Years ago when I was recruited as a research assistant, the dean asked me whether I plan my future as an academic fellow. I gave him an answer something like this: “Dear Professor, I never make my decisions on a solid plan. Instead I plan for several different scenario and when the time comes I select the most suitable one.”

Application of redundancy is a very powerful philosophical technique that can be utilized in various areas. In films, when things go bad there is always a redundant system that saves people’s lives. In case of a failure, all engineering systems should recover themselves. They should be designed both reliability and redundancy in mind.

When I was studying naval architecture, I always used more than 2 sources to learn anything. Not only this has solved both inadequacy and sometimes incorrectness of the main source but also it helped clearing my own misunderstandings as well.

Conversation is also another area that redundancy helps a lot. When I listen to someone, I always try to anticipate what comes next by thinking of possible alternatives he/she thinks. So I get ready for a fast counter-argument or a truly unexpected joke.

Last but not least, most risk free financial decisions are based on spreading the risks, so in case of failure the redundant system overtakes and minimizes the loss.