The Two Things

This gets a lot of play in the blogosphere, but its still fun to contemplate additional examples:

A few years ago, I was chatting with a stranger in a bar. When I told him I was an economist, he said, "Ah. So what are the Two Things about economics?"

"Huh?" I cleverly replied.

"You know, the Two Things. For every subject, there are really only two things you really need to know. Everything else is the application of those two things, or just not important."

"Oh," I said. "Okay, here are the Two Things about economics. One: Incentives matter. Two: There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Ever since that evening, I've been playing the Two Things game. Whenever I meet someone who belongs to a different profession (i.e., a profession I haven't played this game with), or who knows something about a subject I'm unfamiliar with, I pose the Two Things question.

The following are some examples:

The Two Things about Teaching History:
1. A good story is all they'll remember, not the half hour of analysis on either side of it.
2. They think it's about answers, but it's really about questions.
-Jonathan Dresner

The Two Things about Art Criticism:
1. If it isn't novel, critics aren't interested.
2. If it is novel, no one else is interested.
-TheLetterM

The Two Things about Writing:
1. Include what's necessary.
2. Leave everything else out.
-Nicholas Kronos

The Two Things about World Conquest:
1. Divide and Conquer.
2. Never invade Russia in the winter.
-Tim Lee