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← Letting people follow their own interests is desirable because no one can predict where they will come out
17 connected korrents · 14 moments from 9 Mar 1776 to 25 Sept 2026.
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AI and human skill Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: Letting people follow their own interests is desirable because no one can predict where they will come out Letting people follow their own interests is desirable because no one can predict where they will come out
MF
Milton Friedman — holds since c. 1962 — tap for who they are
Same subject: By pursuing their own interest, people frequently serve society better than when they set out to serve it — tap to centre the map on it By pursuing their own interest, people frequently serve society better than when they set out to serve it Last stated 251 years ago
9 Mar 1776
AS
Adam Smith — holds since 1776-03-09 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Being told to be realistic about your ambitions is how ambitions fail; the boundaries people accept about what they can do are the ones that stop them. — tap to centre the map on it Being told to be realistic about your ambitions is how ambitions fail; the boundaries people accept about what they can do are the ones that stop them. Last stated a month ago
24 Aug 2026
MH
Masud Husain — holds since 2026-08-24 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Letting one calculation take over a giving decision is disturbing, and there is still a strong case for it if you want your ethics to be principled and about other people. — tap to centre the map on it Letting one calculation take over a giving decision is disturbing, and there is still a strong case for it if you want your ethics to be principled and about other people. Last stated 5 years ago
15 Feb 2022
HK
Holden Karnofsky — holds since 2022-02-15 — tap for who they are
Same subject: We are not bound to follow everything the founders did; that would reject all progress and current experience — tap to centre the map on it We are not bound to follow everything the founders did; that would reject all progress and current experience Last stated 167 years ago
27 Feb 1860
AL
Abraham Lincoln — holds since 1860-02-27 — tap for who they are
Same subject: People cannot expect others to care as deeply about the things they care about. — tap to centre the map on it People cannot expect others to care as deeply about the things they care about. Last stated 2 months ago
29 Jul 2026
DM
Dan Meyer — holds since 2026-07-29 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Some men are motivated by desires other than financial gain, and cannot be swayed by conventional means. — tap to centre the map on it Some men are motivated by desires other than financial gain, and cannot be swayed by conventional means. Last stated a week ago
25 Sept 2026
DH
David Heinemeier Hansson — holds since 2026-09-25 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A model may have a worldview of its own, but it can never be placed above a person under any circumstance. — tap to centre the map on it A model may have a worldview of its own, but it can never be placed above a person under any circumstance. Last stated 4 months ago
3 Jun 2026
KH
Kelsey Hightower — holds since 2026-06-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Thinking, judgement and knowledge are worth pursuing for the joy in them, not in order to defend human uniqueness. — tap to centre the map on it Thinking, judgement and knowledge are worth pursuing for the joy in them, not in order to defend human uniqueness. Last stated 4 months ago
2 Jun 2026
LS
L. M. Sacasas — holds since 2026-06-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "If you're not growing, you're dying" is truer of the person than of the company. — tap to centre the map on it "If you're not growing, you're dying" is truer of the person than of the company. Last stated 8 months ago
25 Jan 2026
JC
Jason Cohen — holds since 2026-01-25 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A common-sense utopia is much closer to the present day than it is to the best futures actually available to us. — tap to centre the map on it A common-sense utopia is much closer to the present day than it is to the best futures actually available to us. Last stated a year ago
3 Aug 2025
WM
William MacAskill — holds since 2025-08-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A company that looks to its users as though it has stopped shipping is usually widening its market, and grinding through that is worth it. — tap to centre the map on it A company that looks to its users as though it has stopped shipping is usually widening its market, and grinding through that is worth it. Last stated 2 years ago
23 Mar 2025
RV
Rahul Vohra — holds since 2025-03-23 — tap for who they are
Same subject: “Why now?” is the wrong question to make a founder answer — the honest answer can simply be that you started now. — tap to centre the map on it “Why now?” is the wrong question to make a founder answer — the honest answer can simply be that you started now. Last stated 2 months ago
28 Jul 2026
BS
Blake Scholl — holds since 2026-07-28 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A belief nobody else shares is a warning, and a belief everybody shares is also a warning; the right number of people who agree with you is small but not zero. — tap to centre the map on it A belief nobody else shares is a warning, and a belief everybody shares is also a warning; the right number of people who agree with you is small but not zero. Last stated 2 months ago
28 Jul 2026
SA
Sam Altman — holds since 2026-07-28 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use. — tap to centre the map on it A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use. Last stated 4 months ago
2 Jun 2026
JJ
Justin Jackson — holds since 2026-06-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A company that grows enough eventually has no need for investors. — tap to centre the map on it A company that grows enough eventually has no need for investors. Last stated a month ago
1 Sept 2026
PG
Paul Graham — holds since 2026-09-01 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A first-time founder has an advantage over a repeat winner, because past success makes it too easy to raise money and hire against a big vision before there is product-market fit. — tap to centre the map on it A first-time founder has an advantage over a repeat winner, because past success makes it too easy to raise money and hire against a big vision before there is product-market fit. Last stated 4 months ago
14 Jun 2026
MP
Mark Pincus — holds since 2026-06-14 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A founder should take half the valuation if it buys all of the control, because the right to be wrong in your own way is what founding was for. — tap to centre the map on it A founder should take half the valuation if it buys all of the control, because the right to be wrong in your own way is what founding was for. Last stated 4 months ago
2 Jun 2026
MP
Mark Pincus — holds since 2026-06-02 — tap for who they are
At the centre
Letting people follow their own interests is desirable because no one can predict where they will come out
Last stated c. 1962
Holds Read this korrent →
By pursuing their own interest, people frequently serve society better than when they set out to serve it
Holds
Being told to be realistic about your ambitions is how ambitions fail; the boundaries people accept about what they can do are the ones that stop them.
Holds
Letting one calculation take over a giving decision is disturbing, and there is still a strong case for it if you want your ethics to be principled and about other people.
Holds
We are not bound to follow everything the founders did; that would reject all progress and current experience
Holds
People cannot expect others to care as deeply about the things they care about.
Holds
Some men are motivated by desires other than financial gain, and cannot be swayed by conventional means.
Holds
A model may have a worldview of its own, but it can never be placed above a person under any circumstance.
Holds
Thinking, judgement and knowledge are worth pursuing for the joy in them, not in order to defend human uniqueness.
Holds
"If you're not growing, you're dying" is truer of the person than of the company.
Holds
A common-sense utopia is much closer to the present day than it is to the best futures actually available to us.
Holds
A company that looks to its users as though it has stopped shipping is usually widening its market, and grinding through that is worth it.
Holds
“Why now?” is the wrong question to make a founder answer — the honest answer can simply be that you started now.
Holds
A belief nobody else shares is a warning, and a belief everybody shares is also a warning; the right number of people who agree with you is small but not zero.
Holds
A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use.
Holds
A company that grows enough eventually has no need for investors.
Holds
A first-time founder has an advantage over a repeat winner, because past success makes it too easy to raise money and hire against a big vision before there is product-market fit.
Holds
A founder should take half the valuation if it buys all of the control, because the right to be wrong in your own way is what founding was for.
Holds