Liminal space is where the magic happens. Edge cases. Uncertainty, but where you can extrapolate. It’s like exploring the ocean within sight of the shore. A baby learning to walk within reach of a parent’s hand.
Liminal space is bordered by opposing forces. Supply and Demand create dynamics that reach the most useful equilibriums (pareto points). Liberalism and Conservatism create evolution, but with checks.
Finance is full of contradictory aphorisms. Let you winners run. No one went poor taking money off the table. I used to think that this showed that no one knew anything and people wanted to look smart but just were demonstrating recency hindsight. But now I think you should assume both are true. If both are true, what does that mean? Under what circumstances is one true and what circumstances the other? Where is the flipping point?
On Jim O’Shaughnessy’s podcast Infinite Loops he often says, “the opposite of a truth can be a truth. The opposite of a virtue can be a virtue.” Often, when this happens, it’s a greater truth and a greater virtue.
I love this! Is liminal space also at the frontier of knowledge? The murky creation of a new product category? The changing of a norm? The toppling of a conventional wisdom?