I genuinely believe that we’re living inside a simulation (think of it as a virtual machine), but that it’ll be very hard (or impossible?) to hack our way out of it, because we only have a shared state in common (memory addresses?), and the hypervisor is way too strict to let us play with the register. So in the meantime, I build things (often with the purpose of destroying other things), and work on what I think is interesting, challenging and potentially impactful on a civilizational level. I casually post things here and rarely take time to redraft what I write, but I am trying to get better at it.

I also believe that we’re witnessing an unprecedented western decadence, and that we need to do all we can to preserve American/western supremacy and dominance (mostly in terms of talent and technology). All cultures are not equal, and some are better than others. We can’t afford to let rogue states steer our future. The best way to do this is to create a generation of independant thinkers and to revive the American industrial dynamism, instead of telling every kid that they should pursue their dream of becoming streamers and influencers (not so long ago the typical answer was astronaut!). I am a card carrying member of the “mission-focused” club, but I am making a meteor sized exception for this, and I’m only doing it because I want to signal that you can work in tech and think a bit differently. The tech industry is vastly monocultural despite claiming the opposite, and imposing one model of thinking at work is the closest the modern west has been to fascism. My personal political views however have absolutely nothing to do with my company. You can work there if you’re a democrat, a marxist, or a fish, as long as you’re a good hacker who’s able to work with other hackers. Seriously, nobody cares about your views if you’re cool or refreshingly smart.

Some required/inspiring reads:

• Masters of Doom (Carmack inspires me to work harder)
• The Dream Machine (Where it all started – People’s optimism and dynamism in the 60s inspires me)
• Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (same idea)
• Zero to One (220 pages of pure motivation to start working on something important)
• Paul Graham’s essays (The most honest advice you’ll get – PG is the godfather of modern SV)
• Snow Crash (Cyberpunk not-so-distant future is one of my favorite genres)
• The C programming language 2nd edition (Makes you a better hacker)
• This paper from 1960 (I recently became obsessed over the idea of man-computer symbiosis)

If you’re 16-29 you should:

• Think about building something (anything!)
• Learn to hack (it’s a superpower and will help you think)
• If you already write code, try different paradigms, try to implement things from scratch.
• Drop out of university if you already know what you want and feel like you’re wasting your 20s.
• Instead, you can start a company and apply to YC where you’ll meet way more unconventional people.
• Alternatively you can join a team and work on something interesting.
• Read as much as you can.

If you’re 30+:

• Do the 20s stuff minus the drop out part.
• I’m 23 so I don’t really know, but contributing to technology in any way doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Work on problems that can eventually help solve:

• AGI
• Energy too cheap to meter (This probably means nuclear power)
• Brain-computer interfaces (I know kung-fu type of tech)
• Man-computer symbiosis
• Extend life beyond earth
• Economic freedom on a civilizational level

Don’t work on problems that will lead to more:

• Monetization of eyeballs
• Economic oppression
• Closed ecosystems
• Rent-seeking

Some rules for life and things I believe:

• Try to think from first principles rather than by analogy.
• Go deep on things.
• Aim higher than you’re comfortable with.
• Peace often means having a bigger stick than the other guy.
• It’s probably good if HN says it’s not.
• Don’t let cheap dopamine ruin your productivity and motivation. Transcend social media addiction.
• The endgame of technology is to gain control over nature and bend it to our will.

Reach out on Telegram if you want to talk about computers, AI, or if you want to work with me.