When I became an adult, the first lesson I learned was that most people are simply incompetent. This has been reinforced over and over again. For example, when I bought a house we had to carefully...
When I became an adult, the first lesson I learned was that most people are simply incompetent. This has been reinforced over and over again. For example, when I bought a house we had to carefully review the paperwork because our realtor, the selling realtor, and the loan company would all make careless mistakes.
This article is another example of incompetence at multiple levels. Virtual Capitalists don’t know what they are doing. Tech companies don’t know what they are doing. Trump supporters don’t know what they are doing. Trump doesn’t know what he is doing.
I think this is why I like to watch entertainment like “The Bourne Identity” where the protagonist is hyper competent even when there are a lot of unknowns.
That's what I retroactively appreciate about A Series of Unfortunate Events. The core of the series is basically saying "if you're reading a book for fun, there's a good chance you're not like...
That's what I retroactively appreciate about A Series of Unfortunate Events. The core of the series is basically saying "if you're reading a book for fun, there's a good chance you're not like most people, and you should be preparing yourself for a world full of adults that are incompetent, but well-meaning, or actively malicious." Every single book is basically a farce where where the majority of people in various positions are not quite competent enough to deal with an actively malicious force.
And they all kind of have a problem with literacy.
I think hyper-competent folks exist, but they're few and far between. I also think they tend to be assholes or totally paralyzed by their own genius. Never met anyone in between those two extremes...
I think hyper-competent folks exist, but they're few and far between.
I also think they tend to be assholes or totally paralyzed by their own genius. Never met anyone in between those two extremes who was truly hyper-competent.
Makes you wonder how good things could be if we had competent people in the right places, and didn't have incompetent people funneling wealth into desperately trying to find more gold in them thar...
Makes you wonder how good things could be if we had competent people in the right places, and didn't have incompetent people funneling wealth into desperately trying to find more gold in them thar hills.
Not to go on too big of a tangent here, but aside from the moral benefits of a UBI, I've always felt that it would give passionate and competent people more opportunities to get things done. The...
Exemplary
Not to go on too big of a tangent here, but aside from the moral benefits of a UBI, I've always felt that it would give passionate and competent people more opportunities to get things done. The person who has held that position for 30 years because they need a salary, but they've been phoning it in while waiting for retirement? The person who has no ability to do anything the market cares about, so they do a poor job at a basic job? The person who is passionate and skilled at something that no one would currently pay a living wage to have produced? They could all have their place to work or not work without starving or being homeless, and the people who are skilled and passionate about something will be able to do that thing for everyone's benefit without having to struggle through the morass of people who just need to be part of the labor system so as to not die.
I support UBI over that (but I also support that) because productivity shot through the roof last century. We don't need to be working these long hours. UBI means some people can completly sit out...
I support UBI over that (but I also support that) because productivity shot through the roof last century. We don't need to be working these long hours. UBI means some people can completly sit out the workforce and still live an acceptable life - or at least, it should.
But I also think jobs should pay relative to the effort but also the bullshit. Like plumbers deal with literal shit - and charge for it. "Menial" jobs should be the same. But I'm drifting into just glimpses of how I'd set up society were I a benevolent dictator. heh
I believe in that so very strongly. Not just practical things. I often wonder how many would-be groundbreaking artists, philosophers, and other thinkers were instead ground into the machine and...
I believe in that so very strongly. Not just practical things. I often wonder how many would-be groundbreaking artists, philosophers, and other thinkers were instead ground into the machine and are just making ends meet?
Most of us didn't get the luxury to explore the things that our individual brains might be best at, because if that thing isn't marketable within capitalism then it isn't important until you've reached a thriving wage (which many don't).
Anyhow, preach. I've never been in a position to benefit from UBI but would gladly pay much higher taxes to make UBI happen - both for the greater good, and so that I selfishly have a safety net should my career ever get replaced by AI.
Many, perhaps even most, things of positive economic value are hard to quantify and result in returns at a far distance and time from the action. If I teach a child how to use a 3D printer today...
Many, perhaps even most, things of positive economic value are hard to quantify and result in returns at a far distance and time from the action. If I teach a child how to use a 3D printer today they may pursue an engineering degree and build products for thousands of people. If I fix a wobbly step in a public space I might save someone a future trip to the hospital. But because I can’t cash in on these positive effects I have to do charity in my free time (which thankfully I have a lot of).
