From zero to 1. Disruptive behavior e.g. move fast, break things. West Coast upending East Coast, Palo Alto Rte 128. Tear-off jeans displace upscale jeans. “Stop-out” is the new “drop-out”. Who needs college! College? it’s where they teach you to question where technology is heading, whether it’s serving the need of humanity (the majority) or just follow through with humanistic and/or mechanistic rogue train.
When Singularity is here, when machine is more spiritual than man, and we shall all be more like (Greek) gods. Living forever, from head to toe with nip and tuck everywhere in the middle part (organ transplant anyone?). I am not sure I can afford the experiment, nor can I find things to self-occupy should I outlive my natural expiration date. But one must admire MIT (East coast) and revitalized Mission district (SF – West coast). H.G. Wells would be proud.
Between 2010-15, we witnessed another wave of tech revival: successful entrepreneurs turn around to help the likes of Gu’s Upstarts, solving a critical problem: the unbank. Everybody was into disintermediation, from Carvana to Casava, from Uber X to Lyft premier. At Nvidia, itself is its worst enemy. It’s the Nvidia way. Imagine waking up, brush your teeth and say to the reflection “today, you’re my worst enemy”. Yet its stocks show some truth to it. We’re full of blood and illusion (King Midas) and there is no need to be reminded.
It’s an exciting time to try and fail. Failures are badges of honor. It’s like the opposite of Russian Army in occupied territories (where there was no turning back). In the late 70’s, there in the Valley (silicon), people arrived in drove – driving up prices (of garages), to the tune of 2,500 dollars per square foot – to be barefoot and be disciples of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Hardware and software.
Public right to know vs privacy, net neutrality vs networking. Data is in. Dating is out. Who has the time. We will someday become gods. Or sexless angels. Keep the apps coming. Finally, I understood those Fortune Gods in Chinese restaurants: gourmet and gyms don’t mix. Eat the grease and enjoy life eternal.
Singularity is near. We earn so much money dropping out of college, we can always afford nip and tuck. First, they tell me I have to grow up. Then to thread carefully for fear of breaking things. Then they tell me to “move fast and break things” (no regrets). Now, Daniel Pink found out about “the power of regrets”. oh boy, opioid. So confusing. Peter Thiel often recommends students to drop out. In today’s climate of student loan and student visa restriction, perhaps one should put equal weight to that fork on the road: “To enroll or not to”.
To take the second option is to bet on something like Home Brew and Whole Earth Catalog can happen again in our productive lifetime. Some bets pay off. Most times, in the age of AI, one can still lose one’s shirts. Never become a graduate nor a god. In the valley or at the mountain top. The Greek sought wisdom, the Jews signs. “Give me a sign…hit me one more time”. When the Emperor gives a thumps up, gladiator lives. Down, dead. Binary world we live in, always zero or 1. Keep going down that path, zillions of forks on the road. I once… was blind…but now I see.
Thang Nguyen 555 