Duration is the final filter. People chasing rewards leave when rewards dry up. Sustained obsession can’t be faked. If you do fake it long enough to become indistinguishable from someone who has it, you’re not faking anymore.
High agency is such an important idea because the more agency an individual or society has -- the more problems they can solve.
High agency can be a confusing idea to understand because it’s not just one idea. It’s a combination of three distinct skills rarely found together:
If effort is now diminished, if it can be hidden, and proof can or soon will be gamed too, if transparency itself can be performed — what’s left?
The only thing left that can’t be gamed is wanting something badly enough that it shows. Desire is the closest thing to proof of authenticity we have left.
Desire resists this because it’s too... See more