Not Plowing for Harvest
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A phrase from the I Ching describing the expectation of a harvest without plowing, presented in the original as an unexpected benefit that arrives through not calculating. Read as a warning model, it names the attempt to obtain results while skipping the investment that produces them, since the causal link between input and output cannot be bypassed. The qualifier is that the lesson is to distinguish process-free luck from a repeatable path.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Input mapping: state what investment the outcome actually requires before expecting it. - Process acceptance: accept that the intermediate work cannot be skipped even when it is invisible. - Fantasy check: identify any plan that expects the result without the corresponding effort.
Anchor fast decisions
Outputs are produced by processes, and processes consume inputs in proportion to the output they generate. Skipping the input does not remove the requirement; it removes the output, so any plan that expects the result while omitting the work is describing a causal chain with a missing link.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikisource.orghttps://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8%E6%98%93/%E6%97%A0%E5%A6%84verified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS