Comment by mattlondon
2 days ago
I too would very happily do just the bits of my job that I like, when and how I want, and have any requests or comments or complaints I make get immediate attention and responses.
All in the knowledge that no one is going to be time-tracking me or doing performance reviews, and I can just not do work at any moment I don't feel like it or have something better to do that day, like go to my private island or take my private jet to burning man etc (or as it turns out do a talk at Stanford). All while you have so much money that the price of anything from clothes to cars to houses is just some arbitrary number that has no meaning to you it is so absolutely tiny number... not that you actually buy anything yourself any more, mainly your team of personal staff deal with that grubby reality.
As for the rest of us, well we need to pay the bills while playing "the game" and politics and cowtowing to keep the money coming.
Exactly. If you work in a field that’s close to your interests, there are probably parts of your job that you’d do for fun even if infinitely wealthy. It’s the other stuff, the boring annoying grind, that makes it a job and not a hobby.
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He was in your spot at some point I've heard. Nothing is impossible.
So was the last lottery winner. I can certainly improve my chances but there is a huge amount of luck involved.
And importantly, in this analogy - most people here aren't even able to play that lottery. He founded a company based on the research he did whilst studying for a government funded PhD. Most people are not in a position in their life where they could even spend time trying to do research that would result in this type of eventual wealth.
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If you don't try you are sure to not win. The rest is about being able to put the odds in your favor. You obviously can't do that with lottery. There is no logical lever.
https://ergodicityeconomics.com/2023/07/28/the-infamous-coin...
Not for long; he was 25 when Google was founded, it was a billion dollar company not long after. He could've retired when Google went public in 2004.
AI replacing workers and launching the post-money economy aside, it should probably not be about age or actual networth but outcome. That should still be a worthy and attainable goal. He is not the only rich person out there...
Dreams and hopes are powerful weapons of suppression. Everyone is a millionaire just down on their luck at the moment…
In our advanced society, with incredible automation, we should _all_ have vastly more freedom and control over our time.
That attitude is the weapon of suppression. Yes, it's true that life isn't fair. But it's also true that people have agency and can make material improvements to their own quality of life through smart decisions and dedication. Of course most of us won't start the next Google, but that doesn't mean dreams and hope are bad in general.
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This is very true but the path to that seems to require a weird optimization where it is concentrated among a few before being being widespread. Technologic improvements should help. Help decouple time and money.
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