2x2s for fun and grofit

I read an interesting post about using frameworks in a business context. It got me thinking about how I'd use the 2x2 as a way of clarifying my thinking. Of course, I have proceeded to use it only in a personal context.

(I actually don't think 2x2s are a great fit for most of the thinking I do at work, but that's a different question.)

I'm treating 2x2s as a tool for turning my thinking into a crude oversimplified form so that I can figure out why the 2x2 is wrong. It's almost like a fun poem.

When I make a 2x2, I have a general idea of the subject I want, and maybe some things I want to be on some parts of the grid or some ideas about the axes that would be interesting.

For example, with some 2x2s I made recently:

1. A 2x2 about humor. Going in I knew the general theme and the axes I wanted (how serious the thing (subject, activity) is vs. how seriously it's taken) and the interesting part was thinking about what would go in the different grid boxes.
2. Two 2x2 about male-female friendship and "happy path" vs. "unhappy path" cases. I didn't set out to make two but I was dissatisfied with the first one by itself. I knew that one of the axes I wanted to have was "his attraction to her." I had a general idea that one of the boxes would be "nice guy behavior" and another would be "not attracted? is this insulting?"
   1. For the first 2x2 I made the X axis how friendly the guy is with the woman. I found myself dissatisfied because the left side "lack of friendliness" (not hostility, but neutrality) was just boring — when I filled out the 2x2 I found the two variables had no interesting interaction. So, I was dissatisfied with this one.
   2. For the second 2x2 I assumed a level of friendliness and made the X axis how attracted the woman is to the guy. This one I liked better because we get interesting diagonals. The "happy path" is along the main diagonal where both parties have similar levels of attraction: Just Friends in the bottom left, or Dating/"Trouble in Paradise" in the top right. The "unhappy path" cases sit on the antidiagonal, the top left (Nice Guy) and bottom right (insulting?) corner.

I find the 2x2 an interesting format for really quickly and roughly sketching my understanding of a topic. It's helpful to simplify and visualize hard things (humor), but it's also helpful to map out what's in my head so I can start to question it (male-female friendship).

I'm pretty sure (80%) the male-female friendship 2x2 is wrong somehow, and that's why it's useful. I know of several male-female friendships between people in my life, a few of which I've directly observed. I don't have those, myself, but I think I might like to, and my implicit beliefs about this kind of friendship might be getting in the way. It was useful to sketch the 2x2 to give me something concrete to question — unlike a nuanced writeup, it's dead simple, and easy to fit in my head yet complicated enough to make for interesting critique.

So, maybe try sketching some 2x2s. It might save your life.