspectives.
These principles continue to evolve as I do. What started as personal guidelines has become a lens for seeing possibility in the world around me. They've made me a better learner, problem-solver, and human being (up for debate). More than anything, they're helping me build a life that feels authentically mine.
This one has been in the making for a while. Thanks for reading. :)