Leslie Lamport reveals that the concept of using state machines to build distributed systems was a key part of his seminal "Time, Clocks" paper. However, this practical idea was completely overshadowed by the more theoretical "happened-before" relation. He had to reread his own paper to confirm he wasn't "going crazy" when people claimed it wasn't there.

A TED speaker explained a complex Alzheimer's treatment not by leading with science, but by first sharing a personal story about his father to create an emotional connection. Only then did he use an extended analogy (cells as cities, mitochondria as factories on fire) to make the technical details accessible and memorable.

To increase the "memobility" of your ideas so they can spread without you, package them into concise frameworks, diagrams, and stories. This helps others grasp and re-transmit your concepts accurately, especially when you can connect a customer pain to a business problem.

Lamport emphasizes the critical distinction between an algorithm and code. An algorithm is the abstract, high-level solution, while code is just one implementation. He argues that engineers often mistakenly jump directly to code, conflating core synchronization problems with irrelevant implementation details, which leads to flawed systems.

Leslie Lamport challenges the notion that Raft is superior to Paxos because it's more "understandable." He points out that a bug was found in the very version of Raft that students preferred, suggesting their understanding was superficial. For Lamport, true understanding means being able to write a proof, not just having a "warm, fuzzy feeling."

The most effective way to convey complex information, even in data-heavy fields, is through compelling stories. People remember narratives far longer than they remember statistics or formulas. For author Morgan Housel, this became a survival mechanism to differentiate his writing and communicate more effectively.

People watched the movie 'Contagion' during the pandemic rather than reading scientific papers because the human brain is wired to learn through first-person stories, not lists of facts. Narratives provide a simulated, experiential perspective that taps into ancient brain mechanisms, making the information more memorable, understandable, and emotionally resonant.

Lamport's Bakery Algorithm solved a major concurrency problem. Its most surprising feature was its ability to function correctly even if a process reads a garbage value while another is writing. This property was so counter-intuitive that his colleagues initially refused to believe the proof was correct.

To make abstract ideas stick, use theatrical, physical demonstrations. Instead of just explaining a concept like binary search, a professor demonstrated it by dramatically ripping a phone book in half repeatedly. This visceral, memorable act makes the abstract concept concrete and easy to grasp.