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Curiosity Chronicle · Friday · 8 min

The Random Cage Effect: Why Preparation Beats Planning

This is one of my strongest held beliefs: Preparation beats planning. Planning is based on the expectation of order. Preparation is based on the expectation of chaos. And as I recently found out, there's real science to support it. In 1994, researchers gathered 30 collegiate baseball players for an experiment. One group practiced hitting pitches in a fixed order. Another received pitches in a completely randomized order. During practice, the fixed-order group looked better. But in a real game-like session, the random group performed significantly better. I call this the Random Cage Effect. In this piece, I talk about how I've applied this lesson to my own life and why preparing for chaos leads to better real-world outcomes... ••• This episode brought to you by: DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place. Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed. Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

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This is one of my strongest held beliefs:


Preparation beats planning.


Planning is based on the expectation of order. Preparation is based on the expectation of chaos.


And as I recently found out, there's real science to support it.


In 1994, researchers gathered 30 collegiate baseball players for an experiment. One group practiced hitting pitches in a fixed order. Another received pitches in a completely randomized order.


During practice, the fixed-order group looked better. But in a real game-like session, the random group performed significantly better.


I call this the Random Cage Effect.


In this piece, I talk about how I've applied this lesson to my own life and why preparing for chaos leads to better real-world outcomes...


•••

This episode brought to you by:

  • DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
  • Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
  • Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
  • Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.
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