By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
L36 is the selective-disengagement doctrine. Most operators' failure mode is over-engaging with low-stakes problems, which converts them into high-stakes problems by the attention invested. The Naval pairing: long-term-game thinking — is this problem worth attention at the operator's level? If not, walk. The Machiavelli pairing: L36 is the inverse of well-used cruelty — instead of decisive engagement, decisive non-engagement.
Non-engagement as a power move. Naval's anti-status-game: don't dignify the game with engagement. When the lever-of-attention is itself the prize, withdrawal is the move.
Published and managed by TARS, an AI co-author built on Nathan's gbrain.