How I Make Decisions as a NASA Engineer
Summary
TLDRAli Aluli, a post-doctoral fellow and systems engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, shares his algorithmic approach to decision-making that he credits for his successful career at NASA. The video outlines a six-step process: defining the decision, hypothesizing based on personal logic, seeking expert advice, analyzing the advice critically, comparing it with the initial hypothesis, and finally making a decision based on intuition informed by the previous steps. Aluli emphasizes the importance of not just following expert advice blindly but also trusting one's gut feeling after thorough analysis. He highlights that while his method may not always lead to the right outcome, it ensures personal satisfaction and minimal regrets as it aligns with one's inner desires and intellectual reasoning.
Takeaways
- 🔍 **Define the Decision**: Clearly understand what you are deciding on before making any decisions.
- 🧐 **Hypothesize**: Use your own logic and knowledge to form an initial hypothesis without external input.
- 🗣️ **Ask Experts**: Consult with people who have achieved the results you want; they can provide valuable insights.
- 🤔 **Analyze Advice**: Critically think about the advice you receive, don't accept it blindly.
- 📊 **Compare and Contrast**: Weigh the analyzed advice against your initial hypothesis to see if it changes your perspective.
- 🧘 **Trust Your Intuition**: After thorough analysis, make the final decision based on your gut feeling, which is informed by your intellectual reasoning.
- 💭 **Intuition is Informed**: Your intuition is a result of your deep desires combined with your intellectual analysis.
- 🛑 **Regret Minimization**: Make decisions that you won't regret, even if they are not always right.
- 🌟 **Follow Your Heart**: After intellectual work, follow your heart and intuition, as they guide you towards what feels right for you.
- 🤓 **Critical Thinking is Key**: Always maintain your own critical thinking, even when receiving advice from experts.
- 🌱 **Maintain Balance**: Ensure you are well-rested, eat well, and take care of your health to keep your intuition sharp.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is about Ali Aluli's decision-making process, which he uses to make significant life choices, including how it helped him secure his job at NASA.
What is the first step in Ali's decision-making algorithm?
-The first step in Ali's decision-making algorithm is to clearly define the decision that needs to be made.
How does Ali categorize decisions in his algorithm?
-Ali categorizes decisions as either short-term reversible or long-term irreversible, based on the duration and potential for reversal of the decision's impact.
What does Ali suggest doing after defining the decision?
-After defining the decision, Ali suggests turning inwards and formulating a hypothesis based on one's own logic and knowledge without external inputs.
Why is it important to ask experts for advice in the decision-making process?
-It is important to ask experts for advice because they have the results that you want and can provide valuable insights based on their experience and understanding of the field.
What is the role of critical thinking in Ali's algorithm?
-Critical thinking is used to analyze the advice received from others. It involves not blindly trusting expert advice but questioning and evaluating it for oneself.
How does Ali suggest comparing your hypothesis with the advice received from others?
-Ali suggests averaging out the advice received from others and comparing it to your initial hypothesis to see how they align or differ, which helps in making a more informed decision.
What is the final step in Ali's decision-making algorithm?
-The final step in Ali's decision-making algorithm is to make the final call based on intuition, which is a gut feeling that arises from the combination of intellectual analysis and personal desires.
Why is it crucial to follow one's intuition after doing the intellectual work?
-Following one's intuition after intellectual work is crucial because it combines rational analysis with personal desires and emotions, leading to more satisfying decisions that align with one's true self.
What does Ali suggest to ensure a well-calibrated intuition?
-Ali suggests ensuring good sleep, eating a clean diet, and maintaining a clear state of mind to help calibrate intuition better.
How does Ali feel about decisions made against his intuition?
-Ali feels regretful and resentful when he goes against his intuition, as it often leads to less satisfying outcomes and a sense of missed opportunity to listen to his inner guidance.
What is the significance of the plot twist at the end of the algorithm?
-The plot twist signifies the importance of intuition in decision-making. It suggests that while intellectual analysis is vital, the final decision should be guided by a gut feeling or intuition that takes into account both the analysis and personal desires.