I think part of the reason for this state of affairs is well expressed by Steve Jobs’ dictum that “As hire As, and Bs hire Cs”. There’s a sort of ratchet effect towards ever-lower performance in...
I think part of the reason for this state of affairs is well expressed by Steve Jobs’ dictum that “As hire As, and Bs hire Cs”. There’s a sort of ratchet effect towards ever-lower performance in the workforce among everyone but the most competent.
The other part is that there is a substantial segment of the population who are actually bad people who just want to cash in. They are at best indifferent to the actual purpose of the organization they work for, and their interests lie in surrounding themselves either with cronies, or with people who are too dumb to realize what’s going on.
I think this is often less about individual competence and more about prioritization and resource allocation. Tech companies may have skilled engineers, designers, managers, and QA, but if the...
I think this is often less about individual competence and more about prioritization and resource allocation. Tech companies may have skilled engineers, designers, managers, and QA, but if the business overcommits and fails to prioritize long-term goals, the results can appear incompetent. In a sense, it is incompetence - but it's systemic, not a reflection of the abilities of the people doing the work. I have to imagine this is the same in many industries. Capitalism is driving companies/investors to only deliver enough competence such that you will suffer it and pay anyways, because that increases profits.
Woof, this hits home. It's been funny having a little startup through the mounds and troughs of fundraising since 2020. Maybe funny isn't the right word - frustrating might be better. We popped up...
Woof, this hits home. It's been funny having a little startup through the mounds and troughs of fundraising since 2020. Maybe funny isn't the right word - frustrating might be better.
We popped up in an early cohort of what would eventually be named "nature tech". My co-founder and I took a grad school project that was aimed at researchers and conservation groups and turned it into a little company. When we first spoke with investors no one understood what we wanted to do and were about as kind as you might expect. Some of that was due to our inability to code switch from science to finance, and some of it was to do with their utter lack of understanding in the space. They were interested in "climate" broadly but had no actual understanding. Where they were unable to see a path the government provided! Yay for the National Science Foundation! We did some additional R&D and had an initial product, back to fundraising!
Now the year is 2022, climate investment is heating up because Biden just dropped a metric fuckton of money into the space. Dollars are flying everywhere and when we talk to folks, they still have no idea what is going on. People have jumped on the carbon credit bandwagon. "Climate finance" is everywhere. Every conference, event, and round table is flooded with a selection of crypto, finance, and former tech bros. "They will solve it with new technology and financial mechanisms." There is not a biologist in sight. No one has any idea how nature works. Ideas are thrown around like paying coal mining operations - to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - to stop coal mining and start burying carbon. Seems like a sound investment /s. Anyone we talk to about our technology asks if we can verify carbon credits. We've worked on functional carbon projects - some of the very few that actually work - and gracefully decline. The carbon market implodes that winter. Grifters had flooded in and were co-opting the space with their non-academic/non-federal dollars. They still hold a strong grip on the space to this day - and broadly that is who picked up the loose capital.
We test the water for another round of fundraising. This time people are telling us that they can cut a check tomorrow. Climate hype and a stabilizing economy has driven another glut. The head spinning 180 from our first round freaks us out. We seek out guidance and hear a lot of "if you don't absolutely need the money, don't take it." The government provides again - we get a much larger sum of money and kick the can 2 years down the road.
As most folks know, the government isn't particularly reliable these days. We're figuring out if we can gain access to some of our currently frozen assets from NSF and as such, have kicked off a raise. We've begun attending events again and the atmosphere is weird. The events that were normally comprised of founders and VCs, now seem to be primarily made up of people looking for work. Of the 100ish conversations I had at the late night events SF Climate Week, I'd say nearly half of them were with folks trying to get hired. Which makes sense given how Trumps cuts have effected the science community. The conversations I did have with investors were odd as well. Someone literally interpreted what we do as being "the Palantir of nature data". I nearly threw up in my mouth. Many were excited that we could pick up many of the contracts currently overseen by public institutions like NOAA or USGS. There was excitement about the savaging of the public sector.
