Consistency beats intelligence
Why I think the tortoise is misunderstood: it is not slow, it simply keeps moving in a direction.
The advantage of the tortoise is not slowness; it is the compounding power of consistent movement in a chosen direction.
The tortoise is normally used as a symbol of slowness. I do not see it that way.
The tortoise is not defined by slowness. It is defined by consistency, direction, and refusal to stop.
A tortoise can move fast. It can use AI. It can change direction when the evidence changes. What makes it a tortoise is that it continues moving.
Why consistency wins
Intelligence creates possibilities. Consistency gives those possibilities time to compound.
In building companies, learning technology or developing an idea, occasional brilliance is fragile. A repeatable habit of moving the important thing forward is much harder to beat.
This is the principle behind The Thinking Tortoise.