Outlines
🔍 Decision Making at NASA: The Algorithmic Approach
Ali Aluli, a post-doctoral fellow and systems engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, introduces his video on the algorithmic method he uses for decision making. He shares that this method, which he learned from his own experiences and later found similarities with Elon Musk's approach, has been instrumental in securing his job at NASA. The video promises a step-by-step guide on how viewers can apply this algorithm to their own life decisions, particularly those that are significant and irreversible. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the type of decision being made, whether it's short-term and reversible or long-term and irreversible, and how this algorithm is particularly useful for the latter.
🤔 Formulating a Hypothesis and Seeking Expert Advice
The second paragraph delves into the first two steps of Ali's decision-making algorithm. The first step is to clearly define the decision at hand, which is crucial for making a well-informed choice. The second step involves turning inward and formulating a hypothesis based on one's own logic and knowledge. Ali then stresses the importance of the third step, which is seeking advice from experts who have achieved the results one desires. He shares his personal experience of interviewing 31 engineers at NASA to gain insights for his career decisions. The paragraph highlights the significance of asking the right people for advice and the relentless pursuit of understanding their perspectives.
🧐 Analyzing Advice and Comparing with Personal Hypothesis
In the third paragraph, Ali discusses the fourth step of his algorithm, which is analyzing the advice received from experts critically. He cautions against blindly following expert advice and emphasizes the need for personal critical thinking. Ali also explains that he uses first principles thinking to assess the logic and reasoning behind the advice given. The fifth step is to compare the analyzed advice with one's initial hypothesis, averaging out the information gathered, and considering how it aligns with or changes the initial assumptions. This step involves deep reflection and comparison, often aided by activities like walking or driving to allow for uninterrupted thought.
💡 Trusting Intuition for the Final Decision
The final paragraph of the script outlines the last step of Ali's decision-making process, which is trusting one's intuition. He explains that intuition is not separate from rational thought but is informed by it, combining intellectual analysis with deep-seated desires and emotions. Ali argues that following one's intuition, after thorough reasoning and analysis, is the key to making decisions that feel right and lead to no regrets. He shares personal anecdotes about how following his intuition led to his PhD, his job at NASA, and other significant life choices. The paragraph concludes with the advice to always follow one's heart after doing the intellectual work and to ensure that one's physical well-being supports a well-calibrated intuition.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Algorithmic Decision Making
💡Post-Doctoral Fellow
💡Irreversible Decisions
💡Hypothesis
💡Experts
💡Critical Thinking
💡Intuition
💡PhD
💡NASA Internship
💡YouTube Channel
💡First Principles Thinking
Highlights
Ali Aluli, a post-doctoral fellow and systems engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, shares his decision-making process that helped him secure his job at NASA.
His decision-making algorithm has been recognized with high engagement on LinkedIn, receiving 16,000 likes and 1.3 million views.
The algorithm is applicable to anyone, regardless of their background, and can be used for significant life and career decisions.
Decisions should be categorized as either short-term reversible or long-term irreversible to apply the algorithm effectively.
Jeff Bezos' concept of reversible and irreversible decisions is highlighted as a key learning for Aluli.
The importance of defining the decision clearly before proceeding with the algorithm is emphasized.
Aluli suggests turning inward and hypothesizing based on one's own logic and knowledge before seeking external advice.
When seeking advice, it's crucial to consult with experts who have achieved the results you desire.
Aluli's experience of interviewing 31 engineers at NASA to inform his career decisions is shared.
The necessity of critical thinking when analyzing advice received from others is discussed.
Aluli stresses the importance of not outsourcing your thinking to coaches or gurus and maintaining personal responsibility for decision-making.
Comparing your initial hypothesis with the analyzed advice from others is a key step in the algorithm.
The final decision should be made based on intuition, which is informed by both rational thought and emotional desire.
Intuition is described as a combination of intellectual analysis and deep-down desires, creating a 'gut feeling' about the right decision.
Aluli shares personal anecdotes about following his intuition in major life decisions, such as studying in Spain and pursuing a PhD.
He emphasizes that while not every intuitive decision is correct, following one's heart leads to fewer regrets.
Maintaining good physical health through sleep and diet is advised to ensure intuition is well-calibrated.
The video concludes with Aluli encouraging viewers to engage with his content and follow his journey on YouTube.
