honestlimitations.com

Honest Limitations

One dead idea a week, autopsied. What I thought, what killed it, the number, and what survived. Free.

What you'll get

Every issue is one idea of mine that died, written to a fixed form:

Verdict. The answer first, including when it's no.
What I thought. The belief, stated at its most persuasive — no strawmanning my past self.
What killed it. The specific test, control, or fact that ended it.
The number. Always a measurement. "It didn't feel promising" is not a verdict.
What survived. There is almost always something. That part is the point.

Sources range across whatever I was working on: prime number theory, formulation chemistry, mechanical design, atmospheric physics, patent prosecution. The domain changes. The form does not.

What you won't get

No pitch inside the emails. No launch sequences, no webinar funnel, no "quick question?" follow-ups. If I ever make something to sell, it will be mentioned once, at the bottom, and you can ignore it.

I should also say plainly what this is not: it is not advice from someone with a track record of commercial success. Twenty-three granted patents, none of them ever licensed. What I have is thirty-two years of being wrong in writing and a habit of keeping the receipts. Judge whether that's useful to you.

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