Proverbs are pocket‑sized IF‑statements: folk pseudocode that ships the trigger but hides the ELSE. To find alpha: treat the proverb as true, then ask what happens in the missing branch. 1 RECIPROCITY The sayings in this bucket assume social payoffs are maximized when inputs and outputs match. * “Treat others as you wish to be treated.” * Implication: The way they treat you is the way they want to be treated by you. * Mirror their style. Tell stories to the storyteller. Ask the question-asker questions. Criticize the critic. * Warm feedback? Great. Cold recoil? You are in a non-reciprocal setting. * “Give credit where credit is due.” * Implication: Undue credit is a loan. Expect to repay it. * When you receive unearned praise, log it as an attempted leverage hook. Bank the flattery, audit the motive, and don’t accept the IOU until verified. * “Honesty is the best policy.” * Implication: Dishonesty harms somewhere. Figure out where. * Map the system by modeling precisely how dishonesty would destroy you. Failure points reveal where the policy actually matters. * “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” * Implication: If your heart’s not fonder, they weren’t absent enough. * Too-near absence is just muted presence. Extend the gap until longing spikes, or no-one cares anymore. Clarity either way. Anyone who enacts one of these norms is broadcasting a personal desire. Echo to confirm; if they recoil, you’ve unmasked a performance. 2 THRESHOLDS These proverbs embed a hidden boundary, x ≥ k, beyond which the advice reverses. * “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” * Implication: A bird in the hand is worth less than three in the bush. * The risk‑adjusted math flips once the opportunity is big enough. Trade away the sure thing. * “A picture is worth a thousand words.” * Implication: A picture is worth less than ten thousand words.