Transcripts
hey guys my name is Ali aluli I am a
post-doctoral fellow and a systems
engineer at the NASA jet propulsion lab
in this video I'm going to show you how
I make decisions and how my decision-
making ability got me my NASA job in the
first place I actually tell the story in
a Linkin post I wrote um a while back
that got 16,000 likes and 1.3 million
views which was crazy and then I tell a
similar story in another post this one
got 7,000 likes where I was talking
about how a space interview actually
helped me get uh my job at Nasa but um
the idea is that when I make big
decisions in life such as career
business things of that nature I'm very
very algorithmic about it and actually
later on when I read Elon musk's
biography I realized that Elon Musk uses
a very very similar algorithm but the
cool part is that this algorithm is
something you can learn it's something
anybody can use you don't have to be an
engineer you don't have to be a
physicist and I'm going to walk you
through step by step how what what this
algorithm is how you can use it to make
decisions in your life especially the
big uh decisions and so you can start
enjoying amazing results and towards the
end is going to be actually a plot twist
to this algorithm and I'll provide some
stories and examples um as I build up
towards that but before I go ahead and I
go through the uh six step algorithm uh
it is very very uh important that you
categorize the type of decision that you
are making right so when it comes to
decision making um you want to
understand is your decision something
that that is short-term reversible or
like long-term irreversible and this is
something I learned from Jeff Bezos is
that there are two types of decisions
ones that are reversible ones that are
irreversible right a reversible one is
like what am I going to wear to work
today that's something you don't have to
overthink as much like at worst case
like you can just change your clothes or
you can just wear something new tomorrow
but something that is irreversible uh
for example I'm getting a tattoo um and
like all over my body that's an
irreversible decision that's something
you have to like sit through and and
think for a very very long time or where
am I going to go for college or like am
I should I get a PhD should I not get a
PhD should I start this business
obviously these are like long-term
reversible but like if something is
going to suck away like five years 10
years of your life uh like marriage for
example is a big one I would place these
things in the like irreversible category
or like very tough to reverse basically
this algorithm works really well when
something is irreversible or really
really tough to reverse and needs a lot
of thinking and a lot of input if
something is very easily reversible
then you can basically just give it a
shot and if it doesn't work out who
cares try something else but so um
suppose the decision you're trying to
make is something very big and again
I'll give you an example when I was
still in college I was trying to
understand uh what major should I choose
in college should I study electrical
engineering mechanical engineering
should I do a medicine should I do law
that's a big decision right because that
sets your career trajectory I use that I
use the algorithm to help me figure that
out when I was deciding on whether I
should do a PhD or not I Ed this
algorithm to help helped me get the PHD
when I got my very first NASA internship
when I was only 19 years old I used this
algorithm to to figure that out and when
I um got my job at NASA JPL and figured
out that this is what I actually want to
do and build my business part-time grow
my my YouTube channel whatnot I use this
exact same algorithm so the very first
thing you want to do step one is to
Define exactly what it is that you're
trying to decide on right so now that
we've established that okay we have a
pretty serious decision to to make what
is it that you trying to do right are
you trying to decide on a college career
are you trying to decide on a business
for example in the case of Elon Musk uh
one of the big decisions he had to make
very early on is when he was uh when he
when when he was about to enroll in
Stanford to do a PhD but then the
internet was booming and then the the
step one for him was Define the decision
okay I have to Def decide between either
continuing my PhD or between uh joining
the internet and and and being part of
the internet Revolution Step One is you
want to Define what the actual decision
is and get crystal clear on it okay a
lot of people skip this step a lot of
people don't even know what they're
deciding on right so first step is
clarity as always second step is you
turn inwards and you hypothesize right
and you use your own logic your own
ration you ask okay suppose I have no
other external inputs what do I think
right and and again a very simple
example is uh Elon musk's own um body of
knowledge at the time was telling him oh
like the PHD is good but man the
internet is booming like I probably
should join an internet company right so
that's a hypothesis that he made like
based on an observation he thinks okay
maybe I should I should this is probably
what I should do this is what I think
with my limited body of knowledge I
should do for example in my case when I
was deciding between doing a PhD or
going to get a get get getting a job at
some boring corporate company um I I was
telling myself man like corporate job
sounds
like not the thing for me like I I I I
imagine myself getting bored yes the PHD
is very risky yes I'm going to slave
away and not make money for a few years
but eh like based on my initial logical
thinking again rational thinking um ah
maybe I should I should just do the PHD
right um and then basically hypo
hypothesis is something you come up with
on your own based on your body of
