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maxCohen’s Laws

maxCohen Law #60: I know more than I admit and less than I think.

maxCohen Law #59: It's hard to get out of a lie that you were taught.

maxCohen Law #58: We are educated to contain our genius.

maxCohen Law #57: There's great freedom when you no longer care what society thinks of you.

maxCohen Law #56: Ownership is a curse.

maxCohen Law #55: There is only one law of design: empathy for the user and for the planet.

maxCohen Law #54: You are more valuable to others than you are to yourself.

maxCohen Law #53: The longer a person can stay in denial and believe everything is OK in their world, the better the chance they do not have to change anything for the better.

maxCohen Law #52: You cannot intellectualize yourself closer to God.

maxCohen Law #51: Expect nothing, deserve even less.

maxCohen Law #50: There is life after birth.

maxCohen Law #49: Learning begins when education stops.

maxCohen Law #48: If you want to improve your product find those having a bad experience and not those havIng a good experience.

maxCohen Law #47: Don't be the person who writes about others, be the person who others write about.

maxCohen Law #46: Just because you can drive a car doesn't make you a mechanic.

maxCohen Law #45: You cannot be both Christian and politician. A house divided cannot stand. You cannot serve two masters.

maxCohen Law #44: Centralized blockchain is not a secure blockchain.

maxCohen Law #43: Privacy and security are not separate but one.

maxCohen Law #42: Money is a promise based on a shared delusion.

maxCohen Law #41: You can't get someone to fix something when you're told there is nothing that needs fixing.

maxCohen Law #40: You can't force a person to listen who doesn't want to listen.

maxCohen Law #39: What is the good of a standard that already supposes what you are going to prove?
— Adrian Fortescue

*maxCohen Law #38: There is nothing more dangerous than the person who doesn't know but thinks they know.

*maxCohen Law #37: If you think the person you are listening to is ignorant about a topic they know nothing about, you might sound the same to them.

maxCohen Law #36: Every question is not a "great question".

maxCohen Law #35: The number of years lived does not equal the quality of the life lived.

maxCohen Law #34: Getting rid of the self will free you.

maxCohen Law #33: Everyone is beautiful.

maxCohen Law #31: Opinions are not facts.

maxCohen Law #30: It's not about you, it's about the other person.

maxCohen Law #29: If you do not want an answer, do not ask.

maxCohen Law #28: In order for one to speak, there must be one there to listen.

maxCohen Law #27: Feelings are not facts.

maxCohen Law #26: Excellence and perfection are two completely different things.

maxCohen Law #25: Those who state that one has to see the "whole picture" are the ones who are most blind.

maxCohen Law #24: Take any issue or cause, point out a contrarian-yet-possibly-legit exception, take it to its illogical extreme, and use it to shut down any attempt of reform or conversation. (Brad Frost)

maxCohen Law #23: A system in place is only as good as the dumbest person using it.

maxCohen Law #22: Those who seek respect are those who deserve it least.

maxCohen Law #21: You can ask a child to get anything for you if you tell them you'll time them.

maxCohen Law #20: Creativity is invited but never welcomed.

maxCohen Law #19: People who state everyone should be open-minded are the most closed-minded people.

maxCohen Law #18: Everyone is entitled to their opinion but not all opinions are equal.

maxCohen Law #17: Just because I'm not disagreeing with you doesn't mean that I'm not laughing at you.

maxCohen Law #16: Dementors exist in the workplace.

maxCohen Law #15: A group's core values is a list of things they do wrong.

maxCohen Law #14 (Sayre's law): In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake.

maxCohen Law #13: The friendships found in Harry Potter do not exist in reality. And we are lesser for it.

maxCohen Law #12: Wanting to make everyone happy is the first step to failure.

maxCohen Law #11: It is easier to please God than please man. Man is so fickle.

maxCohen Law #10: Dumb is contagious.

maxCohen Law #9: The more a dress code is enforced the more you can be assured that they're dressing up a pig.

maxCohen Law #8: If you ask a question and would like an answer, shut-up long enough to hear that answer.

maxCohen Law #7: There is a difference between what one wants and what one needs. There is also a difference between what has to be done and what needs to be done.

maxCohen Law #6: It's possible to feel alone in a room full of people.

maxCohen Law #5: Some people are born not leaders.

maxCohen Law #4: Some people can not lead themselves out of a paper bag.

maxCohen Law #3: Never compliment a woman on the tattoo on her leg because it may be a varicose vain.

maxCohen Law #2: The problem with employee development days is that the people who need them don't realize they need them and often do not attend.

maxCohen Law #1: There is a direct correlation between the amount of people in a collection or group and the increase in stupidity as an individual or as a whole.

maxCohen Law #0: Love

*Recently learned that this has already been discovered and called the Dunning-Kruger effect.