“arpa and xerox parc, agency, stoicism, a set of guidelines for ambitious endeavors”
Curious Collab #5
Alice Maz wrote an article I enjoyed, here’s an excerpt from her Substack:
I love these stories as tiny little microcosms of agency. none of them mean a whole lot. nothing done in them required any special talent or novel insight. none really affected the world in any meaningful way. just some kid learning by accident that things can happen because you decided to do them
steve jobs:
When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money.
That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.
one reason I bother to write at all is because I like to encourage people to exhibit more agency. I love the image of a world full of competing, empowered individuals. I feel that one of the highest leverage things I can do is contribute, in my own small way, to the people around me feeling capable of doing more of what they want, not feeling constrained or restricted. I think freedom is something you take with force, and the people who want it should take it
not everyone wants it, and that’s ok. I used to feel superior to the people who just want the nice family, some fun, a bit of money. but that feeling was a bit insecurity, and a bit envy. I hope they get what they want, I hope they find systems that will take care of them and protect them, I mean this with all affection
ambition is probably a disease. I don’t know if there’s an inborn fire, or if it’s something that’s forged into you by pain early in life. but it’s probably something wrong, deficient. there’s a hole inside you you’re trying to fill up and nothing is ever good enough to fix it
Everyone is born with Agency. Unfortunately, we also need to rely on each other. You might be quick to give up that Agency for a stable job or a nice meal, but Agency will always be there, no matter how many times you’ve decided to give it up.
The sheer power and responsibility we’ve been given is a testament to Human Ingenuity. We’ve come up with great innovations, ones that have extended lives, improved our health and saved our environment. Without being Agents unto ourselves, almost everything would be out of our control, and no one could take responsibility for the things they did.
Work is all about not taking responsibility. If mistakes are made, if quotas aren’t hit, someone must be responsible. But becoming responsible takes risk, and since we are risk averse as a human species, it’s up to the people who aren’t so averse to pave the way for the rest of us. This is inherently why Entrepreneurs make all the money when a Business is Sold. They took all the risk, so they gain the equity reward, not the Accountant they hired for 100k Salary + Benefits 2 years in. Their risk is that they could have spent that two years, making no money and the company crashing and burning. It’s the game they play, and Entrepreneurs likes to bet big.
So decide whether you are a Free Agent, or are meant to let the risk lie upon those that can handle it. But at the very least, decide now before you have an Identity Crisis.
Until Tomorrow,
Jason Ziebarth (Founder Club255)
JZ#392