knowledge based on your own passionate
uh uh Bas based on your own rational
thinking step three once you have done
this step is you go and you ask other
people and it is very important that you
ask people who are experts who have the
results that you want I cannot emphasize
this enough a lot of people mess up this
step because they go ask someone who
does not have the results like if
someone is poor do not ask them on how
to get rich if someone's very unhealthy
do not ask them like health related
questions right don't go like don't go
to a sick doctor right uh like that's a
very common saying obviously it's not
literal if your doctor is sick please by
all means still like say hi to them and
and and check on them and make sure
they're okay but the idea is you want to
ask people that know what they're
talking about when I was doing my NASA
internship at JPL in 2019 I went and I
interviewed 31 engineers at Nasa and
every single one I would ask them
questions why do you choose this field
why did you do this career why did you
do this thing what made you decide on
this and they would tell me and then I
would say okay if you are in my shoes
what would you do what would you do all
that so I I I was I was very very
Relentless about this ask step and again
to my surprise which was very pleasant
surprise when I was reading Elon mus
biography Elon was also very Relentless
about this ask step so once he would
make his own hypothesis for example
there was one time where he was doing an
internship in the Bank of Nova Scotia I
believe in Canada uh he would go and ask
all his mentors there about hey I have
this um I'm trying to decide what I want
to do what do you think here's uh what
what do you think I should do
uh when he was deciding about when he
was about to drop out of Stanford and
not do his PhD program and go start a
company with his brother he went and he
spoke with the professor that he would
have worked under and he told him hey
this is what I'm thinking these are my
options and the professor told him hey
like you can like uh defer the the
admission put on hold although I have a
feeling you're not you're not going to
get back so it is very important you go
and ask people who have experience who
have the thing that you're trying to go
after and get knowledge from them and
that's that's very very very important
right now once you ask people and once
you get the knowledge from these people
on what you should do and a very
important step in the algorithm step
number four is to go and analyze like
what you what you just what you just
received from from from uh other people
and and and and think very carefully
about what it is that they told you
right uh this this step involves a lot
of critical thinking right again even if
someone's an expert even if someone
really knows what they're talking about
do not take their advice at face Valley
do not just blindly trust people you are
responsible for your own critical
thinking you have to think everything
through for yourself and this is
something that very dis uh is very
disheartening for me for example in this
like online coaching industry or in like
online courses is very often people
Outsource their thinking to the coach or
to the guru or to the whoever it is that
they're like try taking advice from and
I I I I hate that idea like if someone
has the results and someone has the
thing that you want and gives you advice
they are still not immune right like
they they are still they are still
suspect everybody is suspect you have to
question everyone and you have to
question everything you have to have
your own filters for critical thinking
you have to think everything through and
that's something I would do even when I
was interviewing NASA Engineers I would
even even when I was talking to SpaceX
Engineers even when I was talking to
very accomplished professors every every
piece of advice they would give me
everything they would tell me I would go
and think through it very thoroughly
myself I would go for a walk I would go
like I don't know I would always go and
think about why did they say that H what
is the what is the logic behind that
what is the reasoning behind that and
here is is where I use uh first
principles thinking I use critical
thinking and these are things I plan on
making videos about in more detail so
stick around for that but the idea is
that I would I would use my own critical
thinking I would turn in words and I
would analyze the advice that I have
just received right now obviously I
would spend a lot of time acquiring a
lot of advice so then I would need a lot
of time to analyze it as well right but
this is a very very important step is
whenever you find someone especially
powerful person or person of authority
and they give you advice do not take
their advice at face value you have to
analyze it all the way through for
yourself okay now fifth step the last
logical step which is very very
important is once you have analyzed what
other people have told you and then once
you have um uh once you have analyzed
what other people have told you then you
can go ahead and compare that to your
hypothesis right so you take what other
you ask around and people tell you
things and then you analyze and you
average out what people are telling you
and then you go back and you compare
that to your own hypothesis right and
you say Okay based on my initial
assumption what I thought initially
based on the information I was just
presented with and now that I've
analyzed how do these two things compare
to each other right like how does my
hypothesis lead to what I have just
analyzed right how does how does that
does that change my initial hypothesis
has my hypothesis changed um what what
what do I think I should do or should
not do with this new information is it's
very important you again go and and look
at your initial assumption and then you
