Grant sometimes tries to see through the lens of people who might have a particular connection to the issue at hand. But he also tries to tap into the perspectives of a “standard set of original thinkers I admire,” he says. “Some of my favorite research projects have started with asking, What would Lincoln think in a situation like this?” Grant also tries to time-shift his own perspective: “Another question I use is, If I would have tried to tackle this problem ten or twenty years ago, how would I have approached it differently? Then I’ll mentally time travel forward as well and ask, If I were
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