Chapter 92

The pattern here is crystal clear: expertise creates opportunity where others see only problems. Stubb spots treasure in what the French crew considers toxic waste. This isn't luck—it's the dividend of experience meeting ignorance. The knowledgeable profit from what the inexperienced discard. This mechanism operates through information asymmetry. Stubb knows ambergris hides in rotting whales; the French don't. But notice how he leverages this gap—not through direct confrontation or education, but through misdirection. He plays the helpful colleague while executing a heist in plain sight. The Guernsey man adds another layer, insulting the captain in French while translating sweet words. Knowledge becomes power only when you know how to deploy it. You see this pattern everywhere today. The experienced nurse who spots the medication error others miss. The mechanic who knows that 'worthless' car has a rare part worth thousands. The thrift store regular who recognizes designer clothes others pass by. In workplaces, it's the employee who volunteers for the 'terrible' project nobody wants—because they see the hidden opportunity for overtime, connections, or skill-building. It's the CNA who picks up the holiday shifts everyone avoids, knowing the holiday pay plus shift differential adds up to a mortgage payment. When you recognize this pattern, here's your framework: First, develop expertise in something others overlook. Second, keep quiet about what you know—broadcasting eliminates your advantage. Third, help others solve their 'problems' by taking them off their hands. Fourth, maintain relationships—Stubb stays friendly even while profiting. The key is seeing value where others see burden, then positioning yourself as the solution, not the competition. This is intelligence amplification in action: recognizing that every industry, every workplace, every situation has its own ambergris—valuable things that look worthless to the untrained eye. When you can spot hidden value and extract it without creating enemies—that's amplified intelligence.