Archive - Monomythical

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Remembering GitHub's office

I was bummed when I read GitHub’s February announcement that it would permanently close its San Francisco headquarters. I worked there for just a couple…

May 28

The battle over tech's values

If you’ve paid attention to the news in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed a negative turn in sentiment towards the tech industry, sometimes…

May 15

April 2023

Explaining tech's notion of talent scarcity

I was recently asked to explain what it means when people say that, for example, “There are only [10-200] people in the world who can do what…

Apr 25

March 2023

A Bank of One's Own

A fun fact about startups, if you've never worked for one, is that employees don't typically get equity in the company. They're granted options, meaning…

Mar 11

February 2023

America's future and the network state

The geopolitical concept of hegemony is implicitly a game of keep-away: a smattering of nation states who've divided their mountains and oceans among…

Feb 22

November 2022

Understanding climate as tribes, not a social cause

Once upon a time, I thought I wanted to work in climate. I studied environmental science in college and spent my first year out of school working with…

Nov 30, 2022

August 2022

Antinatalism, agency, and social movements

Fertility rates are declining in developed countries, dipping below replacement rates. 1 in 4 childless American adults cite climate change as a major…

Aug 23, 2022

May 2022

Why aren't there more effective altruisms?

In my last post, I wrote that "effective altruism, despite its popularity, cannot singlehandedly meet the civil purpose of philanthropy.” I thought I…

May 12, 2022

March 2022

28: Out of the valley

There are stories of all-powerful gods, and those of gods who are flawed. Lazy gods, reluctant gods, petulant gods, hedonistic gods who indulge…

Mar 16, 2022

Science, philanthropy, and tech (and crypto)

In the last two years, there’s been several billion dollars’ worth of new initiatives that aim to improve how science is done. I wrote a case study…

Mar 2, 2022

November 2021

27: Friend groups

Kevin Kwok has a schtick about how friend groups underinvest in themselves. A group of people with high mutual trust, shared interests, and low…

Nov 17, 2021

August 2021

New post: The New American University

First month of job freedom has been great so far. I spent a couple of weeks in Redondo Beach, a quiet beach town filled with retired and military…

Aug 4, 2021

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