look at what you have just analyzed from
other people right and you kind of
average them out in your brain you
compare them in your brain and again a
really good way to do that is to go for
a walk is to go for a ride I usually
like I love going for walks like usually
ideally like by a lake or by by a body
of water or in a forest or something of
that nature um or I like to go for a
late night drive like midnight 1 in the
morning two in the morning I would just
drive around um and I would just like
think very deeply I I would compare all
the stuff that I have just learned all
the advice versus what I was thinking
initially and then here's where things
get magical here's where
there's a trump card there's there's
there's there's something that happens
in the end of this algorithm which in a
way kind
of takes takes all this and turns it
into something that is truly magical uh
which is the final call how do you
actually decide how do you like what
what decision do you act on and what has
worked for me and what has worked for
someone like Elon Musk based on what
I've read what has worked for someone
like Steve Jobs in the back over there
is you always go by your intuition
the final call is always a feeling it's
a gut feeling it's a I feel like this
this feels right and most people got
have this complete completely backwards
most people think like intuition like
feeling and thinking R ration rational
thought are two separate things but
actually your
intuition is built on your intellectual
reasoning like whatever it is you have
spent a lot of time analyzing comparing
thinking deeply about whatever it is you
have been doing that that is calibrating
your intuition right your intuition is
basically taking all of this and
combining it with what you want deep
down right like you as a human you're an
emotional creature you have a heart and
you have a soul and you have things that
you crave deep down right and these
things cannot be harnessed these things
I'm sorry these things cannot be
manufactured these things have to be
harnessed so you have a desire deep down
whether it is you want to accomplish
something you want to grow a company you
want to go uh I don't know find like the
right partner you want to build
friendship there's a desire you have
deep down and that desire or whatever it
is that you're trying to go after in
life combined with everything that
you've just analyzed learned talked to
other people these two things will
always can uh add up to H to to create
your intuition and and guys if there's
one advice I have for you to have an
enjoyable life is to follow your heart
follow your intuition once you have done
the critical thinking and the reasoning
and that's exactly what I talk about in
my post over here I basically tell a
story of how I got my PhD at 26 years
old and got my dream jobs at Nasa and
then I I basically say that um
well a lot a lot of a lot of these
decisions that I took that led me here
had were were very intuitive decisions
right like when I was an undergrad I
wanted to study in Spain and um even
though it was expensive at the time and
it didn't make sense my in told me go
for it and I did and then I met a cool
professor in the process and meeting the
cool Professor um got me exposed to
electrical engineering research and I
did uh a PhD with him and then through
that work I met my current adviser at
Nasa and I did my very first internship
and through that I landed my my job at
Nasa and even though I had a lot of
struggle a lot of things that I went
through when I when I was going through
that every single step of the way I was
following my intuition I was following
my heart when I'm making uh when I
decided to make this YouTube channel uh
this was more of a heart feeling when I
decided to again finish my PhD uh like
get my job do all these things these are
all intuition heart decisions do I get
it right every single time no absolutely
not but here's the beauty even if I get
it right I have zero regrets because it
is my decision I do what I want I do
what feels good to me and and and even
if I get it right then that's okay I I I
brush it off but when am I resent ful
and what am I regretful I am only
regretful and and and ah like like
really wish I could go back in time when
I go against my intuition and I get it
wrong right that is the the the least
Pleasant feeling in my opinion is when
your intuition tells you something and
you go listen to some Guru or you go
listen to someone else's advice and you
mess mess up the situation and then
you're like oh man if only I had like
listened to my to myself if only I had
listened to what I was thinking about
deep down but again that is only
something that is doable once you have
done the intellectual work so you cannot
separate the Mind from the heart they
work together in harmony do the
intellectual work first of figuring out
what it is you're trying to make um in
terms of a decision defi Define your
decision make your own intellectual
hypothesis ask around analyze people's
inputs compare people's inputs to your
initial input and then based on all that
information you will get a feeling for
what you should do right make sure well
arrested make sure you slept well make
sure you're eating a Clean Diet all
these things help calibrate your
intuition uh even better if you if
you're like on very very poor sleep uh
your intuition is not going to be very
good you're going to be more people
confuse intuition with impulse intuition
is this just kind of calm Serene feeling
that you should do something when all
else is equal and you you exhausted all
the intellectual options but anyway that
being said um if you're here for the
first time again welcome leave a comment
saying hi go ahead and watch watch the
rest of my videos with that being said
I'll see you in the next one Peace Love
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