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Nerd Cheat Sheet: – Observation Consequence and Action, World Scaling
In the winter of 2025, there are roughly 8.2 billion of us on the planet. Only a fraction will ever become nationally well known, and an even smaller number internationally. For most of us, it can feel as though we are just observers—watching life happen rather than shaping it. That sense of helplessness is familiar.
It’s the same feeling you get watching the security footage from that tragic night in Paris: Diana and Dodi Fayed leaving the hotel foyer, their driver Henri Paul not in a condition to drive, and no one insisting on basic safety protocol. The tragedy is primed. The event is heart-breaking, and the example only matters to the extent it helps us learn from preventable errors. Whatever we think about conspiracies, several decisions made that night—speed, alcohol, security, and the absence of seat belts—set up the dominoes of what followed. Later investigations even found that none of the passengers were wearing a seat belt at the time of impact.
Viewed coldly, this was a failure of responsibility at several levels: personal, procedural, and social. Diana’s bodyguard—who early reports suggested may have been the only one wearing a seat belt—understood risk and protocol. But elsewhere, arrogance or denial of risk seems to have been at play. Responsibility was diluted, and the result was a perfect storm.
The takeaway is not the tragedy itself but the principle underneath it: we must keep a balanced view of situations and avoid getting ahead of ourselves.
For example, because Jimmy Savile fronted the UK’s “Clunk Click Every Trip” seat belt campaign, the message is not invalidated. Safety is safety, no matter how distasteful the messenger. My own approach to seat belts is now fully automated—a System 1 habit. I buckle up without thinking. Good information remains good information, even when its source is disturbing.
Reflecting on the tragedy in Paris, it is not about placing blame—it is about learning from it. And it’s not only the mistakes of others that teach us. We all make misjudgements, and they carry consequences. Taking ownership of our own part in them is often where the most valuable lessons lie.
Understanding Our World View
In the early 2000s, the company I worked for made a serious effort to improve communication. Most employees were sent to a training seminar that, at the time, I thought was simply about “delivering feedback.” In hindsight, the company was wrestling with a deeper issue: blame-avoidance and a high emotional cost for failure.
What we were actually learning was a simplified version of Gewaltfreie Kommunikation—Nonviolent Communication, or GFK.
The Nerd Cheat Sheet: Observation–Consequence–Action (O-C-A) breaks down why this structure works. In brief, O-C-A is a way of getting the most from System 2 thinking. When we separate our thought process into clear steps, we gain focus and clarity. That clarity tests our internal biases rather than reinforcing them, which ultimately leads to better judgement and a deeper understanding of the world we live in.
Filtering information and balancing our reaction to it is the essence of O-C-A, and it connects back to the ideas introduced earlier in Bias as a Concept & Climbing the Stairs.
System 1 Versus System 2
System 1
System 1 is fast, automatic, and pattern-based:
Observation → (assumed consequence via a “recipe”) → Action
If a situation looks familiar, System 1 quickly applies a ready-made recipe and moves straight to action. This is efficient—and sometimes risky.
System 2 structured as O-C-A
System 2 slows things down and builds understanding step by step:
1. Observation
Identify what you actually see—what is tangible, real, and verifiable.
If observations don’t align with your beliefs or preferences, reassess them honestly rather than bending the outside world to fit your inner one.
2. Consequence
Once observations are clear, you can evaluate what they mean.
This often requires iteration: checking, rechecking, and ensuring that the conclusion aligns with reality—not with habit or convenience.
Sometimes this step asks us to change our behaviour, even when it conflicts with our prior beliefs.
3. Action
A well-grounded observation and a well-reasoned consequence make it far more likely that the resulting action is appropriate to the situation.
Sometimes acting wisely means acting differently from how we have acted in the past—and that requires motivation and awareness.
On a psychological level we can claim to take responsibility, but responsibility is coupled to the ability to take reasonable action. For true responsibility, the situation must be understood and the actions tempered to the situation’s needs. Being consistent and disciplined are cornerstones of responsibility, and applying the O-C-A framework is a practical path toward that higher standard.
Responsibility is not only personal — it must be communicated.
Communicating Responsibility: GFK
When communicating ideas to others, GFK provides a parallel structure. It bundles information into a logical sequence that increases the probability of being understood in an “I see what you’re saying” way. If what is presented is reasonable, only a rational counter-argument can decline it. Emotion alone cannot.
GFK works best when the premise is presented without accusation. This is where both English and German have useful tools: Ich-Botschaften (“I-messages”) rather than Du-Botschaften (“You-messages”). “I-messages” keep ownership with the speaker and avoid triggering defensiveness.
The Three GFK Steps (Adapted)
1. Wahrnehmung – Observation
Constructive:
“The report doesn’t evaluate all the relevant options.”
Not:
“Your report is incomplete.”
A good observation is neutral and grounded in fact. It avoids judgment, exaggeration, and blame. Speaking this way keeps the dialogue grounded in reality and maintains responsibility for what we perceive.
2. Auswirkung – Consequence (or Implication)
Constructive:
“I think the client will accept the conclusions with less delay if the other options are included.”
Not:
“Your draft is going to cause problems.”
This step connects the observation to its likely effect.
Integrity matters here: it is not a space for manipulation.
Again, “I think…” keeps the conversation open and constructive.
3. Wunsch – Wish (or Desired Outcome)
Constructive:
“From my point of view, the report should be revised. What do you think?”
Not:
“Fix it.”
Because this suggestion follows logically from what has already been said, it invites collaboration rather than confrontation. If the other person disagrees, they can introduce new facts or perspectives without a power struggle.
What Structured Communication Achieves
- Our arguments become clearer, more robust, and harder to dismiss without good reason.
- If the response is hostile, the topic isn’t really the issue—the real tension lies elsewhere.
(Status, fear, identity, or power usually sit behind unexplained resistance.)
This is the heart of responsible communication: clarity of thought and clarity of expression.
Nerd Cheat Sheet: World Scaling
Like all the cheat sheets in Relativity and Reaction, World Scaling was developed using the O-C-A framework. Applying this structure clarified my thinking and gave shape to ideas that were previously vague or complex. The subject—globalisation—is intentionally off-topic. The cheat sheet serves as a demonstration of how O-C-A can structure complex problems.
Early in this section we talked about the feeling of helplessness. O-C-A and GFK are the mechanisms that turn observation into influence. Once we understand how to frame the world and communicate clearly within it, we are no longer just observers—we become participants with agency.
Responsibility is the bridge between what we can see and what we can change.
So—in the spirit of modern YouTube culture—if you spot weak points in Relativity and Reaction, or disagree with my framing, I genuinely invite your comments “down below.”
📖 Series Roadmap
- Forward: A Little Background
- Introduction: Action, Reaction, and the Human Paradox (16.09.2025)
- Looking Back in Time: The Development of the Human Brain (23.09.2025)
- Abstract Senses: Enhancing the way we see the world outside (30.09.2025)
- Bias as a Concept & Climbing the Stairs: Pattern Recognition & Everyday Tasks (07.10.2025)
- Abstract Feelings and Abstract Senses (14.10.2025)
- Motivation (04.11.2025)
- The Social Knowledge Base (11.11.2025)
- Potential (18.11.2025)
- The Subliminal Way We Go Through Life (26.11.2025)
- Taking Responsibility (02.12.2025)
- Fishing for Complements (22.12.2025)
- Peter and Fermi (22.12.2025)
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Nerd Cheat Sheet: – Observation Consequence and Action, World Scaling
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