See below for links to recent things that have made me think. It’s quite the mix of mediums (animated videos, short posts, letters, and 6-hour podcasts), but it wasn’t until I gathered them that I noticed a recurring theme: sacrifice
Sometimes the world imposes constraints on us, forcing us to choose what matters most. What do we do when those moments come?
Some of my favorite stories (both ancient and modern) explore these moments, and you’ll find elements of that in the list below.
What’s Really Going on in El Segundo
A 14-minute video about the hardware startup scene in El Segundo California, by Jason Carman. Some of it is hype, of course, but I’m impressed by the vision and culture of optimism they are offering to a world where so many young people are flailing and drowning in zero-sum status games.
When a young man or woman comes up to me and says, “I’m not sure exactly what I want to do with my life,” “I’m having a really hard time orienting myself,” “I’m not sure what the point is, but I want to build something great and meaningful,”—that is one of the best consequences of everything that we’ve done. Making more water is a big deal, energy abundance is a big deal, …all of this is great. But just being able to give people some vision for the future—that is one of the most important things. We have to sacrificially build hard, real, material, things to create a future worth living in.
I’ve been watching a bunch of Jason’s videos, and they’re all great medicine for the negativity that afflicts most news media.
Derek Sivers describes his new home in the woods, an alternate world without AI, connectivity, or mental shortcuts. I know people have been been retreating like this for centuries, but the craziness of the world, and the busy-ness of my current life make such a retreat feel like a luxury.
All it takes is for one to work out
A short post about those moments when the rejections keep coming.
These processes – college admissions, job searches, home buying, finding a partner – can be emotionally brutal. … All it takes is for one to work out. And that one is all you need.
During my job search last year, I had a really exciting opportunity fall through at the end. It felt like a crushing blow. It would have been so perfect, I lamented. But looking back now, I don’t even care. Another one worked out (a better one, even). Knowing that rejections don’t actually matter is great medicine and a legitimate source of hope for anyone still fighting.
Dan Wang, author of a bestselling book about China and America, uses his end of year letter to compare the two countries and offer some thoughts. His writing struck a chord for me. It was informed and clever, full of interesting takes that demonstrate his deep understanding of the two nations. I added his book (Breakneck) to my list.
A cute animated short story with a powerful message about sacrifice. I watched it twice—once with my wife, and again with my kids. Both times it sparked some great discussions. I think everyone should watch it.
Sam Kriss profiles the newest, most eccentric, batch of Gen-Z founders. The way he presents their companies make them look exactly like what the fevered minds of a generation raised on social media algorithms would produce. Extreme, attention-grabbing, and impossible not to look away. Stacks of Labubus. Sperm racing.
Reading this felt like I was being transported into another dimension—one where the most absurd, amoral corners of online culture have escaped into the physical world. Is it real or fake? For the luls? Can anyone even know?
Along the way, he was also able to work in this fantastic quote:
If we ever get AI that is strong enough to basically be God and solve all of our problems, it will need to use the same techniques that the actual God uses in terms of maintaining some distance. I do think it’s possible that the AI will be like, “Now I am God. I’ve concluded that the actual God made exactly the right decision on how much evil to permit in the universe. Therefore I refuse to change anything.”
At over 6 hours, this is the longest podcast interview I’ve ever listened to, and I doubt I would have finished it if DHH wasn’t so sharp and entertaining. DHH is known for his strong opinions and I was impressed at his ability to articulate his thinking with clarity and appropriate nuance throughout the interview. The part where he explains the beauty of the Ruby language (from both a practical and philosophical perspective) made me want to write more Ruby, and many of the other topics got me thinking as well.
When AIs can print job applications for pennies, fill up the internet with thinkpieces, and commit industrial-scale quantities of code, is there anything left for us humans to create? Packy McCormick says: yes. What still matters, is what has always mattered, and that is sacrifice. People still want a connection to the stories they read and the music they listen to. Employers still wants to hire someone who cares. Recruiters never needed good cover letters for their own sake… they needed someone who cared enough to sacrifice the time and effort to write them well. They still need those people, even if cover letters are no longer a good way to find them. My takeaway: even in a world flooded with AI-generated content, there will still be a place for those of us who care enough to sacrifice for our work.