What we value

Examining what this "value" thing is we are all trying to create

So this is not going to be fun 13 years, but it’s not going to be entirely bleak either.

every story is a degrowth story

This is a very bleak look at things, and I believe won’t age well. I predict that most of his biggest concerns will be alleviated in the next 2-3 years, because if we don’t, I think we won’t make it past those

the peaks of shame and grandiosity

The Source 🌊

the past telling us we are bad for not conforming to the safety of rules that no longer apply and the future pulling us toward a state that we know surely must exist somewhere, and we’ve just got to get to it, then we’ll be safe.

All we know is that we aren’t safe now. And all we want to be is safe.

I don’t want to wait for the world to change.

I want to live it.

How I’m Planning to Defeat Global Ecosystem Collapse (By Living the Alternative)

This is the secret to time travel. You have to be the first one to the be the example that others can follow.

Endowment effect

Valuing an object more, only because you possess it.

source

We are emotionally attached to things that we own. It makes sense: There’s an emotional investment in having made the decision, in shifting or cementing your identify as “a person who would have this object,” and how you believe that ownership will be perceived by others. ... See more

Jason Cohen • The Serengeti Plain Fallacy: Fallacies that aren't fallacies

This shows how value is an individual quality. In order to purchase something, you have to value it at or above the price.

Efficiency doesn’t necessarily reduce our workload—it expands it. The more we’re capable of producing, the more we expect of ourselves and others. The more output becomes possible, the further the goalposts are moved on what is considered “enough.”

AI Turned Me Into a Content Agency of One

This statement is the key. The expectations grow with technology, and wages don’t grow with expectations. Wages are based on past values.

Paladin saves the world? Degrowth story.

Barbarian masculine energy saves the world? Degrowth story.

Enlightened sexless bureaucracy saves the world? Degrowth story.

Nurturing feminine energy saves the world? Degrowth story.

Unbridled technological acceleration saves the world? Degrowth story.

Unbridled GDP growth saves the world? Degrowth story.

Saintly

every story is a degrowth story

These I agree are degrowth stories.

I think the connection he’s making is to the book, so that the loss of complexity in society leaves people feeling lost and unvalued, and that leads to societal collapse.

What if we don’t tie society to complexity?

Anne Helen Petersen once memorably described this as "LARPing your job"—performing a theatrical version of productivity. Workers engage in elaborate displays of "being at work": staying visible on Slack, responding to emails at all hours, and maintaining a digital presence that signals industriousness. The tools have evolved—from software that moni... See more

AI Phobia Is Just Fear That ‘Easier’ Equals ‘Cheating’

If you pretend to pay them, they’ll pretend to work.

Work has to be tied to performance and salary. People have to have an obvious target to shoot for.

In early 2021, while most founders were chasing quick exits, I was laying the foundation for something more sustainable. The digital fingerprints are clear in my content DNA—establishing values and identity wasn't just personal branding. It was memetic groundwork.

The Time Architect: From Building in Public to Bending Time

What’s your content DNA look like?

Similar to Zhang Yiming, Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t care very much about the content on his platforms and is much more interested in technology and AI.

Jonah Peretti • The Anti-SNARF Manifesto

Boom. This is the issue.