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"In the information age, you simply need to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right information to succeed" - this reminds of a book I read called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I do agree that these opportunities have become more democratised in the information age. Some who have served may have come across the expression, "hurry up and wait" and if we think what this really means we may come to the conclusion that it's all about being in the right place (high ground), at the right time (before your enemy).

When I look at those charts you posted regarding the 1%, I see what you see, but I also see something else. I can easily make the argument that we are in an increasingly globally connected world where inequality is not rising. Do you see it? It's not easy to be soothsayers, but a lot easier to be bayesian about how we perceive what the future will be like in order to develop the kinds of products that Alex talks about.

The beauty of the information age is the serendipity it has showered upon us and this may well be why the charts we reference are indeed tapering off - the 1% used to have two moats, financial and informational, but now there is a bridgehead over the information moat through google, youtube, facebook, substack, etc.

If I, as a window cleaner, wanted to know about the business cycle in 1992 for example, I would not be starting with intentionality first. I would be starting with serendipity first to know of the existence of the business cycle. Then I would exercise intentionality in the interrogation of the concept of the business cycle. Unfortunately internet-facilitated serendipity was quite scarce back then.

Further, the intentionality required to learn about the business cycle back then would be much more than the intentionality required today - thanks to the information age.

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