When you’ve had success for too long, you lose the desire to take risks.”

When cost is no object, as is the case in a bubble, innovators experiment with new technologies that aren’t cost-effective but which have unique characteristics that can lead to cost reductions down the line.

In his 2007 book Pop, Daniel Gross runs through a list of historical bubbles, including telegraphs, railroads, dot-coms, and housing, that had undeniable upsides.

He even ordered employees to take lie detector tests. (One worker’s came back clean, while everyone else refused to take it.) For the

and further contributes to aging.

Like bubbles, FOMO tends to have a bad reputation, but it’s sometimes a healthy instinct.

Undoubtedly, scientific advancements such as the rapid development of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, for which Moderna developed a design in just two days, are awe-inspiring.

The words “progress,” “innovation,” and “disruption” have become empty signifiers, ritualistically evoked in pitch decks and advertisements to suggest “world-changing” “novelty,” “creativity,” or “originality.” Semantically, these words have become hollowed-out totems of a culture optimized for algorithmically enhanced engagement and excitement.

There’s more academic publishing than ever, but the impact of the median publication is rapidly declining.