Like other folks have called out in this thread, there is a spectrum of intelligence in the VC world. There are thoughtful people who learn about the niche they invest in, invest their dollars in real companies, and help foster the community. We really appreciate them. They make up maybe 5-10% of the total group. The other 90+% are high on their own supply. It's clear they are applying old lessons learned from the early internet days of tech to fields that function very differently. There seems to be a lack of grounding, humility, and understanding. A very pleasant combination.
Sorry for the rant, it's been top of mind and the article is validating :)
I'm glad you liked it and found it validating. Thanks very much for sharing your story; that's super-interesting first-hand knowledge and the kind of conversation I hoped to see when posting it.
I'm glad you liked it and found it validating. Thanks very much for sharing your story; that's super-interesting first-hand knowledge and the kind of conversation I hoped to see when posting it.
When I became an adult, the first lesson I learned was that most people are simply incompetent. This has been reinforced over and over again. For example, when I bought a house we had to carefully review the paperwork because our realtor, the selling realtor, and the loan company would all make careless mistakes.
This article is another example of incompetence at multiple levels. Virtual Capitalists don’t know what they are doing. Tech companies don’t know what they are doing. Trump supporters don’t know what they are doing. Trump doesn’t know what he is doing.
I think this is why I like to watch entertainment like “The Bourne Identity” where the protagonist is hyper competent even when there are a lot of unknowns.
That's what I retroactively appreciate about A Series of Unfortunate Events. The core of the series is basically saying "if you're reading a book for fun, there's a good chance you're not like most people, and you should be preparing yourself for a world full of adults that are incompetent, but well-meaning, or actively malicious." Every single book is basically a farce where where the majority of people in various positions are not quite competent enough to deal with an actively malicious force.
And they all kind of have a problem with literacy.
I think hyper-competent folks exist, but they're few and far between.
I also think they tend to be assholes or totally paralyzed by their own genius. Never met anyone in between those two extremes who was truly hyper-competent.
I have a friend of mine who is incredibly competent, talented, motivated, and personable.
He is a unicorn and I am always in awe of him.
I am super glad for you (maybe more glad for your friend lol). Must be nice.
Makes you wonder how good things could be if we had competent people in the right places, and didn't have incompetent people funneling wealth into desperately trying to find more gold in them thar hills.
Not to go on too big of a tangent here, but aside from the moral benefits of a UBI, I've always felt that it would give passionate and competent people more opportunities to get things done. The person who has held that position for 30 years because they need a salary, but they've been phoning it in while waiting for retirement? The person who has no ability to do anything the market cares about, so they do a poor job at a basic job? The person who is passionate and skilled at something that no one would currently pay a living wage to have produced? They could all have their place to work or not work without starving or being homeless, and the people who are skilled and passionate about something will be able to do that thing for everyone's benefit without having to struggle through the morass of people who just need to be part of the labor system so as to not die.
Id be satisfied with just actually taxing the rich and getting congress to properly fund the benefits we already have
I support UBI over that (but I also support that) because productivity shot through the roof last century. We don't need to be working these long hours. UBI means some people can completly sit out the workforce and still live an acceptable life - or at least, it should.
But I also think jobs should pay relative to the effort but also the bullshit. Like plumbers deal with literal shit - and charge for it. "Menial" jobs should be the same. But I'm drifting into just glimpses of how I'd set up society were I a benevolent dictator. heh
Ah yeah I don’t dabble too much in idealism these days haha I find I just end up disappointed
I believe in that so very strongly. Not just practical things. I often wonder how many would-be groundbreaking artists, philosophers, and other thinkers were instead ground into the machine and are just making ends meet?
Most of us didn't get the luxury to explore the things that our individual brains might be best at, because if that thing isn't marketable within capitalism then it isn't important until you've reached a thriving wage (which many don't).
Anyhow, preach. I've never been in a position to benefit from UBI but would gladly pay much higher taxes to make UBI happen - both for the greater good, and so that I selfishly have a safety net should my career ever get replaced by AI.
Many, perhaps even most, things of positive economic value are hard to quantify and result in returns at a far distance and time from the action. If I teach a child how to use a 3D printer today they may pursue an engineering degree and build products for thousands of people. If I fix a wobbly step in a public space I might save someone a future trip to the hospital. But because I can’t cash in on these positive effects I have to do charity in my free time (which thankfully I have a lot of).
I think part of the reason for this state of affairs is well expressed by Steve Jobs’ dictum that “As hire As, and Bs hire Cs”. There’s a sort of ratchet effect towards ever-lower performance in the workforce among everyone but the most competent.
The other part is that there is a substantial segment of the population who are actually bad people who just want to cash in. They are at best indifferent to the actual purpose of the organization they work for, and their interests lie in surrounding themselves either with cronies, or with people who are too dumb to realize what’s going on.
I think this is often less about individual competence and more about prioritization and resource allocation. Tech companies may have skilled engineers, designers, managers, and QA, but if the business overcommits and fails to prioritize long-term goals, the results can appear incompetent. In a sense, it is incompetence - but it's systemic, not a reflection of the abilities of the people doing the work. I have to imagine this is the same in many industries. Capitalism is driving companies/investors to only deliver enough competence such that you will suffer it and pay anyways, because that increases profits.
Woof, this hits home. It's been funny having a little startup through the mounds and troughs of fundraising since 2020. Maybe funny isn't the right word - frustrating might be better.
We popped up in an early cohort of what would eventually be named "nature tech". My co-founder and I took a grad school project that was aimed at researchers and conservation groups and turned it into a little company. When we first spoke with investors no one understood what we wanted to do and were about as kind as you might expect. Some of that was due to our inability to code switch from science to finance, and some of it was to do with their utter lack of understanding in the space. They were interested in "climate" broadly but had no actual understanding. Where they were unable to see a path the government provided! Yay for the National Science Foundation! We did some additional R&D and had an initial product, back to fundraising!
Now the year is 2022, climate investment is heating up because Biden just dropped a metric fuckton of money into the space. Dollars are flying everywhere and when we talk to folks, they still have no idea what is going on. People have jumped on the carbon credit bandwagon. "Climate finance" is everywhere. Every conference, event, and round table is flooded with a selection of crypto, finance, and former tech bros. "They will solve it with new technology and financial mechanisms." There is not a biologist in sight. No one has any idea how nature works. Ideas are thrown around like paying coal mining operations - to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - to stop coal mining and start burying carbon. Seems like a sound investment /s. Anyone we talk to about our technology asks if we can verify carbon credits. We've worked on functional carbon projects - some of the very few that actually work - and gracefully decline. The carbon market implodes that winter. Grifters had flooded in and were co-opting the space with their non-academic/non-federal dollars. They still hold a strong grip on the space to this day - and broadly that is who picked up the loose capital.
We test the water for another round of fundraising. This time people are telling us that they can cut a check tomorrow. Climate hype and a stabilizing economy has driven another glut. The head spinning 180 from our first round freaks us out. We seek out guidance and hear a lot of "if you don't absolutely need the money, don't take it." The government provides again - we get a much larger sum of money and kick the can 2 years down the road.
As most folks know, the government isn't particularly reliable these days. We're figuring out if we can gain access to some of our currently frozen assets from NSF and as such, have kicked off a raise. We've begun attending events again and the atmosphere is weird. The events that were normally comprised of founders and VCs, now seem to be primarily made up of people looking for work. Of the 100ish conversations I had at the late night events SF Climate Week, I'd say nearly half of them were with folks trying to get hired. Which makes sense given how Trumps cuts have effected the science community. The conversations I did have with investors were odd as well. Someone literally interpreted what we do as being "the Palantir of nature data". I nearly threw up in my mouth. Many were excited that we could pick up many of the contracts currently overseen by public institutions like NOAA or USGS. There was excitement about the savaging of the public sector.
Like other folks have called out in this thread, there is a spectrum of intelligence in the VC world. There are thoughtful people who learn about the niche they invest in, invest their dollars in real companies, and help foster the community. We really appreciate them. They make up maybe 5-10% of the total group. The other 90+% are high on their own supply. It's clear they are applying old lessons learned from the early internet days of tech to fields that function very differently. There seems to be a lack of grounding, humility, and understanding. A very pleasant combination.
Sorry for the rant, it's been top of mind and the article is validating :)
I'm glad you liked it and found it validating. Thanks very much for sharing your story; that's super-interesting first-hand knowledge and the kind of conversation I hoped to see when posting it.
An insightful overview of the state of VC in 2025. I think the guy is right about just about everything. Spooky times indeed.